


Fear Before The Fall

by DarkHououmon



Category: ChalkZone
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 06:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 74
Words: 525,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11730978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkHououmon/pseuds/DarkHououmon
Summary: “Those zoners are a nuisance, Rudy. They lie, they cheat, they swindle, and those are just the ‘better’ ones. Others, like what you’ve faced, are clearly dangerous and potential murderers. They need to be tamed, Rudy.”





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is a remake of my CZ fanfic, Sinful Behaviors.

Tap Tap Tap Tap...

The sound of a keyboard being constantly clicked on could be heard echoing in the small room. Long, slender fingers continuously punched against them, forcing each one down. This continued in a steady stream and didn’t seem to have any signs of slowing down. A glowing white monitor rested above it, and as each word was typed, this was reflected on the screen. Black on white, long strips from left to right.

That was all that Ms. Saffron could see within her field of vision. She slowly blinked a few times as she stared at the screen, attempting to try to shake it off. She could feel her eyes starting to burn a little. It was like she was an ancient monitor and this image was going to get burned into her retina. She shook her head once and even then, she managed to keep typing.

She had no idea how long as she had been at this. It felt like hours already. Her boss wanted this to be done as soon as possible. When she had agreed to do it, she thought it would be a simple thing. She thought that it would have only taken maybe a few minutes tops. She had no idea of all the paperwork and whatever else that this man wanted her to sort through. He didn’t want her to stop for anything. He seemed rather adamant about having all of this ready before the end of the day.

She frowned at this. It was so insane that he wanted her to do this. Why did he want her to type up all of these questions? And why so many? Next to her, she could see piles of paper, handwritten by her boss himself. They had scribbles on them that she recognized as words and sentences. They were a list of questions that he wanted her to type down. He would rarely give her a break, only if her hand was in need of wrest. It was getting to that point again already.

Ms. Saffron couldn’t keep up the typing. The clicking stopped and she leaned away in her chair. She let her arms rest at her sides. Her fingers curled in slightly, the muscles feeling relaxed now that they could finally take a break. She leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling, releasing a loud sigh.

“You do realize this needs to get done, right?”

Ms. Saffron frowned a little as she turned to stare over at her boss. He was sitting in a chair near her. He had been watching her the entire time, ensuring that she would get this done. She didn’t know why he was so paranoid. Was it really necessary for him to do this?

But rather than complain, she readjusted herself in the chair so that she could look at him more clearly. With her arms resting on the rest on the chair, leaning against it, Ms. Saffron asked, “I don’t know why you really need this so badly. This could be done in a few days’ time.” She gave pause for a moment as she noticed his glare. “What is it, Mr. Cosmo?”

She half-expected him to slap his hand against something, like his thigh. Instead, his response was cooled, mellow. This contrasted with his obvious frustration. The way that he spoke more or less gave away how he was actually feeling right now. “You know we don’t have that kind of time. We need to be at that school at some point tomorrow.”

“And we have many hours before we need to do that!” Ms. Saffron slipped out. She didn’t bother trying to stop herself. More words flowed from her mouth. “And it’s not even noon!”

“Right. And by starting this early, we can be prepared.” Mr. Cosmo nodded his head.

Ms. Saffron struggled not to growl at this. She let out a forced sigh as she swung her head back in the direction of the monitor. She raised her hands to start typing again. She dropped them once more and looked back at Mr. Cosmo. She swung her chair around so that she was more comfortable, having gotten tired of the achiness forming in her arm muscles. “Did you really need this many questions?” She asked as she motioned towards the thick pile of paper. “You really want me to type all of that...” She raised her hand up slowly. “...before tomorrow?”

“I don’t know where I stuttered, Ms. Saffron.” Mr. Cosmo moved his hands in closer, tapping them against one another. His eyes narrowed softly, but the smile remained on his face. “I just feel it’s more...efficient to do things like this. You’ll feel so much better after the hard part is done. Trust me, everything else after will just fall into place.” He leaned himself back a little, crossing one leg over the other. “It’ll be like a great weight was lifted from you.”

Ms. Saffron wasn’t sure how to respond to that. A part of her realized that Mr. Cosmo was correct. It would feel good to get this stuff done. But that was only because there was so much of it. And she didn’t even know how much of this was even needed. How much more did she really need to type? And most of all..

Ms. Saffron sighed, “But did it need to be this many questions..?”

The man shrugged his shoulders. “I think it’s a perfectly acceptable length.”

The woman’s jaws dropped down. “Two hundred fifty questions?!”

“That’s nothing. Have you ever seen standardized testing in my town?” Mr. Cosmo laughed softly. It was clear that he found humor in the woman’s response. No wonder he didn’t think too much of this. She hated to think how long this would have been had he done his town’s length, whatever that might have been. “Anyway, this won’t take long if you keep typing. The questions aren’t that long, anyway. You’ll be able to finish within two to three hours, I imagine.”

“Two to three hours?” Ms. Saffron repeated.

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head. “Provided you keep going and don’t waste too much time resting. I assume you have a good typing speed?”

Ms. Saffron didn’t answer. She just looked back at the screen. She had no idea what she was going to do. Well obviously, she still had to keep moving. She couldn’t let herself just stop. But still, a part of her wondered just how necessary this all was. Why was this man so obsessed with this? If he hadn’t threatened to fire her if she didn’t do this, she would have just stopped and walked away.

She didn’t know what the big deal was. She didn’t know why he had to go to this school, and why this school in particular. She didn’t know why he wanted to bring these test questions over. She didn’t know what made this particular school so special out of all the other schools. She thought it was randomized, but the man’s reaction when she suggested a different one seemed to be in line with adamancy. There was something special about this school. She just didn’t know what it was.

The woman let out a small sigh and she resumed typing. It wasn’t like she was going to get an option to stop at this point. She tried not to let herself think too hard on the typing and on the achiness. She instead focused her attention on the ending result, when her body can finally stop to rest. And somehow, that helped make the process a little easier.

But even as she continued typing up question after question, she still felt a sting of curiosity. She didn’t like to really pry into her boss’s work. She didn’t really know what her boundaries were and she didn’t know what her authorization level was. Just how much was she allowed to know? The fact that she worked for Mr. Cosmo for years did little to really ease her mind. That was one of her faults that she wished that she could work on. She never quite fully got over the nervousness of being a newcomer to Mr. Cosmo’s company.

Though she could obviously question his plans no problem. The thought brought a smile to her face and she chuckled. It was funny how things worked like that.

She did her best to keep focusing on her assignment, but her mind continuously wandered back to that question from before. It wasn’t like she hadn’t asked already. It wasn’t like she didn’t get an answer. But she still couldn’t feel fully satisfied with the answer. She found herself releasing a frustrated grunt as she looked over her shoulder. She stared at the man intently with one eye.

“And just what is so special about Plainville High School?” She asked in a soft, slightly strained voice.

She watched as Mr. Cosmo’s smile spread along his face. “This place is different from the others. I have been looking everywhere, through different schools, to find the one that I feel would be perfect.” He tilted his head up slightly, as though to try to get a good view of the monitor situated behind the woman. “And I do believe, based on what I know of this place, it’d be the most obvious choice.”

Ms. Saffron blinked at this. She hadn’t exactly gotten any sort of answer. In fact, this was more or less the same thing that he had said before the last time she asked. But she did realize that the man was not likely going to give any further details. This was the most that she could hope for.

Too exhausted to keep asking the same questions, the woman merely shrugged her shoulders and returned to typing. She hoped that this would be all worth it in the end. That’s what Mr. Cosmo kept promising her. As for whether or not that’ll be true...

Well, they will just have to wait and see.


	2. Some Needed Preparations

It’s funny how things don’t always go the way that you expect them to or want them to. There’s always some kind of variable that shifts things around and makes people wonder just how they could have occurred. Naturally, everything can always lean in a new direction, one that couldn’t be foreseen or predicted.

That’s what Rudy went through when he and Penny agreed to meet up and work on an experiment together.

The class had been assigned to pick some sort of experiment to show the class. The topic related to chemicals and interactions between them. Due to this nature, of course there were limitations. It made Rudy wonder if Mr. Wilter even realized what he was assigning. Maybe the man just had a little too much confidence in his students to not screw up. Maybe he thought they all had some kind of junior set at home. Or maybe he was just overthinking things.

It was still a surprise to Rudy that Mr. Wilter still wound up being his teacher even years later. He was now fifteen and he first had Mr. Wilter as a teacher at age eight. It made him wonder if the man was following him around, constantly trying to make sure that he wasn’t ‘wasting his time drawing cartoons’ or something.

Mr. Wilter claimed that’s just how the cookie crumbled. Translated, Rudy took it as Mr. Wilter miraculously changing grade teacher positions each time he and Penny went up the ladder. Every year, Rudy hoped that he would get away from the stern teacher in favor of someone that would be more appreciative of his art. Bt each time, he would be dashed and shocked to see that, just like last year, it was Mr. Wilter. He tried to come up with an explanation for this that didn’t pertain to the man doing this on purpose. But really, there wasn’t much else he could think of that would explain it.

A part of him couldn’t help but wonder if the man really was trying to guide him in the ‘right direction’, as he believed. He wondered if Mr. Wilter was attempting to mold his future for him. If that’s the case, that was a rather low blow. It was almost amusing at first how often this man showed up in his life, but now it was just getting...ugh...

Rudy did manage to shake the thoughts out of his head for now and he focused on Penny’s demonstration. She had gone for something really simple that wouldn’t involve explosions or potential damage. And it involved chalk as well, Rudy’s favorite form of art medium. He hadn’t quite remembered what she had in mind, but he was more than ready to get the experimented started on.

...that is, until it actually began.

“You see this here, Rudy?” Penny pulled forward a strong smelling liqud known as vinegar. Rudy had to scrunch up his nose a little, the foul stench invading his nostrils. “With the composition of this vinegar and this piece of chalk..” Penny held it up. It wasn’t white but rather blue in color. “...we should get a very colorful reaction. As the two....”

“Is it going to be like those volcanoes we did back in...” Rudy started to say.

Penny paused for a second before nodding her head. “Yeah... You could say it’s kind of like that. But slower and less.... boomy.” Rudy frowned slightly in disappointment. Penny took notice of this and quickly added, “But I think you’d still like this anyway.”

Rudy had little reason to disagree. He always did enjoy those volcanoes. Messy, but they were a sight to behold. He could appreciate the interactions of color and of material. Even if making them wouldn’t have led him far into life, they were still a good time waster and a nice way to let out some emotion. School hadn’t always been the best for him. That was a rare moment that he felt truly...united with everyone else.

Rudy thought that, because there’d be a similar though slower reaction with the blue chalk and vinegar, that he would end up liking it just as much. He thought that he would be dazzled by the flowing of color and fluid as he was with the fake volcanoes that he made five years ago.

But he realized very quickly that he had been wrong. As soon as the blue chalk pieces Penny had prepared fell into the cup of vinegar, Rudy could immediately feel his heart freezing up at the sight of what he saw.

It had started off slowly at first, a sizzling look spreading along the chalk like it was being boiled. It only got progressively worse from there. Bits of chalk were breaking off into smaller pieces. There were sharp and uneven changes to the coloration in the wat....er, vinegar. Some were pale and others sharply turning darker, with some gradiation in a few places. They almost looked like oil like from one of those dreadful oil spills. Then more bubbles slowly rose up. With his eyes wide and body frozen, Rudy could see how the bubbly fizz, somewhat reminiscent of the school’s toy volcanoes, rose up. A few times, there was a sudden churn, with melted blue chalk shooting upwards a little, twisting and churning on its own as though it were possessed.

But that was not the only thing that had him frozen in horror and shock. The particular chalk Penny had chosen, blue, made it all the more worse for him. Rudy’s eyes constantly scanned the vinegar and chalk mixture, and as it continued to distort beyond what it was before, he couldn’t help but see Snap in there. The blue coloring was almost enough to pass off for his friend.

“Rudy...?” Penny’s whispering voice moved through the air. “A-Are you.. all right..?”

Rudy couldn’t answer. His eyes were still glued to what was happening, his mouth dropping open slowly. He no longer saw just the chalk or just the vinegar. He could see his friend dying before him. He could hear Snap calling out to him, wanting him to save him. And as the chalk lost its shape and only liquid remained...

Suddenly, Rudy found himself shouting and moving back. “S-Stop it! Please stop it!” This sudden shouting caused Penny to jolt back. Rudy grabbed onto the sides of his head, his green eyes bulging in shock. “Please... no more...”

Penny reacted immediately. She grabbed the cup of vinegar and blue chalk mix and poured it down the sink. It didn’t seem that long that she was gone. Rudy’s mind was still reeling from what happeend. To him, it all happened in a blink of an eye, and that wasn’t enough for him to fully snap out of his trance. Everything was rock solid and a blur and he hardly noticed Penny shaking him.

“Rudy! It’s all right now!”

Rudy could feel himself being moved back and forth with some level of force. But only just slightly. It was like he was in a whole other world. One that just didn’t line up with what he was sensing. He could feel someone grabbing him but he could see no one. Only a distant puddle of liquid blue that was making him tear up.

And this is how it remained for him for a time frame that he could not keep track of. It may very well have been just a few seconds, each tic dragging out like someone slowing down their walking. Ultimately it took several hard shakes from Penny before Rudy started to realize just where he was. He blinked a few times and he looked around a little. He gasped heavily a few times as though he just came out of swimming under water. He then looked at Penny, whom he just now could make the blurry face of.

It still took what felt like another minute before Rudy finally snapped out of his mental lock. Once he realized what he had been doing, he could feel a wave of shame coming over him. He looked at Penny with wide, horrified eyes and he could feel himself misting up again. “Penny... I’m sorry, I...” He choked, stumbling over his words. “I didn’t mean to...”

“No, no it’s all right. I should have realized this would have happened.” Penny turned her head away for a few seconds, biting her lip. Her face contorted slightly with guilt. “Perhaps I should have picked a different experiment.”

This didn’t exactly help Rudy feel any better. Oh why did he have to react so stupidly? “Penny...”

They remained silent for a few moments. The silence rapidly grew heavy and eerie, making them all shudder with cold. It swirled around them, wrapping them up, but it was not the comforting kind that one would get with their mother. No, there was something almost sinister about this one, like it was trying to remind both of them of what they had done. They glanced at one another, slowly blinking, before they could get themselves to turn away.

Rudy still couldn’t believe what he had just done. He had never meant for things to go like that. He didn’t think that he would react to such a simple experiment in that kind of way. He alsot understood that Penny couldn’t have possibly known that something like that would happen with him. She didn’t do this with malicious intent and he couldn’t imagine just how guilty she must be feeling right now. This did little to help Rudy calm down.

After a few moments, Penny finally broke the silence. With some hesitation and nervousness, she said, “L-Let’s just skip this for now.” She gave a weak chuckle as she offered a small smile to Rudy. “We can hold off on this for a while longer. There is something else on the agenda that I think we should focus on, anyway.”

Though Rudy still felt guilty, he was glad for the subject change. “What can we work on now instead of...”

“Rudy, I’m surprised at you.” Penny held her hand up in gesture. “I thought you would have already guessed what we’ll be working on next.”

Rudy shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “I’m sorry, I’m not following.” Rudy took a moment to struggle to think of what Penny could be referring to. But he just continuously drew a blank. He felt a small burn in his stomach as he realized that he couldn’t figure it out. All he could think of was that darn experiment. What else could be Penny talking about? “Could you feel me in?”

Penny released a small sigh. Rudy flinched at how that sounded. He was really going to regret this, wasn’t he? “It’s Snap’s seventh birthday.”

Sure enough, he did.

Rudy could feel his hands immediately his hand slapping his forehead with his hand, the slapping sound nearly echoing off everywhere. He took in a sharp breath as he struggled to breathe normally. He tried to speak, but he was unable to. His voice was caught in his throat. He instead just stared at Penny long and hard as he let this all sink in.

Oh shit... That was right... It was Snap’s birthday today. Or rather, his creation day as zoners call it. Snap was turning seven, a realization that seemed almost daunting to Rudy. Had it truly been that long since he had first created Snap on that chalkboard in school?

Rudy felt a strong urge to want to kick himself for what he had done. It would have been one thing if he forgot a new friend’s birthday, but this was Snap. He’s known him for so long. He should know his birthday by now. And yet somehow, he had allowed it to slip his mind. Rudy put his hand to his face and rubbed it slowly, feeling his stomach stinging in his chest and stomach. What kind of friend as he? What kind of friend would forget an important day such as today?

Penny noticed how he was reacting and she came in closer to him. She reached out and she placed her hand gently on his shoulder. Rudy could feel himself jolting a little, not expecting such a touch. He turned his head to start at his friend. The two locked eyes with one another, breathing softly. Rudy remained silent for several long moments before he finally managed to get himself to talk.

“I didn’t... I’m sorry I forgot.” Rudy flinched slightly at how he sounded. He didn’t mean to squeak like that. He swallowed nervously and he tried to move in. “S-So what did he have in mind?”

“That’s what we’re helping him with today.” Penny said. She gave him a slight glare, showing her disappointment in him not remembering. But her expression rapidly softened up. “Snap has some ideas, but he wants our help with picking out what would be the best.”

Rudy chuckled softly. “We used so many ideas already. And you know how Snap can be.” Rudy rubbed the back of his head slowly. “He always wants something bigger and better for his next party.” He had to freeze for a second as he remembered Snap’s fifth party. That was an area that he would not want to visit again. “What were the ideas that.... Oh right, didn’t he say something about a costume party?”

His friend nodded her head a few times at this. She reached up with a finger to quickly adjust her glasses. “He’s always wanted to try it but it kinda keeps falling onto the wayside. He wants to go through with it this time.” Penny leaned herself back a little. “But this is competing with his other ideas, like having the entire party on a series of air balloons.”

Rudy shuddered at that idea. He could not see that going too well.

“And then there was his idea about doing a Pinnochio-style party inside a whale’s mouth...”

“Ohh... I can’t see that going well.” Rudy brough this hands up as he shook once. “I don’t think any of the whale zoners here would appreciate having a Snap party in their mouth. You know how big, crowded, and long those tend to lest.”

“Exactly.” Penny agreed. “I think the costume party is the safest bet.”

Rudy couldn’t disagree with that. How could he? If these were the ideas Snap was considering, then the costume party was the best one. It was the easiest to impliment and the easiest to keep safe. He didn’t know why his friend was going for such extreme ideas. He guessed that Snap was just really confident in his creator friend that he felt fine with suggesting more ludicrous ideas. Snap probably thought Rudy would always be able to keep him safe. Rudy was happy to help however he could, but he did wish that Snap would stop acting as though he’d be there for every single situation.

Rudy raised his arms upward, stretching out his muscles. He let out a small, quick yawn, a reflex of such an action. “So now that we’ve figured this out...” He exhaled quickly as he lowered his hands back down at his sides. He looked intently over at Penny. “...what else should we consider?”

Penny tapped her finger against her chin. “Well, we do need to take into consideration how many zoners are to be invited, where this will take place, what kind of costume party will it be, the food that will be prepared...”

Rudy felt his eyes widen as he listened to Penny list this stuff off. Looked like there was still more work to do. Oh well, at least it was this and not that rotten experiment. He had that much to look forward to.

As he listened to Penny continue to talk about this, he started to wonder just what he himself was going to do at this party. What was he going to dress up as? He struggled to think of a good costume. Something that Snap wouldn’t be embarrassed about. It was his special day, after all. He didn’t want anything to happen that would ruin it. There were all sorts of options. But he realized that it would ultimately depend on what theme they chose for it. He wouldn’t want to show up as, say, a prince if the theme was a horror movie. That would be a little strange, to say the least.

“And I think that about wraps it up.” Penny said, finishing up what she was telling Rudy. “Did you get all of that?”

Rudy quickly nodded his head. “Yeah I believe so.” He frowned slightly as he looked downward. “Man, we have quite a bit to think about still.” He put his hand on his chin, letting his head lean up against it. “We don’t even have a theme yet...”

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure out something.” Penny smiled at him gently. “And whatever the case may be, I’m sure Snap will appreciate what we do for him.”

“Yeah, you’re right. He’s our friend. Whatever we all decide on, he’ll love it.” Rudy smiled the best that he could. He really did hope that Penny was right about this. But he didn’t have much reason to doubt her.

sss

Mr. Wilter could hear the sound of the school bell ringing, stretching throughout the inside of his ear. He hadn’t heard it finish ringing once before he said, “Class dismissed!”

It wasn’t like his words were really needed, though. In a matter of moments, the students were already up and about, nearly knocking down their chairs in order to get out as quickly as possible. He watched as they left. He couldn’t help but shake his head slowly as they scrambled about. It was a shame that they really felt this excited about leaving school. It kind of made him wonder about the future of education.

But oh well. It wasn’t something he tried to worry about too much. He had other things on his mind right now. There were other things more deserving of his attention than a small fear that he couldn’t imagine coming into one hundred percent fruition. Instead, he shifted his attention in another direction, frowning soflty at the paperwork laying on the desk.

Ugh... Why did he agree to cover for this night class, anyway? He already was swamped with work. But this teacher got sick and he agreed to fill in and... He shook his head slowly. He probably should have just said no and went home to get some rest. Most of the students in this night class were not... Well he wasn’t going to go much further than that. At least he didn’t have to deal with them any further. He just needed to grade their papers and that was it.

As much as he would have preferred to go home right now, perhaps now was a good time to start grading. He might as well get it done quickly so that he could move on to students he was more familiar with. Like Rudy Tabootie.

Speaking of that teenager, he wondered how he was doing. Was he still doodling cartoons during class? As frustrated as he was with Rudy acting as though he thought he could get away with a mediocre score in everything but art, he did still prefer his company over these night class students. At least Rudy made an effort to pay attention in class, even if it did not always seem like it.

Releasing a small sigh, the man headed over to the pile of papers and pulled up the chair. He adjusted himself in the large seat before he reached out and grabbed the pile. It felt heavier than he thought it would. He gritted his teeth at this. Well that wasn’t good. But oh well. He might as well get started on this anyway.

As he pressed the pen against the paper, he could feel his cellphone in his pocket starting to vibrate. He released a small growl and he pushed the pen into the table. Now who could be interrupting him at this hour? He swore if it was his cousin trying to wriggle some money from him again.... Didn’t that guy know that he didn’t earn that much money on a teacher’s salary to start with? It wasn’t his fault if he couldn’t...

Mr. Wilter pressed a button and he put the phone to his ear. It felt a little awkward. He’d never get used to these new fancy phones the youth were always raving about. Regardless of his discomfort, he spoke into it. “Hello? Who is this?” He tried to sound as polite as possible.

“Hello there.”

Mr. Wilter froze for a split second, his eyes widening. “Y-You? What are you...” He swallowed once. “What are you calling me up for?”

“What? Is it wrong of me to dial this number?”

Mr. Wilter shook his head quickly. “No, that’s not it. I am just..surprised you’d call me of all people.. It’s.. It’s been a while.”

“Oh yes, it has. I fully agree. But I didn’t call to just chitchat and catch up with the times. I am wanting to ask you a particular question. I’ll understand if you decline.”

The man tried to keep himself calm. It was hard to keep his emotional reaction under control. It was hard to get his blood to stop pumping through his body so quickly. He struggled to keep his breathing under control as his mind spun in circles. He couldn’t believe that this guy, out of all people, was contacting him. He felt a little bit of tingling in the tips of his fingers. He hadn’t seen this guy in so long and.... for him to contact him like this....

He shook his head quickly as he snapped himself back to reality. He was so distracted that he hadn’t realized this person was trying to speak with him. He could hear him calling out to him and he nearly dropped his phone as he tried to answer.

“Hello? Are you there?”

“Yes I am. I’m sorry about that.” Mr. Wilter said. Despite his uncertainty, he still tried to sound as polite as possible. After all, this was not the kind of person that he really wanted to upset. And he had a really good reason for avoiding that.

After clearing his throat one more time, Mr. Wilter continued to speak, his voice slightly hushed.

“What did you want to talk to me about, Mr. Cosmo...?”


	3. The Party

Mr. Wilter couldn’t believe that he had agreed to do this. He couldn’t believe that he decided that it would be a good idea to bring Mr. Cosmo here to speak with him. They could have worked out all the details over the phone and it would have been fine. There would have been no need to do something like this. And frankly, he wasn’t that comfortable talking to him in person.

But he also knew how bad it would look upon him if word of this got out. Mr. Cosmo was pretty influential, a well-known man. Regardless of his feelings towards him, he couldn’t deny that. People are going to wonder why he turned down an offer to speak with the esteemed Mr. Cosmo. After all, the man was responsible for the new electric service that this town long needed. They did owe something to the man and....

It still felt reallly odd, though. Why this place of all places? What did this puny little town have to offer that Mr. Cosmo wanted? Specifically, why this school? He couldn’t really think of anything that.... Well no that’s not true. There was something. He hoped that he was incorrect on that part, though. Whatever happens, he hoped that his uncomfortable thought wasn’t the reason.

Mr. Wilter tried his best to sit down and wait for Mr. Cosmo to show up. He looked up at the clock and watched the hand tick back and forth before looking back at the door. He took in a deep breath and he exhaled as he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. He tapped his fingers on his thigh and he felt his fingers digging in slightly. As the door knob moved, he thought one thing to himself.

Let’s get this over with.

Mr. Cosmo’s face peaked out from behind the door. Mr. Wilter gave a slow nod of his head, gesturing for the man to come in further. The man obligued and walked in slowly. Shutting the door behind him, he immediately strode over towards Mr. Wilter, acting as though they had been friends forever.

“Greetings, Mr. Wilter!” Mr. Cosmo reached out towards the man. “I am honored that you allowed me to speak with you. I hope that you will find that you made the right decision.”

Mr. Wilter tried not to flinch at the wording. He struggled to smile back. He managed to do it, but not as well as he would have liked. He swallowed hard and said, “Yes, I hope that you’ll find this meeting rewarding as well.” Not the most professional sounding statement. But he had his doubts that Mr. Cosmo would care too much. After all, they were....

“Thanks, much appreciated.” After the two men shook hands, Mr. Cosmo moved in towards the nearby chair. He settled himself down, making himself at home. Mr. Wilter watched as the man absent-mindedly fiddled around with one of the pens on his desk in mild curiosity. “This is a nice school you got here, Mr. Wilter. You did okay for yourself.”

Mr. Wilter didn’t know how to respond to that except with a nod and a, “It’s something at least.” He didn’t want to waste too much time. Regardless of his feelings of having to deal with ungrateful students, it was a reality that he unfortunately had and that meant making sure that he was ready. Having this meeting this early probably wasn’t the brightest idea. “I know that I agreed to let you come here for this test thing, but I still don’t understand. Why here? And why this test?”

Mr. Cosmo picked up a pen and pressed his fingers against the tips. “Oh, Mr. Wilter, always so fretty...” He moved his hands up and down, moving the pen with him. “I do wish that you wouldn’t be so worried. Trust me, I have a reason for this.”

“Yes, and I want to know what that reason is.” Mr. Wilter was firm in his voice. He straightened himself up, glaring down at Mr. Cosmo as the man looked up at him so casually. “If I am going to let you walk into my classroom and have my students take your test...” He pointed his finger down, moving his finger up and down a few times. “There needs to be a reason for it. You have to convince me that this will pertain to their futures.”

“It will, I promise.” Mr. Cosmo stated. He placed the pen back on the teacher’s desk. “I feel that your school has more promise than the others.”

“What? Really?” Mr. Wilter rubbed the top of his head. “I actually heard this school is suffering from really low grades on average...”

It was true, far as he knew. While not all the students wound up to be failures, Penny Sanchez being a noteable example, Mr. Wilter was aware that education in this town was still...lacking. Reggie Bullnerd wasn’t the only student suffering. There were other students in similar situations. He hardly ever hears any stories of success from any student who hails from this school.

That’s part of why he was so hard on his students. He was worried about what would happen if they flunked. He was worried about what the future held for them. He just didn’t want them to completely fail at life like some of the worst cases he had seen. He wanted to improve the reputation that this school had. He wanted to show those mocking them that they were capable of becoming better, that they weren’t just a ‘hole in the wall’ town.

But of course, it wasn’t like his students really understood this. To them, he was just the ‘big nosed grumpy teacher who always wanted to ruin their fun’. He wished they would try to understand more. But how could they? These students were still children. They didn’t fully understand how the world worked yet. They were still being cared for by their parents. They didn’t know what it was like to have to strike it out on their own.

Although Mr. Wilter did have a taste of that at one point...

He shook his head once, realizing that he was trailing off a little too much there. He cleared his throat as he turned his attention to Mr. Cosmo, who had his eyebrow cocked up. It made Mr. Wilter wonder just how long he had been silent. “Er... sorry about that. I was just...”

“Not to worry.” Mr. Cosmo said as he raised his hand up slowly. “I can get sidetracked as well. Anyway to repeat what I said...” He set his arm back down. “I think that we could help benefit this school and this town by having the students take this test. I understand that this place is struggling.”

“I don’t know how this one test could change that, though.” Mr. Wilter admitted, resting his hand on his chin. “I mean, how is this going to....” His voice trailed off. He wasn’t really sure how to continue. He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around this and he still wasn’t sure if he really wanted Mr. Cosmo to come here or not. But he had already struck the deal so....

Mr. Cosmo leaned in a little forward, staring at him intently. “I promise you, Mr. Wilter, if you go through with this and if we get these tests taken care of, then things will get better. I know you well enough, Mr. Wilter and I know you want the best for your students.”

Mr. Wilter felt a brief shudder. It was almost like the man had been reading his mind. How eerie for this man to bring this up right after he was thinking about it... Although he did mention the low grade thing. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

“Grades will improve. People will stop mocking this place. More students will graduate with better grades. More students will go off and actually become someone.” Mr. Cosmo slowly extended his hand to Mr. Wilter once more. “And it will all begin with a simple...test...”

Mr. Wilter stared at the extended hand for a few moments, licking his lips slowly. Then, though a little hesitently, he reached out and he grabbed Mr. Cosmo’s hand and shook it once.

sss

“There is no way I’m coming out looking like this!”

“Oh come on Rudy! I’m sure you look fine!”

“This is embarrassing!”

“But it’s part of the theme! You don’t want to disappoint Snap, do you?”

“If I show up looking like this, he will be!”

“Oh Rudy....”

“No!”

Penny folded her arms against her chest and grumbled softly. She couldn’t believe how troublesome Rudy was being right now. This shouldn’t be that hard. He just needed to put on the costume and come on out. Why did he think that it was so embarrassing anyway? Who was going to make him feel embarrassed? The zoners? With their wacky designs, she had her doubts that they would laugh at him.

She knew Rudy must know this as well. And yet he still chose to act like such a child. Was he embarrassed that she will think he’d look funny? Really, she would think that Rudy would know her better than that.

They couldn’t waste much more time on this. Snap’s party was going to start soon and the blue and white zoner wanted them to be there when they opened up. If they diddle dallied here for too long, then they were going to have an increased chance of disappointing Snap. Rudy had been adamant about not doing that before. Did he just happen to forget this time?

Penny struggled to think of how she was going to get Rudy to come on out. He can’t hide in there forever and there was no time for another costume. Tapping her chin thoughtfully, she briefly pondered the idea of pretending to be his mother and make him think that she was discovering ChalkZone. But the portal wasn’t open and the magic chalk wasn’t out, so it would not work. Plus she doubted Rudy would be pleased with her doing something like that. So she needed to figure out something else.

Eventually, she said, “You know, Snap will be awfully upset if we don’t get there in time.” Something that they both knew, but it was the only thing that she could think of. It was the only thing that she knew Rudy would understand. And at least it wasn’t as mean-spirited as her previous plan. “We are going to run late if you don’t hurry up and get out.”

Rudy was silent for a few moments. Then his soft voice came out, “B-But my costume...”

“Look it’s fine, Rudy. You know Snap decided for a flowery buggy party this time. You know, to celebrate spring and all that.” Penny smiled the best that she could even though Rudy could not see it. She took a few steps towards the closet that Rudy had holed himself up into. “Your costume fits perfectly with the theme. What’s there to be nervous about?”

Rudy let out a small grumble. “But did it have to be this costume? I would have much rather have gone with something more...more... Oh I don’t know! Just something that wasn’t this!”

Penny shook her head slowly. “It was the only one the store had left.”

“We could try going for another one and...” Rudy started to say. But Penny cut him off pretty quickly.

“None of the other stores are open. And besides, you know we don’t have that kind of time.” Penny tapped her foot impatiently. She was doing her best to try to be understanding with Rudy, knowing that he was her friend. But he was still acting ridiculous and he was only going to make matters worse if he continued to hide like this. “Just...come on out. No one in the Real World will see you. And you know the zoners won’t care how you look.”

There was a bit of silence.

“Rudy, you’re only making this harder on yourself.” Penny took a step forward. “Come on out so we can get going.” She paused for a moment, and then said, “Or do you want Snap to remember this party as the day that you were more concerned about being embarrassed by someone than your own friend?” She hated to have to resort to that, but it was the only thing that she could think of that could possibly make Rudy see.

And it appeared to have worked.

“Oh okay, fine! You win! I’ll... I’ll come out...”

Penny smiled at this. She waited in silence as the closet door opened up. She watched as Rudy stepped out slowly....

...and he was dressed up as a really pretty-looking butterfly.

She struggled not to chuckle as the thick-ended antenna flopped about. She settled for putting her hand to her mouth lightly as she smiled. She could see Rudy’s disgruntled look. She couldn’t help but think of Rudy as some cute little child that deserved some hugs. But she restrained herself.

“Now this is adorable.” Penny said as she admired the outfit that Rudy wore. It was a little small for Rudy, except for the antennas, but it somehow suited him really well. “I’m sure Snap will love it.”

Rudy, however, didn’t seem very happy still. Regardless of her words, it was clear that he still felt embarrassed and unsure of the whole thing. She suspected that her smiling so broadly as she was right now wasn’t helping. He might be mistaking it for something more mockery than it really was. She struggled to soften up her smile more and try to make it smaller.

“I’m sorry if I’m upsetting you, Rudy. I didn’t mean to.” Penny tried to sound as gentle as she could. She moved in closer and reached out with her hand. She gently placed it on the boy’s shoulder. She could feel him shudder once. “I think you look fine just the way you are.”

Rudy seemed hesitant for a moment. Then he slowly lifted his head up to look at her. He bit his lip for a moment and then he gave the hesitant question, “A-Are you sure...? I-I mean...” He swallowed hard. “...You don’t think I look like a....”

Penny’s eyes widened for a moment. Then she said, “Oh Rudy, why would you think I’d believe something like that?”

“Well.. I don’t... What I mean to say is...” Rudy’s voice continued to stammer, his tongue struggling to speak the words. This went on for a few seconds before Rudy finally shut his mouth and forced out a sigh. Penny just looked at him with a sympathetic expression. Rudy’s face started to redden slightly in a blush. “I’m pathetic, aren’t I?”

Penny didn’t know what compelled her to do this. But she soon found herself moving forward, leaning in to place a quick kiss on Rudy’s forehead. The teenager was caught off guard by this and nearly jumped back. Penny let out a small giggle as he did this.

“It’s okay, Rudy. No need to be upset.” She raised her hand up and caressed Rudy’s cheek softly. Rudy didn’t respond. He just looked at her, frozen and with a deepening red blush. “Now....why don’t we just head on over to Snap’s party?”

“I-I...” Rudy licked his lips and struggled to speak. “S-S-Sure, okay!” He said quickly. He smiled softly, though it was slightly crooked. “Th-That sounds great!”

Penny couldn’t help but giggle at this. She was glad that Rudy was finally starting to get over his fear of humiliation and going to join the party for fun. She knew with confidence that once he started to dance and loosen up, he was going to feel so much better. He was going to be less uptight about what was going on and he was going to be able to enjoy himself. It was just a matter of getting him to let go of being embarrassed. It wasn’t like this was going to be played all over school or anything. And the zoners were far more accepting, anyway.

Without saying another word, the two friends made their way towards the chalkboard. As Rudy began to slowly draw the portal, Penny glanced down at the time. She gritted her teeth when she realized that they were just going to make it in the nick of time. She hoped that Snap would be understanding when they got there. Though she wasn’t sure what she was going to say. She wasn’t going to snitch on Rudy, that was for sure.

She was then distracted by a bright light. She shifted her head over and she could see the portal was now open. She watched as Rudy crawled through it. And then she herself joined in.

sss

The journey to Snap’s house took a little longer than either of them had expected. It wasn’t intentional. How could either of them have predicted that incident in town? Or that they were going to head off in the wrong direction briefly before turning themselves around and correct their angle of trajectory?

Both Rudy and Penny tried to write it off as just a simple mistake, that anyone could have made that mistake. They tried their best not to let themselves worry about it. They tried to focus on the more positive stuff. At least they were here now, right? And now they could focus on just keep going forward and hope to meet up with Snap before it was too late.

They could see Snap’s house ahead. They could tell it was his because of the line of people waiting to get in. The teens flinched at this as they glanced at one another. This was the party that Snap had intended? He had invited just how many people this time? It almost looked like half of ChalkZone was here. How in the....

The two teenagers managed to shake their heads and get that question out of their head. Right now, it didn’t really matter how this was all set up. They both knew that Snap would make it work somehow. That’s how he’s always been.

Rudy couldn’t help but smile at the thought. Snap could be pretty resourceful when he needs to be and this wasn’t of any exception. Snap had ways of bending things to make them work the way he wanted. Well...some of the times, anyway. At least in this case, it seemed to be something of a win for him.

He and Penny slowly approached the house. There was a steady stream of zoners coming in and out, some already tuckered out from the party. This didn’t seem to be a promising sign to Rudy. It meant that Snap wound up starting the party anyway. He felt his gut twisting inside of his stomach and he felt a better taste in his mouth as he struggled to swallow. He hadn’t meant to waste that much time with his embarrassment of this costume. He didn’t even know why he took that long. Penny was right, he...

“Oh hey, Rudy and Penny!” A zoner called out to them. “Glad you could make it to the party!”

Penny smiled the best that she could. “Thanks, we’re happy that you made it as well.”

Another zoner called out, nearly startling Rudy. “I almost thought you weren’t going to come!”

Rudy chuckled softly, trying to hide his sheepish expression. “Well you know....” He stopped and swallowed hard. “At least we are here now, right?”

The zoner nodded in agreement. “That’s true.” He waved his hand to him. “Well have fun!”

These two were far from the only zoners to speak up. A handful of other ones who took notice of the humans following the line to the door all tried to say something as well. It was difficult to keep up with all of them. One after another, they came, greeting the teenagers. It was getting to the point where Rudy and Penny nearly stopped. And yet they still attempted, to the best of their ability, to speak with these zoners and return their welcoming.

It wasn’t like they knew these zoners personally. The two of them were just being polite. It seemed to be pretty rude to just ignore someone who speaks to you like that, welcoming you. They didn’t want to brush off the zoners just because they were in a bit of a hurry.

When they got to the door at least, they did take a moment to release a relieved sigh. It didn’t sound like the party was nearly over. With all the thumping in the ground, the lights flaring, and loud shouts, it was obvious the party was still going on. Although it was confusing to the two teenagers how Snap was having this kind of music playing if the theme was related to flowers and whatnot....

Oh well, it was his creation day. He can handle the theme however he wanted to. They could always question his choice of music afterwards.

“Hello, Rudy Tabootie! Hello, Penny Sanchez!”

The two teens were startled when a massive shadow came over them. They moved back a little, nearly falling down, as the large form of Biclops looked down at them, his mouth stretched into a broad smile, clearly happy to see them.

“Hey, Biclops. I’m...surprised to see you at the party.” Rudy blurted out. He widened his eyes and froze, quickly stammering. “I-I mean...”

Penny interjected. “What he meants to say is...” She looked up at the giant’s slightly confused face. “You don’t look like you would have a good time trying to...” She soon stammered as well, rubbing the side of her face with a small blush forming. “That didn’t come out right.”

“Oh that’s fine. I know what you two are talking about.” Biclops smiled, raising his hand up. “I’m totally fine standing out here. Besides, it’s a little too noisy in there for my liking, anyway.” He frowned as he motioned his thumb backwards, right at the building behind him.

Rudy looked at the building and ‘listened’ to the reverberations in the ground once more. He bit his lip. “Yeah, it does sound like it’s really...lively in there.”

“Excuse me, mister Biclops, but if you aren’t here to join the party...” Penny spoke up. “Then why are you were?”

“To let in guests!” Biclops declared.

Rudy immediately went rigid at this. “Oh man, I totally forgot!” He slapped himself in the forehead as he realized this folly.

“What is it, Rudy?” Penny asked with concern.

Rudy motioned to the other zoners behind them. “We cut in front of them.” He rubbed his head, shaking it from side to side as Penny put her hand on his shoulder. “I-I didn’t even think of that. With all that was going on....”

“Don’t worry about that, Rudy Tabootie.” The pale yellow giant said with a zoner. “Everyone here knows you and Penny are the guests of honor!” He raised his hands up at his sides, moving them outward in a welcoming fashion. “Chin up! Just head on inside! No worries!”

Rudy tried to smile in response to this. But he still felt a sense of guilt at what he had done. He wished he had taken the other zoners’ thoughts into consideration. Although it was true that none of them seemed all that bothered. But what if they just...

Rudy’s train of thought was interrupted when he felt Penny’s hand grabbing onto him. He coudl barely react as he was suddenly pulled in towards the building with her. He struggled to keep up with he walking, trying hard not to trip up or fall down. He could feel himself being pulled right through the door and immediately he was taken aback by the massive, colorful room he and Penny had just stumbled into.

“Wow.. Snap outdid himself, eh...?”

That didn’t even cover half of it. Rudy was still straining to look around and get a good idea of all that was here. His mind was aching and pounding, trying to adjust to the colorful bright lights. He covered his ears to try to protect them from the loud and booming music, which made him feel almost like he was trapped in an air tight cave. He gritted his teeth as he saw everyone dancing and swaying verywhere, almost like they were trying to fill up every square inch of this room.

Just what the heck was going on here? He knew that it would have been a big party. He was still happy that Snap managed to achieve what he wanted. But did he really need to go this far? Did he really need to do this despite knowing that he could only fit in so much? He wanted to try to remain supportive, but with his ears nearly bleeding, a part of him wanted to speak up against this.

“Oh hey, here he is.” Penny said, speaking loudly enough for him to just barely hear her. “Let’s go greet him! I’m sure he’s been waiting for us.”

Rudy nodded his head in agreement. Without saying another word, the two of them walked through the thick crowd as they tried to locate where their friend was.

But moving through the crowd was a bit more difficult than they had intended it to be. They had to brush by so many zoners and often the spaces were narrow. None of the zoners really seemed bothered by what Rudy was wearing. Not surprising considering the outlandish costumes the others were wearing themselves. But it didn’t really make things any easier. It didn’t help when Rudy nearly stepped on and ripped up one of the costumes by mistake. He tried to apologize, but the zoner had already moved away from him and was not listening to him. Frustrating, but he tried to concentrate on finding his friend.

After what felt like several long, grueling minutes of traversing through what nearly resembled rush hour on any busy street, Rudy and Penny did manage to locate their friend. They both felt their arms lax at their sides as they both gave a ‘you’re serious’ kind of look.

Of course Snap would be the one to work the music.

Snap was located above them on an overhanging edge attached to the staircase. It looked makeshift, and Rudy and Penny guessed that he had someone help him out with this. It looked a little precarious but it appeared to hold up pretty well. Snap was in front of what looked like a large black box that they guessed controlled the music.

“Bucko! Buckette!” Snap only stopped messing around with the music. He turned the music down slightly. Some zoners in the back groaned in annoyance, but Rudy felt relieved, even if the change was not that much. “Nice of you to drop in! I knew you would make it, I...” As Snap began to climb down, he paused for a second as he took notice of what Rudy was wearing. “Nice costume!”

Rudy felt himself blush a little at this compliment. All of a sudden, his sense of embarrassment returned. He lowered his hand and placed his hands against his stomach, bending his body forward and trying to look small. He looked left and right slowly. “Y-Yeah I guess it’s okay. I..”

Penny slung her arm around him and pulled him close. “Oh you aren’t getting on about that again, are you?”

“About what?” Snap asked.

Penny looked at Snap. “Oh he’s just embarrassed about his costume.” It looked like she was about to continue, but she seemed to think better of it and hold her tongue. Rudy was glad for that.

Snap nodded his head slowly. He then looked over at Rudy. A smile spread along his face. “Well you’ve got no reason to be embarrassed here!” Snap raised his arms up. “Let loose and join the fun!” He jumped up into the air excitedly. “It’s a blast!”

Rudy couldn’t react in time before Penny and Snap worked together to drag him deeper into the crowd. Rudy attempted to struggle. But they had grabbed him so quickly and so fast that he didn’t have time to say anything, not even a single protest. Before he knew it, he was in the middle of the crowd, surrounded by zoners, with Penny near him. Penny had already started to dance as the colorful lights danced over them, but Rudy still remained still.

He stared in silence as Penny swayed herself from side to side. He gulped, feeling a warm blush stretching along his face. He couldn’t understand how Penny could do this, in her flower costume, in front of everyone. He felt as though people were staring at him intently. He couldn’t shake off the feeling of something being drilled right into him. No matter how hard he tried, this feeling wouldn’t go away.

He let out a small yelp as Penny pushed up against him playfully. He moved back from her, holding onto his arm with his hand. He looked at her, ready to speak, only to shut his mouth and turn away. He wasn’t really sure what he could say.

“Join the fun, Rudy. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Penny told him.

“I-I... I don’t want...” Rudy tried to say.

“Come here!” Penny reached over and grabbed onto his arms near his wrists. Rudy’s body immediately went a little limp, doing little to fight against what Penny was doing, moving him about from side to side, trying to make him move in rhythmn to what she was doing. “See? This isn’t so bad.”

Rudy tried not to grumble or tremble. “I-I suppose, I...”

Without warning, Rudy could feel himself being grabbed a little more roughly by Penny. Or rather, rough wasn’t the term to describe it. Perhaps firm? Either way, he felt himself being dipped down, Penny holding him up with her hands. He looked up at her face, his eyes slowly blinking, and he struggled to say something. He licked his lips slowly as Penny held him there for a few seconds before bringing him back up suddenly and twirling him around. Rudy a little dizzy before Penny stopped him and held him in place.

Rudy looked up at Penny with his mouth open, breathing a little heavily. He could feel his mind swirling about a little as it recovered. Everything around him started to fade as he kept his eyes soley on Penny. Somehow, she did start to look more stunning like this than she normally... The realization caused him to flinch and he looked away.

...only for his face to be guided back towards her and he could feel Penny’s lips on his mouth for a brief second. Rudy remained frozen even after Penny parted from him. He wasn’t sure how long he stood there before Penny’s giggling broke him out of it.

“Why don’t we continue?” Penny put her hand on his shoulder and the other on his side. “Let’s try moving more slowly, if you prefer that.” She started to move him around a little, carefully nudging him to follow in her footsteps. “There you see? Isn’t this more fun when you just relax?”

Rudy didn’t bother answering. There wasn’t really much of a point to that. He knew that Penny would just.... Actually, he didn’t know what she would do. But he did finally give in and thought, well, maybe this wasn’t going to be too bad. He didn’t even know why he let himself get so worried earlier. Slowly, he started to try moving on his own, and he eventually forgot about anyone who was watching.

sss

“Whoa that was..” Rudy stuttered. He struggled to move himself forward, but he kept tripping up underneath his feet, nearly slipping down to the ground a few times. If Penny hadn’t been helping him keep standing, he probably would have fallen at this point. “I can’t believe how amazing that was.”

Penny giggled softly as she watched Rudy. She had her arms wrapped around him to make sure that he didn’t end up losing his balance. She pushed up against him a little, ensuring that he had her to lean on and had her to use for stabilization. “It wasn’t as bad as you thought it was going to be, now was it?”

Rudy didn’t answer right away. He could feel his mind flashing back to how he had acted before. Not just once, but twice. He could feel a small burning sensation in his stomach spreading, and he bit his lip firmly. He couldn’t believe just how much of a coward he had been before. If he had let that fear of his take him over, then he would have missed out on one of the funnest nights he’s witnessed in years.

Snap really did know how to throw a good party and he did not disappoint this time around. Although he still couldn’t understand that particular choice of music, in the end, Snap still managed to deliver quite a fun and exciting party. It was very lively. Everyone had a great time. Rudy couldn’t think of anyone who wasn’t swaying about, moving in rhythm with every beat that was delivered by the music that Snap had chosen.

“Yeah, I suppose not.” Rudy whispered softly. He turned his head to smile at Penny. “I... I.... Thank you for not giving up on me.”

Penny smiled back at him as she nodded her head once. “You’re very welcome, Rudy.” She looked away from him as she stared in the general direction of the portal. “We should head back. I’m sure your folks will soon wonder where you are.”

Rudy immediately realized that Penny was right. “Same with your mom. Come on, let’s hurry.”

The two friends began to head back towards the portal as quickly as they could go. The thought of one of their parents finding out about ChalkZone chilled their blood. While the chances of that were pretty low at this point during the day, they still felt wary of the whole thing. There was good reason to be nervous around the idea and the last thing they wanted to do was accidentally underestimate their parents come back and find them outside of the portal, waiting for them.

Thankfully that didn’t happen this time. When they arrived back, it was just how it always was. The two fifteen year olds were able to climb out without much trouble and there didn’t seem to be anything going on. The room was empty like usual and they weren’t hearing their parents calling out their names, which is consistent to how it always had been. This served as a reminder that, no, their parents still didn’t know that they had been doing anything.

That wasn’t of too much comfort to Rudy, however. He still had some wariness and tension over the whole thing and rightfully so. Ever since Terry and Vinnie’s crusade in exposing ChalkZone, being on his toes was the best principal. He needed to be prepared for the worst.

But for the time being, he and Penny decided that it was best to try to relax. They didn’t really need this all weighing down upon them right now. After all that dancing back at the party, neither of them needed anymore excitement. In fact, Rudy was nearly ready to just collapse in bed. Dreamland sounded really enticing right about now.

But he wasn’t able to get too far before he heard something shouting loudly, echoing throughout the air.

“Rudy! Can you hear me? You need to come down here!” It was his mother. He’d recognize that sing-along voice anywhere.

Rudy and Penny both froze. They turned their heads to stare at one another. They tried to think of just how they were going to go about this. Should they both go down at the same time? Would Rudy’s parents question how Penny got there? Did they just want to speak to Rudy alone?

And just what did they want, anyway? They normally didn’t speak up like this at this time. He thought that his dad would be busy watching sports or figuring out his butchery, and he thought his mom would be too busy doing the dishes or cooking dinner to call out for him. He wasn’t upset by it. He was just having a hard time fully understanding the line of thinking here. Well he might as well go and find out just what that is.

“Should...” Penny started to speak. She stopped herself for a few seconds before she forced herself to continue, “Should I just wait up here then? Or...?”

Rudy thought about this for a few moments. While he did understand her nervousness and he was a bit on the fence himself, he did soon decide that it just didn’t really matter. He couldn’t fathom his parents being upset, even if they were a little confused. Besides, he would rather not go this alone. Having Penny as company would help him out mentally, he thought. Though how silly was that? It was just his parents and he just....

He nodded his head. “You can come with.” He turned his head and stared towards his door. “Let’s not keep my folks waiting for too long.”

Indeed, as soon as they started to walk, Rudy could hear his mom calling out for him again. She didn’t sound upset, but he still found himself flinching anyway. He stopped for a brief second to recollect himself. After he exhaled slowly, he got himself to continue out the door and down the steps slowly. It didn’t take long to reach the bottom and he and Penny, who stood behind him, approached slowly, trying to see where his parents were.

“Over here!” His father called out.

The two teeangers swerved their heads over....

...and they immediately saw that not only were both of Rudy’s parents in the kitchen, but there was another person there with them. Someone whom Rudy did not recognize at all. The fact that she wasn’t Terry didn’t exactly make him feel any better, though.

After a few moments of silence, he said, “Mom? Dad? Who is...? Who is this?” Rudy tried his best not to sound rude. He didn’t mean to sound that way, but he couldn’t help but feel..... His emotions were a little difficult to describe at this point.

“This is Ms. Saffron.” His dad said, motioning to her. “She said she wanted to speak with you.”

His mom nodded her head slowly. “I think you might be interested.”

Rudy blinked a few times at this. He glanced over at Penny, whom his parents hadn’t yet said a word about. He wasn’t really sure how to feel about that, or what his parents said about this Ms. Saffron person. Was she really here just to speak with him? And if so, just what could that be? No matter how hard he looked into Penny’s eyes, even she did not have the answer to that question.

Still, he didn’t want to be rude. He tried his best to smile as he made his way over towards the woman. “H-Hi. I-I’m... Rudy.” He wanted to kick himself for being so awkward.

Though Penny didn’t need to say anything, she still felt compelled to be at least a little polite and say, “And I’m Penny.”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head slowly. “Pleased to meet you both.”

Rudy watched as the woman slowly got up out of her seat. He took a small step back as he observed one thing about that immediately. And that was just how tall she was. She was slightly taller than his dad, and her body thickness was between his dad and his mom’s. Her hair was straight and blonde and her eyes a light hazel. They almost reminded him of his own eyes somehow.

Her outfit didn’t look similar to anything he’s seen Terry wear. Maybe she wasn’t a reporter like he almost thought a second ago. But it was clear she was still, probably at least, associated with some sort of business. She wore no card but the way that she carried herself in that white blouse paired up with a light grey skirt, it all strongly suggested an air of professionalism. This woman meant business, which helped ease some of his slight fears of this being some sort of front.

It took a little while, longer than he thought, before he could feel as though he could relax a little more. The woman standing in front of him, towering over him and looking almost ominous with how the light shined behind her, making her look much darker in comparison... Something about that made this whole thing seem more sinister than it really was.

Rudy finally broke out of his thoughts as he did his best to smile at the woman and reach his hand out towards her. He could feel her squeeizng his hand firmly as she shook his hand up and down. He couldn’t help but flinch at this. Even though he knew she couldn’t have squeezed that hard, he still felt as though that was going to leave an indentation. He looked down at his hand to make sure that nothing had happened.

“It is a pleasure to finally meat you. I’m sure you must have a lot of questions.” Ms. Saffron stated. She gave Rudy a small, very faint smile as she put her hand around him and guided him over towards the table. “I do feel that we have much to discuss..... But I have to keep this brief. I hope you won’t mind.”

Rudy turned his head to stare at Penny with the corner of his eye. She just shrugged her shoulders, clearly unable to answer or give him advice. A part of Rudy wondered if she was trying to purposely put herself a bit low, out of the ‘spotlight’ per say, because who knows how long it’ll be before his parents...

“I do think that we could help one another.” Ms. Saffron’s voice cut him out of his current mindset. Rudy shook his head a few times as he stared up at her, blinking slowly. He struggled not to feel intimidated by her large height. “I think that, if you agree to this, then we might have a happy future together.”

Rudy immediately flinched at this. Ms. Saffron took immediate notice.

“Er, I meant something different. Don’t worry.” Rudy wasn’t completely at ease at this statement, but he did at least try to relax himself a little. He swallowed hard as he waited for the woman to continue. “I was just going to ask if you would like to join in a series of tests.”

Penny raised her finger up slightly. “Tests, you say? Like standardized testing?”

“Something like that.” Rudy’s mother said. “It’s also...”

The large woman was interrupted as Ms. Saffron spoke up, talking over the parents with relative ease. “Maybe you could compare it to that. But this is better than that old thing. This has been created and managed by Mr. Cosmo himself.” Rudy felt something prick up inside of him. There was something about that name that was familiar... “Mr. Cosmo has been looking through school after school and out of all the ones he’s seen, Plainville High School has shown the most promise.”

“Oh really?” Penny put her hands on her hips. “And why is that?”

Ms. Saffron seemed almost hesitant to answer. “He thinks the students here are....gifted. He hopes that this test will help him find the most gifted students. From there, he would begin to....”

“Gifted? What do you mean? I....” Rudy tried to think of how to continue his question. A part of him just couldn’t understand where this woman was coming fom. Just what was her idea? “This doesn’t...”

“I know it’s confusing.” Ms. Saffron spoke, her voice taking on an apologetic tone. She leaned back and looked at everyone in the room. She went quiet for a few moments before she got herself to continue talking. “But I can assure you that all will become clear tomorrow.”

Rudy’s parents glanced at each other.

“What do you mean, tomorrow?” Mr. Tabootie asked.

“Oh that’s right, I forgot to tell you.” Ms. Saffron’s smile spread along her face. “Mr. Cosmo’s going to come over for a visit at your school.” She said, staring at Rudy and Penny intently. “He hopes that this test could be the beginning of doing a lot of good for the world. Would you like to be part of that?”

While Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie seemed pretty happy about this, Rudy and Penny just had no idea what to say.


	4. The Visitor

So this was it. Today was the day. Rudy had no idea what to expect from this. He had no idea how things were going to go today. He only knew that Mr. Wilter was getting the class prepared for a ‘surprise guest’, although there was no reason to keep it a secret. What was the point in all of that when Ms. Saffron had already taken the time to speak to several students? It wasn’t just him and Penny that she took time out of the day to talk to.

He was still confused by the purpose of that, though. Rudy didn’t fully get why she would do that. And just what was her relationship to Mr. Cosmo, anyway? Was he her boss? Was she his boss? An assistant? She didn’t really tell them. He went out on a limb here and just guessed that she was his assistant. It seemed to make the most sense to him.

He drew in a deep breath and he let out a small sigh. He had his hands placed on the cool desk, fiddling with his thumbs slowly, rapidly, interchanging constantly. He looked out ahead as Mr. Wilter got some of the paperwork ready. Occassionally, his eyes would shift over to the door, half expecting Mr. Cosmo to come bursting in.

He then looked over at where Penny was. She wasn’t looking at him, instead focusing on Mr. Wilter. She was leaning forward a little, her arms tucked up against her chest as though for support. A part of Rudy did want to speak to her, have some kind of support, but that wasn’t possible in class. They sat a good distancea way from each other. Probably deliberately done that way by Mr. Wilter... Rudy grumbled as he continued to wait for things to start.

Finally, after what seemed to be forever, Mr. Wilter dropped a heavy load of papers on his desk, creating an even larger pile, and he started to speak.

“Students!”

Everyone nearly jolted at this, straightening up quickly in their desks as they waited to hear what the old teacher was about to say.

“Now as you might have read on the board...” Mr. Wilter slapped a long, wooden stick on the chalkboard, creating a loud cracking sound that made the students flinch. “..we have a special guest today. His name is Mr. Cosmo and you will show up the utmost respect.” He turned around, folding his arms behind his back as he glared at the students before him. The way he carried himself looked more cocky than it usually was. “I will not tolerate any tomfoolery while he is here. Do I make myself clear?”

None of the students spoke up at this. Rudy felt a little surprised by this as he looked around. Even Reggie remained quiet, and he was the one who usually had something to say. Rudy suspected that this was part of why Ms. Saffron spoke to the students directly. Perhaps she was aware of the unruly nature of some students?

Rudy looked back at Mr. Wilter, who was giving the students ample time to speak. Was he really expecting someone to talk back? Even after the students nodded slowly, acknowledging what he said, Mr. Wilter still took the time to stare at them this way. Rudy felt his teeth pressing up against his lip and he swallowed hard. For a brief moment, things felt a little...strange. He managed to shake off the feeling and attributed it to him just being unaware of the full situation. For all he knew, Mr. Cosmo was an idol of his teacher’s, which would explain....

“Good!” Mr. Wilter’s voice struck through the air, cutting Rudy off from his thoughts. “Now let’s not waste anymore time. Here is our guest for the day. Let me introduce to you...” He motioned to the door. “...Mr. Cosmo!”

Rudy rolled his eyes at this. What, did Mr. Wilter think that this was a game show or something? Why the dramatic pose and way of speaking?

He immediately stopped himself when he heard the door opening up. He turned his head and he watched as some man walked in quickly, each stride filled with such confidence that it put even the most cocky zoners he’s met to shame. It seemed to take only a fraction of a second before the man, this ‘guest’ that Mr. Wilter called him, stood in front of the classroom.

The man stood relatively tall, but to Rudy’s surprise, he did seem slightly shorter than Ms. Saffron. He wore a business suit like she did, although the pointed ends seemed to hand down a bit lower than Ms. Saffron’s blouse for some reason. He had a plain tie that he adjusted quickly, and the overall outfit had a green color scheme to it. Even his straight pants that hung close to his legs, which he would think would have been black or grey, were instead green.

The man’s face looked like it was freshly shaven, and his eyes, which were blue-grey in color, almost seemed to glow from where they were situated in his face. His hair was red and slightly curly, and he stood there with a hardened yet still welcoming expression. His mouth corners were curled up slightly as he looked around the room, his arms folded behind his back.

And every once of him just oozed of pride and confidence.

Rudy had no idea how to feel about that.

Mr. Wilter took a few steps forward. “Now, Mr. Cosmo is here to give you students an important test and...”

“And it’s going to help this town and perhaps the world become better.” Reggie said, his hand raised up. “We already know this.”

Mr. Wilter blinked a few times. “You did? How....”

Mr. Cosmo answered quickly. “Oh I had Ms. Saffron....” He noticed the look in Mr. Wilter’s eyes. “Someone who works for me. Anyway, I had her go and talk with some of the students.” He raised his hand up in gesture. “I figured it would be best that they have an idea on what is going to happen.”

“I see.” Mr. Wilter nodded his head slowly. He stood there for a few seconds, fidgeting slightly. He looked like he was struggling to speak. Rudy was surprised that he was this affected by this turn of events. It seemed so minor. Finally, Mr. Wilter licked his lips and nodded his head to Mr. Cosmo. “Okay then. You seem to have things under control. You may proceed.”

And with that, Mr. Wilter sat down in his chair. He had pulled it away from the desk in order to give Mr. Cosmo the room that he needed to manuever around. Rudy watched Mr. Wilter very carefully, trying to take note of his expressin. The old teacher did quickly take on a more stern look like he usually had, and he was back to silently judging the students, which he did even without someone like this coming in to speak with his class.

But there was still something about Mr. Wilter’s expression that seemed a little off to him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It was like.... He wasn’t sure if he could describe it to anyone who asked. It just felt like Mr. Wilter was...upset with Mr. Cosmo for some reason. Did he feel as though the man stole his thunder? That seemed pretty childish, but this was Mr. Wilter after all. Maybe....

Rudy gritted his teeth. He was probably making a big deal out of nothing. He needed to stay focused. He remembered that speech he had with Ms. Saffron nad he knew that his parents were relying on him doing a good job. He didn’t really know how well he could possibly perform and he still felt that this man was better off going somewhere else for ‘talent’ as he would call it. Surely there were better qualified students than him.

The green-suited man began to speak.

“Greetings, students. I’m sure by now you know who I am. I am Mr. Cosmo for those still unaware.” He placed a hand to his chest for a brief second. “I have been scouring cities, looking for the perfect school to begin a dry run on my test that I put together. Now if you are familiar with standardized testing, it’s sort of like that, but better. You see, standardized testing doesn’t really narrow down your skills that well.” He raised his hand up in gesture. “But my test will delve in deeper. It will help hone in and discover what your skills are, even if you are unaware of them yourselves. And then you will discover your passion and...”

The man stopped as he looked around the room. The students were blinking at him slowly. He was getting a little theatrical with this now. Not that it was a bad thing. Rudy couldn’t doubt that he could feel himself getting a little excited over this. Even Penny seemed interested, even if her expression suggested that was she was not completely certain.

Mr. Cosmo seemed aware of how he was taking things and he immediately cleared his throat, his hand curled up into a slight fist as he coughed into it. He readjusted himself, straightened his back, and he resumed talking, this time in a calmer, more collected voice.

“I do believe that this test has the potential to change the world. Imagine what kind of future that might be, where everyone has some kind of purpose.” Mr. Cosmo smiled broadly as he said this. “Imagine a future where even the so-called ‘lowly artist’ has a leg to stand on above everyone else.”

Rudy couldn’t help but flinch at this. He thought he could see Mr. Wilter shift uncomfortably and Penny’s frown had apparently deepened. The other students didn’t seem bothered by this and none of them noticed how he was feeling.

And yet despite that, a part of Rudy still felt excited for this. A part of him still wanted to be a part of this. Somehow, that one insensitive comment made him fill up with more excitement and energy. He really wanted to get started...and he didn’t know where this energy had come from.

Mr. Cosmo moved towards the papers and he scooped them up into his arms. He looked even more arrogant as he moved along the rows of desks, handing out the paperwork, each one filled with thick lines of questions. “I will give you all an hour to complete this. But I don’t think half of you really need that time limit. You could finish it faster....” There almost seemed to be a twinkle in his eyes. He stopped next to Rudy, staring down at him. Rudy couldn’t turn away. “...couldn’t you...?”

Rudy had no idea if the man was speaking to him or not. Mr. Cosmo didn’t spend long beside his desk before he dropped the paper down. Somehow even that thin sheet of paper had slammed against the table with great force. Or perhaps that was just his imagination.

“The test will begin....now.”

Rudy took one glance at Penny, seeing how she already had her pencil raised up and started to fill it in. He then looked down at his paper. He pressed his teeth against his lips. He still wasn’t completely certain of this test. He still had some questions about it and he still wondered how this man felt that this could change the world. It looked like any ordinary test to him.

But still, he did like the idea of being able to help people. If he and the others could all contribute by doing this test, probably the first time it was ever used, and if Mr. Cosmo could improve upon that... Rudy couldn’t help but smile. He did really like the idea of being part of something helpful. So without another thought, he raised his pencil and started.

sss

There. The test was finally done. The students had been dismissed. Mr. Cosmo had already left, having thanked him for his time. The room had been emptied as the school was getting into its shut down hours. It was the end of another long day.

Mr. Wilter was doing what he normally did at the end of each day. He got the papers from the students’ original homework and piled them up to take home with him. He would spend a few hours in the night grading them so that they could be handed back when the next school day started. Even on days when he didn’t need to do this right away, he always made sure it was done on that night. He wanted to set an example for the students.

Today didn’t feel like an ordinary day, however. And that was because it wasn’t.

A part of him wondered if it really was a good idea to let Mr. Cosmo in here and test his students. He knew how the man could be. And yet he still felt...drawn to this whole thing. He still felt excited, and a part of him wasn’t completely sure why. He knew there had to be a reason for it, even if he couldn’t think of it just yet.

He tried to push it off out of his head. He might just be overexaggerating things. Maybe he was making a big deal out of nothing. Not everything that he thought would happen did happen. Maybe he was freaking out over Mr. Cosmo for no particualr reason.

He tried to make himself feel happy for what he had done. Maybe Mr. Cosmo’s test, even if it...wasn’t what he claimed it was, would inspire his students to try harder. Maybe this would lead to better grades. It just might lead to a brighter future for everyone. Perhaps this was not going to be so bad after all.

He just hoped that he wasn’t going regret this decision.

sss

“Well at least we got it done and over with.” Said Rudy, raising his hand up in gesture. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought. Those questions were pretty easy.” He leaned back against the wall behind him, his body supported by the soft cushioning of the bed. “I don’t know why you’re getting this upset.”

“But something about it didn’t seem right. You thought it too!” Penny pointed a finger at Rudy. “I saw what you did!”

Rudy looked down at Penny’s finger. He gritted his teeth softly as he looked away. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Penny glared more deeply, releasing a low growl. “You sure as heck know what I’m talking about. Don’t act like you don’t know.” Penny stared at Rudy for a few moments before she leaned in towards him. “You know as well as I do that something is a bit off about that man and this test of his.” She went quiet for about a minute. When she didn’t get any sort of response, she continued, “Rudy... I know that you were thinking it. Just because Mr. Cosmo gave you a pat on the back doesn’t mean that you can just throw away all suspicion.”

Rudy continued to try to ignore Penny a little, but he quickly found that he just couldn’t do that to his best friend. He soon let out a small sigh as he turned around to face her. The two of them locked eyes for several long moments, neither of them attempting to speak up over the other.

Rudy let his mind wander a little. He felt his eyes turning downwards just ever so slightly. He thought back to how he had been acting ever since they came back. He did realize that he might have gotten a little too carried away. He was just so excited about the prospect of helping people. He had forgotten about his original suspicions and he wanted to give Mr. Cosmo the benefit of the doubt. Even Mr. Wilter seemed willing to do that. So why couldn’t Penny?

And yet...

He let out a small sigh. “Yeah I know. You’re right.” He bowed his head a little more. “I’m sorry.”

Penny reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him, but he could tell that it was shaky and uncertain. “I can understand. I’m sorry if I was a little too pushy.” She kept her hand on his shoulder for a few moments before she eventually pulled back. “I just hope that you don’t...”

“I won’t. I promise.” Rudy didn’t need to hear her in full to know what she was going to say.

The two friends sat quietly, both thinking of what happened earlier today. Even though they were in Penny’s room, resting, none of them could really feel as though they were truly out of that classroom. The test wasn’t even that intense. But there was something about it and Mr. Cosmo that made them continue thinking about it. It wouldn’t leave them. It was almost like a plague.

Had this been intentional? Was Mr. Cosmo’s goal to create a test that was so memorable that students wouldn’t stop thinking about it? Did he believe that, by doing so, he could get the students to care more about testing and thus get them to work harder at it?

This was all plausible. He did say that he wanted to help change the world. One of the biggest reasons a lot of students fail is because they are not taught in a good way. They aren’t interested. They can’t stay focused. If this test really was designed to make students actually pay attention, well they would congratulate Mr. Cosmo on a job well done. It did seem to work.

But Penny did have a point about something being a little off about this. It did seem almost impossible that this backwater town would be the one first chosen for a dry run of the test. There were other towns more suitable the last he checked. Especially ones closer to where Mr. Cosmo’s main headquarters were. Rudy slowly licked his lips as he felt his throat going dry. He didn’t want to obsess over this, but he did feel the questions starting to form.

There was still much that neither of them really understood. There was still more to this man that they could see and they knew it. There was something that he wanted. They both wanted to believe that he was being sincere, and he most likely was. There wasn’t too much strongly they felt about him that negated this. But after dealing with the likes of Terry and Vinnie... Yeah, it might be best to err on the side of caution.

Rudy tried not to think about it too much. They weren’t really going to get much done if they focused so much on that. They might end up creating false fear and tension, and that isn’t what they needed. Especially not after they had went to such a great party.

Speaking of...

“Hey, do you think we should visit Snap?” Rudy suggested. “I’m sure he must be done cleaning up that huge mess by now.”

Penny released a chuckle, obviously forced. “And I’m sure he’ll be happy to see us. Sure, that does sound like a pretty good idea, Rudy. Let’s get going.”

Rudy did feel a small pang of guilt for pushing aside such an important topic, and he did realize just how important it was to keep focus on these suspicions. Not obsess, but at least acknowledge them. But for now, he and Penny made their way into ChalkZone to speak with their friend.

sss

It was practically like night and day.

What was once a room filled with zoners and lights and confetti and music was now empty and almost barren. It wasn’t really abandoned of course. Snap still occupied this house. Not like he left. But it was still such a sharp contrast to his party from before that it felt....empty.

“That does sound like some weird test you two took.” Snap commented. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he stared at the two of them. It was almost like he was judging them. “You certain that they were just...”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah. This Mr. Cosmo fellow promised that it was for the good of the world.”

Penny wanted to agree with that on some level. But a part of her just...couldn’t. She still found herself narrowing her eyes a little and gritting her teeth. She still felt as though something was off. But she didn’t want to bring up too much suspicion without evidence first.

It was just...not constructed the way she would normally see a test. She did not even know how to describe it. It was almost like the test was sucking her in and she thought she could feel a small, tingly sensation. She did manage to shake it off, of course, and in the end, she might be a little paranoid. But she still couldn’t help but wonder if something were going on.

Penny softly spoke up, “That’s what he claims, anyway.”

Snap rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a slight frown developing on his face. Not one of anger, but one that hinted at something else, like he had an idea or something. Penny learned how to recognize this look. “Do you want me to do something? I mean, I could find where his chalkboard is and....”

“No, that isn’t necessary. We don’t have a reason yet to spy on him.” Said Rudy.

“And besides...” Penny raised her hand up in gesture. “We don’t even know if he has a chalkboard or not. And he lives pretty far away.” She clasped her hands together. “We couldn’t ask you to go all the way over there just because of a few little suspicions.”

“You guys could draw me something I could use.” Snap said, leaning himself forward. “I don’t mind checking things out for you. I could even spread the word to other zoners and they could see if they could find a chalkboard that’s suspicious.”

Rudy and Penny stared at each other and then back at Snap as they thought about this long and hard. The offer was a little tempting. Especially for Penny, who couldn’t fully shake off that something might be going on. Maybe it was the way that the man had carried himself. Maybe it was how she couldn’t think of how he would pick this place over others. Maybe it was how Mr. Wilter reacted to him. He just...didn’t sit well with her.

And that test... How was that a test? It wasn’t... It still had questions and a similar structure. But it didn’t feel like... Penny struggled to shake that thought out of her head. She was going to give herself a headache if she kept thinking about that.

She eventually found her voice and started to speak, albeit in a more hushed voice than she had thought. “We appreciate the offer, Snap. Really... But perhaps that’s something that we should wait until we have something before we....” She fumbled her hands together. “You know what I mean, I’m sure.”

Snap folded his arms and shook his head once. “Not at all.”

Rudy said, “I think what Penny is trying to say is that maybe we should wait until we have evidence before we go snooping around.”

“Oh... I see. I guess that makes sense.” Snap rubbed the side of his head briefly. “Might as well give it a little time. Who knows?” He held his hand up, motioning slighlty to no one in particular. “Maybe this guy isn’t so bad.”

Penny nodded her head slowly. “I do hope that’s the case.” She let the thoughts move through her head a little more and she felt herself narrowing her eyes a little more. “I really hope so.”

The three friends fell silent as they looked at one another. No one said a word. They both agreed that, with this situation, they had to be careful. They couldn’t afford to screw up.


	5. Proposition

“This boy? This boy right here?” Ms. Saffron asked, her mind crowding up with several questions. She stared at Mr. Cosmo, looking for answers. But she could find none. “Are you serious?”

“I assure you, Ms. Saffron, I am.” Mr. Cosmo nodded his head slowly. His hands were placed at his sides as his head tilted the millimeter it needed to completely meet the woman’s gaze. Despite this, Ms. Saffron still felt smaller than him. “Do you have a problem?”

Ms. Saffron looked down at the paper that she held. She bit her lip, feeling as though she was going to cut into the skin. “It’s not that. I just...” She scanned her eyes up and down repeatedly. She struggled to see if there was anything here at all that would explain why Mr. Cosmo wanted to choose this person above everyone else. But nothing came to mind.

Mr. Cosmo took a step forward. He reached over and grabbed the piece of paper, startling the woman. She watched as he turned and walked away slowly. “Ms. Saffron, I do hope that you trust my judgment. I told you that I came here looking for at least one particular student.” He held the paper up. “I think that this boy is whom I need.”

Ms. Saffron stammered, “O-O-Of course I believe you!” She held her hands together as she moved in closer. She looked at the man, her eyes wide in desperation. “I’m sorry if I offended you!”

Mr. Cosmo looked over his shoulder. “You’re forgiven.” Though the smile was not too reassuring, Ms. Saffron still silently thankeed him. “Now listen carefully.” Ms. Saffron went silent. “I want you to go to this boy’s house and...”

Ms. Saffron listened, staring at the photo attached to the test paper.

Rudy Tabootie.

sss

Well this had happened more quickly than Rudy had expected. He would have thought that it would take more time for those papers to get graded. There were several pages involved and there were several students and Mr. Wilter and Mr. Cosmo were both going to grade it and...

Rudy shook his head mentally once to get those thoughts out of his head. He grabbed onto his head with one hand and rubbed it firmly. He tried to fight against the weird sensation that he was feeling, his eyes blinking slowly. He looked around as he took note of his surroundings.

He was sitting in the living room, waiting for a knock on the door. His parents had gotten a call about Ms. Saffron stopping by to inform him of the test results. Rudy thought that it would have happened at a later time, but here, the following day, she was coming. He could feel himself swallowing hard and tasting something bitter in his mouth. He gave a quick shudder as he glanced around at his parents. At least he wasn’t the only one here worrying about this.

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie were sitting on either side of him. They were fidgeting a little. The television was on, but nothing was playing. It was just a slight static sound if anything. His parents had somewhat slightly calm faces, but that was only on the surface. He could see a few twitches in their facial expressions that showed that they were a lot more nervous than they were letting on. Rudy tried to think of something to say to help calm them down and reassure them. But really, just what could he say to them?

Rudy turned his attention back to the door. He continued to wait for Ms. Saffron’s arrival. He tried not to fidget too much, although he did feel his leg constantly tapping no matter what he did.

He just couldn’t help it. He couldn’t blame his parents for being nervous, as so was he. He didn’t want to keep sitting here, waiting longer and longer for the results. After how this was inflated to be really important, something that might change everything, he wanted to know how he did. He wanted to see just what his participation was going to do.

His nervousness around the situation only grew worse as time went on. He felt his tongue gliding over his teeth and his fingernails pressing against his skin as he struggled to handle his tense emotions that were swirling up inside of him. He wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it. He hadn’t felt this nervous in a long time. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time that he was nervous to this degree. Was he overreacting or....?

He took in a deep breath and sighed. He tried to remind himself of Penny’s words. It was going to be fine. Ms. Saffron was not going to hurt him or humiliate him or anything. She was just going to give the test results and she was going to tell him what Mr. Cosmo thought of it. Nothing really strange or anything. He didn’t really need to be this worried or this upset over it. He could try to chill and it was going to be fine.

So why couldn’t he fully shake it off? Why was he still acting this way? Why was he still apprehensive? He had to fight so hard to keep his body from shaking. If he thought his parents were anxious, he was the one who was a nervous wreck. Even gentle shoulder and arm squeezes and gentle words from his parents weren’t enough to settle him down completely. He just couldn’t...

There was a knock on the door. Rudy could feel himself immediately jumping from the chair.

“I’ll get it!” He shouted as he rushed towards the door.

It was funny, really. He was really nervous about this and yet he was the first one who wanted to answer the door. He wasn’t entirely sure how he could reconcile this in his mind. But he decided to just push it aside for now and just keep going.

In a matter of seconds, he reached the door. He could hear his parents behind him. They were getting up as well, moving towards him to see what was going on. Rudy grabbed onto the door knob and he turned it quickly. He pulled it open so fast that he nearly fell down to the ground. He held onto the door, leaning against it for balance, as he stared intently at the woman who stood there, her eyes blinking in confusion.

“Did... I come at a bad time?” Ms. Saffron asked in a quiet tone of voice. “If I did, I would be more than happy to just...”

Rudy shook his head and stammered, “N-N-No, it’s all right. I’m j-j-just...” He couldn’t bring himself to finish the statement. His voice was shaking way too much.

Fortunately, it would seem that Ms. Saffron understood completely where he was coming from. “That’s fine. I understand. I can see how this can be a really.... Well...” She stroked her long, slender fingers through their hair. She turned her head to the side as she cleared her throat. She then looked back at Rudy and opened her mouth to speak. Then she appeared to notice his parents coming up from behind. “Is it alright if I enter?”

Rudy’s father nodded his head once. “We’ve been expecting you.”

“I’m sure you have.” Ms. Saffron let slip. She flinched briefly but then resumed her more professional look. She walked in, guided by Mr. Tabootie who took her into the living room where they were waiting.

“Why don’t you sit on the couch? It’s a little more comfortable than just standing up.” Mrs. Tabootie suggested upon noticing that Ms. Saffron hadn’t tried to sit down yet.

The blonde woman raised her hand up and shook it from side to side. “No thanks, I’m good right here.” She sat down her briefcase on the ground. She flipped it open and began to rummage through the papers. “This won’t take long, really. Just let me find the paperwork and...” Her voice trailed off as she searched through her briefcase.

Rudy couldn’t help but stare with a sense of anxiety growing inside of him. He felt his stomach twisting inside of him and he tried to keep himself as steady as possible. He shouldn’t be so nervous about this. He kept telling himself this over and over again. He took in a deep breath and he exhaled slowly. No matter what, he needed to remind himself that this was just a visit and nothing bad was going to happen and.... Well, he just had to wait and see.

After a few seconds, Ms. Saffron appeared to have found what she was looking for. She pulled out the sheets of paper. She brushed them off and straightened them out in the air. She looked at them again, moving her eyes up and down in a cursory movement to make sure this is what she was looking for. Then she took a few steps towards the waiting family, who were looking intently at her.

The first thing that came out of her mouth was a statement that caught both Rudy’s and his parents’ attention immediately.

“Your test scores caught Mr. Cosmo’s attention, Rudy.” Ms. Saffron said. As Rudy and his parents watched intently, their hearts burning with eagerness, she continued, “He was impressed with how well you had performed. He was so impressed in fact, that he wanted me to come over and congratulate you in person.”

Rudy could feel a smile forming on his face. Despite not knowing what kind of score he got, despite not knowing exactly where this was going to take him, he still felt rather excited about the whole thing. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he could feel his finger tips tingling slightly. He waited to hear what else she had to say.

His parents, however, had something else in mind. Sort of. They were not frowning or anything. But he couldn’t sense as much excitement out of them. It took him a few moments to realize that this strange aura that he was feeling with them was just... curiosity. And that curiosity immediately showed as Mr. Tabootie spoke up.

“What kind of score are we talking about?” The scrawny man held his hand up in gesture. Ms. Saffron stared at him. “You tell us that our boy scored really well. So what did he get? How many points were there possible?”

Ms. Saffron bit her lip at this. She looked a little hesitant. Rudy caught this and he wasn’t really sure what to make of it. He tried to relax himself and he tried not to make a big deal out of it. It was probably nothing anyway.

But then...

“I’m afraid I can’t release that information.”

Rudy blinked his eyes a few times as he stared at Ms. Saffron, wondering what to make of what she just said. He then turned his head to look at his parents. They looked just as surprised as well. They looked at her with wide eyes as the moments ticked by. Then after a while, he noticed that they were staring to glare at her. Rudy cringed slightly, though still managing to keep himself under control. He looked back at Ms. Saffron. He hoped that this was not going to lead into what he thought it would.

His dad was the first one to walk over. He wasn’t being really rude about it or anything. But it was clear that he was definitely not entirely happy with the woman. “What do you mean you can’t? You come all the way over here to just tell us our son did well but you don’t tell us what the score was?”

Mrs. Tabootie nodded her head in agreement, her eyes narrowed. “I would think that this meeting would have more to it than just...”

“Believe me, I do understand your frustrations. But I have to follow orders.” Ms. Saffron stated. “Mr. Cosmo doesn’t want me to tell you the score here.”

Rudy asked in a hushed voice. “Wh-Why is that? Did I do...”

“I already told you, boy. You did well.” Ms. Saffron smiled, though it was shaky and easy to tell that she was just trying to cheer him up a little. Rudy wasn’t sure if he could feel comforted by this sort of smile. “Mr. Cosmo really was impressed. It’s just that he...”

Rudy’s mom narrowed her eyes a little further. “It’s just that what?”

Ms. Saffron went silent for a few seconds as she looked at everyone. She cleared her throat again, this time sound more strained and a little more painful than before. She quickly readjusted herself, her hands folding behind her back as she stared at the parents, and then at Rudy specifically. He gulped and he took a small step back. The teenager’s mind seemed to spin uncontrollably as he waited for a statement.

And then, in a voice filled with some level of confidence and even a tiny bit of sympathy, Ms. Saffron said, “Mr. Cosmo would like to see you in person to discuss this.”

Rudy and his parents had no idea how to respond to that.

sss

“What? Really? She just... came over just to tell you that Mr. Cosmo wanted you to come over for a visit? He couldn’t do that himself?” Penny stared at Rudy, who hadj ust finished telling the story of what happened. She had her eyes narrowed, a level of suspicion crawling through her head. “That’s just... I don’t know, Rudy.”

The male teen didn’t make any sort of gesture agreeing or disagreeing. But he did say, “It is confusing, I will tell you that.” He looked away slowly. “Like..how am I supposed to take all of this? What should I think? What should I do?” He rubbed his forehead gently. “I didn’t expect something like that to happen.”

“Well I can’t say I did, either.” Penny smiled as Rudy turned to give her a look. “Yeah I know that was obvious But...” Penny watched as Rudy looked away once more. She tried her best to soften up her expression. “Rudy, I am sure that....” She stopped herself, unsure of just how to continue.

The two friends went quiet for several moments as they tried to make all of this out. It did feel a little strange that Ms. Saffron wouldn’t just....tell Rudy over the phone that there was to be a meeting elsewhere. It would have been faster, saved so much time, and it wouldn’t have wasted gas. Penny couldn’t imagine just how much gas was wasted just for Ms. Saffron to come over and tell Rudy this in person. Or was that part of Mr. Cosmo’s orders as well?

Penny wasn’t really sure where she stood with Mr. Cosmo. This whole thing did still seem a little odd. But she didn’t see anything really wrong with the test. Granted it was not like any test she’s seen before. But as she thought about it, she realized that perhaps her misgivings about it earlier were based on quick assumptions and exaggerations. There wasn’t really anything that popped out about the test.

She sat next to her friend as they leaned up against the wall behind them. Penny had come over to visit Rudy, but he wanted to speak outside for some reason. Not that there was any danger to it. They weren’t talking about ChalkZone, after all. Penny tried to just mark it off as him just wanting to avoid his parents getting in on the conversation. That was understandable. From what she gathered, his parents were confused as well, albeit more excited than Rudy.

She couldn’t really think of just how to approach this topic with Rudy outside of what she already said. She didn’t know how she could cheer him up or help him feel better or how to help him not be so nervous about this. She could tell that he didn’t want to feel this way. It was just.... Well, that was a little complicated.

Rudy broke the silence.

“I am not sure why Mr. Cosmo wouldn’t have wanted her to tell me my score right then and there. I just...” Rudy’s gaze was upwards a little. “You would think that he wouldn’t have a problem with that.” He lowered his head back to its normal position. He turned to look at Penny. “You don’t think he has anything to hide?”

Penny was slightly taken aback by that statement. All she could manage to do was shrug. Her voice failed her in that moment and she felt a level of shame for it. She wished she could have said something.

Rudy sighed as he lowered his gaze, staring at the ground in front of him. He shuffled his feet a little, pushing his feet against the dirt and grass, moving it around a little. “I do hope there is a good reason for that. I hope Mr. Cosmo has an explanation. I mean... there really wasn’t a reason why she couldn’t tell me in the house. Privacy wasn’t a concern. I don’t have countless people coming in and listening to what I am saying.” He paused as he looked back at Penny, giving a soft frown. “And there was no reason why Ms. Saffron couldn’t have called me to schedule the meeting. I thought Mr. Cosmo was supposed to be... I mean... Isn’t he the leader or something? Surely he would have known that....”

Rudy stopped himself. He grunted a few times as he looked left and right. It was clear he was having a hard time speaking. He eventually forced out a sigh as he raised his hand up in gesture.

“I would think that he would have had the foresight to have her call.”

Penny nodded her head slowly. “I understand, Rudy. I...” Her voice trailed off. She bit her lip. This topic was getting a little tense despite the fact that, far as they new, it was only just about a test. Perhaps it was time to consider doing something else aside from sticking to this topic.

And she felt like she had a good idea of what else they could be doing right now.

“Do you want to visit Snap? Maybe that can help us clear our heads.” Penny said with a small smile. She gripped Rudy’s shoulder gently. “How about it?”

Rudy looked a little unsure. His expression was filled with mixed emotion. But he didn’t attempt to fight for too long before he smiled back at her and said, “Y-Yeah... That might be a good idea.” He straightened himself up. “Snap probably wants to be given an update, anyway.”

“Yeah.” Penny agreed as they turned to head back inside.

Upon arriving back in the bedroom, Rudy immediately pulled out his piece of magic chalk and went to the board to create a portal. He climbed in first and he helped Penny come in after him. Penny made sure the portal was erased just in case, and they headed into ChalkZone to look for their friend.

But that isn’t what they got.

“Raawwrr!”

The two nearly jumped at that sound and they quickly looked around to see what was going on. It didn’t take them long to see something moving in the distance.

It was Skrawl, and he was trying to drag with him some zoner. A huge zoner with wings, and it looked like Skrawl was winning.

Penny felt her eyes widen at how this poor zoner was being treated. She looked at Rudy and she could see his eyes narrowing deeply, his chalk already being pulled out. Penny turned to stare at Skrawl, growling herself. The two teens didn’t hesitate to rush over there.


	6. Struggling Against A Familiar Threat

“Hey Skrawl! Back off!”

“Leave that poor thing alone!”

Skrawl flinched when he heard the sound of two annoying teenagers rushing towards him. The same teenagers who kept getting in his way of ChalkZone domination. He turned his head as he watched them coming over, his lip curling up into a snarl.

How dare they try to intervene... Didn’t they have anything better to do? Why do they always have to get in his way? They were just a couple of stupid goody two-shoes that just liked to butt into other people’s business.

Fortunately for him, though, he did have this big creature with him. Those two obviously care about zoners and they wouldn’t want an innocent zoner like this one to be hurt, now would they? If he played his cards right, he just might be able to convince them to lay off. He just needed to make sure he kept a good grip on this guy and then...

Rudy and Penny took defensive stances a bit further away from him. They glared at him intently, their teeth gritted tightly. If they were trying to look intimidating, they weren’t doing a very good job of it. Skrawl could see right through their pathetic attemps at trying to look tough. It didn’t matter that they were now teenagers. They still looked pretty pathetic doing this.

But if it was a fight they wanted, then it was a fight they were going to get.

Skrawl grinned maliciously as he held onto the rope that secured the beast. He looked back at the thing that he found, wandering around ChalkZone like a lost puppy. It looked like some sort of winged wolf with teal eyes, light tan fur with a darker underside, sharp talons, and sickle-liked claws on its wings. There was no way that he was going to give up this creature so easily. He could just imagine all the fun that he would have with this thing. There was so much that he could do. Having this thing on his team was better than the Beanie Boys. This thing not only could look dangerous, it could be dangerous as well.

Skrawl turned his attention back to Rudy and Penny. He could see how they were staring at him, waiting for him to say something. He gave a quick chuckle as he motioned to himself and said, “Oh if it isn’t ChalkZone’s ‘greatest heroes’. I’m glad you could join me.” He watched as Rudy and Penny glared at him and smirked. “Are you going to try swinging your precious chalk around? Is that all you are good for?”

Rudy took a few steps forward. “Skrawl, you know as well as I do that you can’t just...”

“Save it, chalk boy!” Skrawl raised his free hand up. His claws were pointed downward slightly, showing the child that he meant business. Not that it would make Rudy back off that easily, of course. “If you take one step closer, I will rip this stupid creature’s eyes out!”

Penny let out a sharp gasp. “You wouldn’t dare...!”

Skrawl sneered at her. “Do you want to try me, princess? I bet you can’t even get within ten feet before I....”

Suddenly, the large beast let out a roar. Skrawl nearly let go, the loud noise rippling through his head and body, startling him. He then felt the beast raise its head up, dragging him with him. Then he was swung around a little bit, left and right. Skrawl struggled to hang on the best that he could, but no matter what he tried or did, the creature wouldn’t stop.

Skrawl could feel himself being flung to the side like a dirty bag of trash. He still hadn’t let go, however. His weight did cause the creature to falter. But not all the way. The end result was the creature being tripped up a little bit while he himself was pulled right back. He smashed up against the beast and soon leaned against it, panting heavily. Skrawl shook his head and got up. He pulled hard on the rope, pulling the winged wolf’s face close to his.

“You little trouble making dog... How dare you try to...” Skrawl started to say.

The beast was clearly not afraid of him. Instead of cowering in fear, it instead charged at him. With its head lowered to the ground, it smashed up against him and then flung up over its body. Skrawl could feel his fingers slip and suddenly, he was not holding onto the rope anymore. He was sent flying through the air just like before, and this time, he skidded painfully along his back.

Rudy and Penny cheered the beast, encouraging it to keep fighting. Skrawl shot a glare at them, wishing that they would stay out of this. Oh well; he would deal with them later. Right now, he had a beast zoner to tame. He hadn’t yet given up on this thing being the perfect tool to take over ChalkZone. He just needed to give it a bit of... encouragement.

Skrawl rushed towards the winged wolf. It hunched its body, fur raising on end as its wings spread open, and it released a loud snarl. Skrawl did falter just slightly, but he kept going. He jumped at the beast and grabbed on. The beast hissed and growled in irritation, wriggling its body about from side to side. Skrawl dug his claws in deeply, allowing him to hang on. He eventually got to where he needed to be. He raised his hand up and prepared to take out one of the creature’s eyes.

“No!” He could hear Rudy shout.

Then without warning, he could feel Rudy slamming against him. With the boy’s mass and the surprise value, Skrawl wasn’t able to prepare in time and he fell into the ground painfully. He released a low hiss as he grabbed Rudy by the throat and pinned him down. He loomed over him, hissing, “Too eager, aren’t you?”

As Rudy attempted to launch against him a second time, Skrawl lifted up his foot and pushed back against Rudy. With one kick, he sent the child flying back across the ground. With Rudy temporarily distracted, Skrawl turned his attention back to the wolf-like beast.

“Now that the distraction’s over...” Skrawl started to say. But he never got time to finish.

“You let this guy go, you hear me?!”

Skrawl hissed loudly as he felt Penny grabbing onto him and struggling to pull him back. She did a better job than Rudy did in getting him away, he would give her that much. Rudy only managed to get him back a few centimeters. Penny? A few inches. Still not enough to dislodge him completely, but still pretty impressive.

Penny had a hold of his wrist with both hands, squeezing tightly, her teeth gritting against each other almost to the point of cracking. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Skrawl thought for certain taht he could see some tiny cracks starting to form. Penny yanked and twisted back as hard as she could, trying to prevent Skrawl from attacking the beast. She must be thinking that if she pestered him on this side, he would be forced to let go. Oh how wrong she was...

Skrawl effortlessly lifted Penny up from the ground, letting her dangle in the air. Penny struggled to hand on while glaring intently at Skrawl, her teeth remaining bared. Skrawl chuckled at this weak attempt at trying to intimidate him. He swung his arm a little before he finally released her. He let her fly across the ground and hit against it painfully. It was a bit more exciting to watch than what happened to Rudy, he would admit. Although he didn’t really know why.

Skrawl then saw that Rudy was starting to draw something. The sight of this made Skrawl’s eyes widen slightly. He took a step over in preparation of doing something, only to stop and look to see that something light tan was already swinging down upon him. Skrawl barely had time to reat before he could feel himself being swiped to the side by the large creature that he had tried to take control of. In seconds, his body hit up against a nearby tree.

Clutching his side tightly, he looked up and glared with a loud hiss as the flying zoner already took off into the air, flapping its wings as it disappeared upwards. In a matter of seconds, the beast had already disappeared.

Several thoughts ran through Skrawl’s head as he watched the empty sky where the bat wolf used to be. Mostly burning thoughts on how these two idiots had ruined his plans once again. He tried to control his breathing as it continuously got more and more labored. Breath after breath, he exhaled slowly, feeling the blood inside of him heating up. He then turned his head to face Rudy and Penny, his eyes burning with anger. Thanks to their intervention, his best shot at taking over ChalkZone was now flying away.

They needed to pay for that.

The decision was easy to make. Skrawl just immediately went for whoever was closer. Penny appeared to be lacking a piece of magic chalk this time, a fatal mistake, and he was going to prove that to her. He wasted no time in grabbing onto her and lifting her up, immediately slamming her against a tree. Penny let out a cry of pain and struggled in Skrawl’s grasp.

“Since you were so eager to stop me, perhaps you were feeling a little jealous?” Skrawl taunted the girl. “Were you wanting some of this as well? You don’t need to beg. I can provide that for you.” Skrawl raised his hand up.

Penny saw this and her eyes widened. “W-Wait!”

Skrawl just sneered at her as he prepared to strike down. Before he did, he made sure that Rudy could see what was going to happen. Right now, it was clear that not only could Rudy see what was happening, he was also unable to do much of anything. He was in the middle of drawing, but nothing the boy could draw would be enough to stop him from getting some kind of blow in. Skrawl turned his attention back to Penny, his sneer broadening.

However, Skrawl was not prepared for what had happened next. Darnit that Penny, he had forgotten how smart she could be sometimes.

Without warning, Penny had kicked out against him. Her foot slammed against his chest. He felt some kind of weird sensation in his throat and he swallowed hard. He shook his head before he growled at Penny. Before he had time to retort to that, however, Penny had already found her own way of responding further.

Burning pain spread through Skrawl’s eye as Penny spat at him. The glob of saliva burned against his eye, causing a sizzling ‘smoke’ to come pillowing out of it. It didn’t last long as he wiped his hand against it, but this caused some of the burniness to go along the side of his hand as well. In the end, Skrawl was left whimpering a little as he tried to cope with the extremely painful acid-like burn on his face.

But it wasn’t just pain he felt. Rage also consumed him. He glared daggers at Penny, who cringed back, looking horrified. It was hard to tell if she was horrified at what she did, or just terrified at what Skrawl was going to do. But neither of that really mattered to the jellybean. Snorting like a bull, Skrawl raised his claws up as he prepared to charge and tear out her throat.

Just then, he could feel something coiling around his body. Skrawl looked down to see some kind of whip. It wrapped around him completely and then Rudy pulled hard. This caused the jellybean to spin around rapidly. He eventually stopped, but his world was vertigo.

sss

Rudy remained where he was, panting heavily, glaring at where Skrawl had fallen down. He kept his pose for a few moments, his arm still stretched up as to strike outwards again. He panted a few times as Skrawl struggled to his feet. It was clear that the zoner had a hard time keeping a balance, wobbling to and fro. It seemed to take the jellybean a while before he rubbed his head and shook it, regaining some semblance of balance.

Rudy hardly reacted as the jellybean glared at Rudy with those piercing eyes, one of them damaged from what Penny had done. As shocked as he normally would be by Penny’s act, Rudy’s number one priority right now was to secure Skrawl and stop him from hurting people. Besides, why should he show sympathy to Skrawl after what this zoner had nearly done so many times before? He kept letting him off the hook and look at what happened because of it. It was time to get more...firm with this guy.

Rudy still didn’t want to hurt Skrawl too badly, let alone kill him. But he did want to make sure that Skrawl started to have second thoughts on what he’s been doing. He wanted Skrawl to realize just how wrong he was to be doing stuff like this. He wanted him to be aware that his actions had consequences. Perhaps if he were a little rougher, Skrawl might get that message loud and clear.

Seeing that Skrawl was still a bit dizzy, that gave Rudy an idea. He knew of a way that he could get Skrawl to realize his mistakes without causing too much damage. And he could do that by taking full advantage of the fact that he was feeling rather dizzy.

While Skrawl was still a little distracted, Rudy raised up his magic chalk and quickly began to draw as fast as he could. Lines rapidly filled the air, the lines glowing intensely as though responding to his emotions. Something long and flapping formed, and then a platform. Soon before him was a small flying machine consisting of a skateboard with large wings.

A part of Rudy did know he was going to hate himself for this later. But for now, those feelings were cast aside.

Kicking off from the ground, Rudy rushed over to Skrawl as quickly as he could. He aimed the tip of the skateboard down, causing it to dive and scoop up Skrawl onto the board itself. The zoner let out a screech of surprise as he was suddenly lifted up into the air. He just barely fit on and Rudy had to scramble back. The boy quickly realized his error, but by the time that he did, they were already up in the air.

The weight of the jellybean hadn’t been properly calculated. With Skrawl trying to hang on, the winged skateboard was tossed around in the sky, swirling about like it was in a whirlpool. Rudy could feel himself slipping and he had to grab onto the board with his arms at the very edge. This lasted for several seconds, Skrawl’s weight continuously complicating things.

Eventually, Rudy got control of the winged skateboard the best that he could. He guided it upwards into the sky. This forced him and Skrawl to hang on even tighter. To Rudy’s horror, Skrawl was situated above him. He could feel the skateboard’s mass being manipulated by Skrawl’s large body. This way and that, he went. Rudy gritted his teeth as he struggled to hang on as tightly as he could, waiting for the board to arise as high up as possible before he made his next move.

But even as he did this, Skrawl was not going to let up on him so easily. Skrawl ignored what was going on, his eyes focused on Rudy alone. He leaned in and he tried to swipe at Rudy several times. His claws continuously missed, but he was crawling in closer, shifting his weight. This further complicated things and Rudy could feel the board struggling to stay on course. He tried his best to keep it all the way that it should be. But eventually, it just fell apart.

Suddenly the board flipped around. Rudy let out a scream as he was suddenly upside down. He clinged to the board tightly, digging his finger nails in. The thing somehow managed to stay aloft despite the shift. But that wasn’t much good news for Rudy as Skrawl now pressed himself against the skateboard, reaching out to swipe him with his claws.

“Aaah!” Rudy tried to dodge the best that he could. He had to pull and push himself out pretty far, and if he wasn’t careful, he might end up looking up or down and realizing how high that he was and fear that he would fall off. He felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he regretted his decision to fight Skrawl up here. Perhaps this wasn’t a good idea after all.

Skrawl growled loudly at him, his good eye nearly blazing. “Hold still, you little brat!”

“Wait, Skrawl! Stop moving around so much!” Rudy screeched as he nearly slipped off. “You’re going to make us both fall!”

Skrawl paused at this for a moment before sneering. “If you didn’t want to fall, then you shouldn’t have drawn this thing in the first place.” He leaned in a little closer. Rudy could feel his breath upon him. “Besides... I don’t care about that right now.”

Rudy felt his eyes widen as Skrawl said this. It was like he had gone insane. Was Skrawl really that focused on this that he was willing to... Rudy reacted as quickly as he could, shifting his body against the skateboard as hard as he could. He had to do this again and again before the skateboard started to move over. After what felt like the sixth time, he turned over completely. He wobbled a little before regaining balance.

The flip caused Skrawl to screech in shock and he struggled to hang onto the board. His heavier weight caused him to dig his claws in further, scraping at it in desperation. Skrawl couldn’t even try to swipe at Rudy anymore. All he could do was just hang on there, staring up at Rudy with wide eyes. Suddenly the shoe was on the other foot.

Rudy wrestled with some darker thoughts. He could force Skrawl to fall like he almost did to him. But he soon decided that the fear of falling was good enough for now. Plus, it wasn’t like he couldn’t have a little fun with Skrawl. Give him a little scare and maybe that will stun him enough to be detained. Would he feel guilty about this later? Perhaps, but Skrawl had it coming.

Rudy acted quickly. Grabbing onto the board, he pulled it back and caused it to head straight up a little more. He could feel Skrawl trying to use his weight to move the board yet again. Rudy responed as fast as he could, pushing forward so that the board would change direction. In a matter of seconds, they began to hurdle back down towards the ground.

Around and around, they went, spinning wildly. They both screame as they went, feeling the air rushing by them, distorting their faces. Rudy could feel every ounce of him feeling up with adrenaline, helping him to hold on tighter. His heart raced faster and his mind tried to get him to stop this. And yet he still carried on, determined to see this through. Closer and closer to the ground they went, until...

Rudy pulled up quickly as Skrawl shouted for him to stop. He did this at one of the last possible moments. The motion was enough to keep them from crashing head first, but Skrawl did hit painfully against the ground. The forward motion caused his back to get scraped a little. Rudy did pull up to try to lighten that up a little, but ultimately the two crashed completely, both groaning in pain.

Rudy pushed himself up onto his hands. He tried to stand up. His legs were wobbly and shaky and he struggled to get his feet from not tripping over. He swayed back and forth and he nearly fell down. He only stopped because Penny managed to grab onto him. He looked behind him and he could see Penny staring at him with great concern. Rudy smiled at her, grateful for the help. He held onto her as she helpd him keep his balance.

The two of them turned to glare at Skrawl. They both silently pondered what they were going to do with him. At the moment, Skrawl was incapacitated, but that wouldn’t last long. If he were allowed to run free, no doubt he would just try to find that poor beast again and try to reign it in as though it was his property. They couldn’t allow that to happen. They needed to do something to discourage him.

Penny already had the solution.

“Come on, we should tie him up before he has a chance to get away.” Penny stared at Rudy intently, her eyes going down to where his chalk is. “Hurry up, before he....”

“Too late!”

Rudy and Penny didn’t know how Skrawl managed to get up so quickly. Had he actually been conscious the entire time and he was just waiting until the right moment before making his move? Was he tricking them? Whatever the case may be, they suddenly found themselves pushed up against the ground painfully, held secured there by a pissed off jellybean.

Skrawl loomed over them, his teeth gritting tightly, low growls escaping his mouth. His yellow teeth were bared and it almost looked like he was going to bite into them. He used his weight to hold them down. Rudy tried to draw something, but Skrawl tightened his grip on his neck, his claws threatening to pierce his skin. Skrawl kept them pinned down for several long moments before he attempted to say anything.

In a darkened voice, Skrawl growled, “In all my time fighting you, Master Tabootie, I never thought that you would have gotten this dark...”

Rudy struggled against the zoner’s grasp. “I don’t know what you’re talking about! I-I was just trying to...”

Skrawl hissed, suppressing a dark chuckle. “To lie about it.... You really have changed, haven’t you?” Rudy blinked at Skrawl in confusion. Skrawl lifted his head up and he gave a sneer. “Don’t try to act like you don’t know. I’ve seen the look in your eyes. I know what you were about to do.” He leaned in closer to hiss in Rudy’s face, “You were trying to kill me, weren’t you...?”

Rudy gasped loudly at this. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Penny spoke up for him.

“Th-That’s not true!” Penny shouted. “Rudy would never do that!” Penny twisted and turned on the ground, trying to pull Skrawl’s hand off of her. But her attempts were futile. “How dare you try to insinuate that Rudy would try to.....”

“But you’ve seen it for yourself, didn’t you, genius girl?” Skrawl growled. He contorted his face slightly, as though annoyed. “You’ve seen what he tried to do. You can’t act like you didn’t see it.” He turned his attention back to Rudy. He took in a few heavy breaths before his mouth corners curled up slowly. “You’re becoming something rather....fascinated, aren’t you, little artist boy?”

Rudy could feel his blood chilling at this, realization dawning over him. He knew he would regret his actions. He didn’t think it would be this fast. The implications of what he did earlier.... He could see why Skrawl immediately thought the worst.

And it didn’t matter if that wasn’t his intention. He still could have slipped up and it still looked like he was going to do something horrible. Really, he just wanted to disable Skrawl enough so that he could stop him, so that he could tie him up and take him to jail. He had never intended to...

Penny’s voice sliced through the air, tinged with anger. “How fucking dare you! I.... Ahhh!”

“Penny!” Rudy shouted in horror as Skrawl started to drive his claws into flesh, drawing blood. “Skrawl, let her go!”

Skrawl curled his lip up in contempt. “Why the hell should I? You were going to take something from me.” His smile grew twisted and ugly. Even more so than usual. “Why don’t I take something from you...?”

Rudy’s eyes filled with horror. He ignored his own pain as he tried to raise his chalk and draw. But he knew that he was going to be too slow. There was no way that he could move fast enough. All that he could do was just stare up at Skrawl and Penny in horror, forced to watch what was going to happen next.

Just then, there was a flash of blue. Rudy could see it zipping in front of his face. He strained to see where it was coming from, his neck aching. He wasn’t able to see too much before there was a loud grunt and a yelp from Skrawl. It all happened so fast. Before he knew it, he and Penny were suddenly freed. They looked at each other in confusion before turning their heads to see what had gone on.

It was Snap.

The two human teenagers watched with mouths agape and eyes widened Snap rushed around Skrawl, dodging his attacks. Skrawl let out a few loud yells as he tried in frustration to hit Snap. The smaller zoner might not look intimidating to anyone who just saw him on a surface level. But he was faster and too slippy for Skrawl to easily grab onto. Snap was small enough to even slide underneath Skrawl to escape what was about to happen. The claws missed him by a mile.

“Hold still, you blue rat! Fight me and stop trying to dodge me! You strong enough to interrupt me? Then you’re strong enough to fight me.” Skrawl glared intently at Snap. At this point, Skrawl was glaring at them all with both eyes, though his damaged eye still looked like it had a huge burn on it. Skrawl flexed his claws eagerly. “How about it, Snap? Think you can win a fair fight against me without your dirty little tricks?”

Snap took a pose a few feet away from him. His face was stretched into a smile, one filled with smugness. “But you’re the great Skrawl! Surely you can beat me without needing me to hold still.” He jumped to the side as Skrawl tried to lunge at him. Skrawl spluttered as dirt filled his mouth. Snap just smirked at him before motioning with his hand, taunitng Skrawl. “Come on, think you’re smart enough to take me on?”

Skrawl growled lowly at this. His eyes widened in shock when Snap made an obscene gesture to him. Not with just one but both hands. Even Rudy and Penny were shocked by this. They remained silent as Skrawl released a loud, furious yell and the jellybean-like zoner charged at Snap as fast as he could.

The blue and white zoner just held still for several moments. It was hard to tell just what he was up to. It was obvious in the past that Snap could be really clever when he needed to be. But neither Rudy nor Penny could really think of just what the little zoner had in mind this time. They felt compelled to do something. They were stopped when Snap looked at them and shook his head before giving a small wink, indicating he had something in mind. Though uncomfortable, the two tried to put trust in Snap and waited to see what was going to happen.

When Skrawl got close enough, Snap did not move to the side. This time, he jumped upwards. It was then that the two of them could see the rope. They gasped in shock at this. How did Snap manage to do this with rope so fast?

Their questions were interrupted when Skrawl suddenly let out a loud scream, the tree bending to his unstable weight. It struggled to straighten itself up. Skrawl grabbed onto the ground firmly, digging his claws in deeply, doing whatever he could to keep himself from being tossed outward. He glared intently at Snap and he started to crawl towards him. As he did so, the tree shook, energy rapidly building up.

Penny quickly acted. She grabbed Rudy’s chalk, startling the boy, and she quickly drew a knife. Rudy felt a sharp pang before he realized what she was going to do. Rudy, not wanting to let Penny go in alone, rushed to where Snap was. The superhero zoner was making faces at Skrawl, clearly confident that Skrawl could not get to him. Rudy grabbed onto him and started to draw him back away. As soon as he picked up Snap to move him, that was when he heard the sound of the rope snapping in half. Turning his head, he and Snap watched the events unfold.

Without the rope to hold things in place, there was nothing to stop the tree from releasing its built up energy. It swung around wildly like it was a part of some dance. To and fro it went, looking like it was going to snap in half any second. Skrawl scrambled up to his feet, but he wasn’t able to react quickly enough. During one of its rounds, the tree wound up striking Skrawl hard in the side, sending the zoner flying through the air. Rudy, Penny, and Snap could not see where he landed.

The trio stood there in silence, listening and trying to hear if Skrawl was getting up or not. But they didn’t notice anything. Nothing but silence. They looked at each other and wordlessly wondered what htey should do. They couldn’t just stand there.

Rudy narrowed his eyes. If Skrawl was not going to come out, then they would just have to go get him. They...

They were suddenly interrupted by a loud screech.

“Raawrr!”


	7. A Beastly Betrayal

Rudy and Penny both gasped in horror and shock when something big and massive flew overhead. The thing was a bit lower to the ground. Enough that when it flew by them, it seemed to kick up some air and dust. They put their arms over their faces and tried to keep the dust from getting into their eyes.

When Rudy gathered enough courage to look through this miniature dust storm, he took notice that Snap wasn’t there anymore. With his heart clenching tightly, he looked around quickly, trying to figure out where his friend could have gone. When he turned his head to the right, he could see a small blue form running into the distance. He blinked once and then he could see a massive shadow looming over his friend.

With his heart nearly snapping in two, Rudy shouted for his friend. “Snap! Get away from there!”

“You don’t need to tell me twice, Bucko!” Snap looked tired, as though he had been running for way too long. His mouth was open and his mouth looked dry even from this distance. His poor heart must be racing so hard.... And yet he still kept going, rushing over as quickly as possible, refusing to stop. “Help me!”

Penny gritted her teeth as she looked back at Rudy. “Draw something that can move fast!”

“I’m trying!” Rudy tried to get himself to draw. But his hand was incredibly shaky. Any attempt seemed to just fall flat upon the ground. “Stupid chalk... Work!”

Penny put a hand on his shoulder. She gripped it firmly. “Rudy, hurry!”

Rudy tried to do what Penny asked of him. He tried to get the chalk to work. But in those few moments, his mind just wasn’t working right. The adrenaline that once helped him was now making things incredibly difficult. His hand had too much energy now and his drawings were not coming out right. These things were not going to help him. His mind spun around rapidly, many thoughts moving through him like quicksand, as he tried in vain to create something.

Eventually, the magic chalk slipped from his hands and landed on the ground. Rudy looked at his hands and saw that they were covered in sweat. So much of it in fact, that droplets dripped onto the ground. Rudy bared his teeth as he rubbed against his hand, trying to get the stuff off of his fingers. He then lifted his head and looked around for Snap.

It was then, as he saw his friend running as fast as he could, that he could see what the thing attacking him was.

That same beast zoner that Skrawl tried to capture.

Rudy took in a sharp breath, fighting off the burning anger and feelings of betrayal as he watched the very creature he and Penny tried to save turn on them like this. How could that thing do this to them? After what they had tried to do for it...? Why that...

Rudy wasn’t able to finish his thoughts when Penny, who had apparently gotten tired of waiting for him, grabbed onto his chalk and ripped it from his hands. Rudy could feel her pushing him aside as she ran forward herself, going as fast as she could go. Rudy remained silent as she ran, licking his lips slowly. He felt a guilty pang as he realized he just wasn’t fast enough....but then he shook that thought out of his head as he let out a small growl and chased off after Penny, trying to catch up to her.

Penny raised up the magic chalk and tried to draw as quickly as she could. While she did this, the winged beast was getting closer and closer to Snap. It brought out its talons, the sharp tips glinting in the light of the Day Zone sun. Suddenly, Rudy wished that they were still dealing with Skrawl.

Snap dove onto the ground, letting out a yell as the large brown wolf thing closed its claws together, the claws themselves scraping against one another. This made Rudy’s ears nearly bleed. It was almost as bad as a chalkboard being scraped. Rudy tried not to think about that too much as he shifted his focus instead to see how his friend was doing. Snap didn’t appear to be hurt, but he was clearly shaken by the very close call.

He turned his head to see Penny was already working to drawing something. In her hands, she soon possessed some kind of.... He had to stop and squint for a moment as he tried to determine what it was. Some kind of small volcano...? He quickly got the idea of it, though, when it ‘erupted’ and a thick band of solid energy came out, going towards the winged wolf.

“Penny, you’re a genius!” Rudy heard himself shout. He nearly blushed in embarrassment at that. Of course she was a genius. He felt a little silly.

Penny smiled at him briefly, but then she frowned and turned back to watch her trap unfold. The beam, made of solid yellow and banded white, shot upwards swiftly, twisting around and around as it went right towards the winged wolf. Faster and faster, more and more twisted, trying to trap the beast within... Rudy watched as it wrapped around the beast’s perimeter and then start to close in.

....only for the bat wolf to shoot out of it quickly. The beast turned around and let out a loud screech, its teal eyes glinting in the light, sharp teeth bared. The beams did not respond, considering they weren’t actually alive. They attempted to wrap around it once more. The beast just hissed loudly at this and started to do acrobats in the air. It twisted and it turned in the air, wings spread open and then closing, effortlessly dodging the beams.

Penny’s mouth dropped open. “Wh-What the....”

Rudy was frozen for a few seconds. Then he shouted, “Penny, do something! We can’t...!”

“I’m trying! Just give me a moment!” Penny wailed at Rudy. The boy was a little stunned by this and immediately shut his mouth tightly. He watched as Penny scrambled to try to draw something else, but the chalk continuously nearly feel from her hands no matter what she tried.

Rudy looked over at where the beast was. At this point, the beast had been diving back down towards Snap. His heart skipped a beat, both caught in horror of what was happening and a bitter awe at just how talented this creature was. It kept managing to dodge the beams as it drew closer to Snap. It was practically unstoppable.

But Rudy refused to believe that. There had to be something that would keep this creature from getting to Snap. Something that would protect his friend from the constant onslaught of claws. Something like...

Suddenly a lightbulb flickered in his head. “Wait, I’ve got it!” Rudy grabbed the chalk from Penny, startling her. He quicly drew himself an electric-powered bike so that he could get to Snap faster. He hardly heard what Penny said as he drew in closer. Trying to get close with those beams lowering down was quite a feat and he wasn’t really sure how he managed to do it.

When he got close enough, he pedaled a little harder before he zipped himself in front of Snap. He got off the bike and let it roll off into the distance. The bat wolf was right above him, its wings outstretched as it brought its feet forward. Time seemed to slow down greatly as Rudy watched this, raising up his chalk-wielding hand as he prepared to fight back. With a few rapid motions with the chalk, he produced a large torch and flung its flames around quickly.

This happened just in time. The beast’s head was very close to him. The large zoner appeared to take notice of the fire and it immediately hung back. There was nothing in its expression that suggested that it had given up. But it was still clear that it wasn’t about to dive down blindly. It opened its mouth in a loud hiss, baring its teeth as it watched Rudy carefully. It shifted its body left and right as it appeared to be trying to find some sort of opening to get in towards Snap.

Rudy acted quickly. The fire would only distract it for so long before it manages to find a workaround. Rudy thought about grabbing Snap and running, but he knew that would be risky. The beast was fast and might be able to attack before he had a chance to get that far. Besides, that wasn’t why he had come over here. He had something different in mind.

With his chalk once again wielded, Rudy rushed around himself and Snap, drawing a line along the ground to form a circle. As he did so, there was a small flash of color and then what looked like a transparent bubble, bouncy and boingy, sprung up rapidly. It covered the two of them. As soon as it formed, the beast tried to strike against it. But despite the bubble flexing slightly, it did not break. The beast growled in frustration as it struck again and again, trying to make the bubble burst open. But it was useless.

The beast’s fur ruffled, its eyes narrowing into slits. Its teeth were more bared than ever before, and its jaws opened up slowly. Rudy flinched at how the thing was looking at them, but he tried to stand his ground. He stood defensively in front of Snap, his hands folded tightly into fists, showing the thing that he was not going to let it so easily get to his friend.

And the beast seemed to understand this. After a few more frustrated attempts to strike the shield down using its wing claws, the beast seemed to finally give up. Its posture changed a little. Not a full submission, but it did stop looking as aggressive. It then began to turn around slowly, making Rudy think it was just going to fly off.....

....but then the beast suddenly took off after Penny...

...who wasn’t armed....

“Oh no, Buckette!” Snap screamed. He tried to rush forward, but Rudy put his arm in front of him. “What are you doing? She needs our help!”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He knew that Snap was right, but he didn’t want to risk both of his friends. Knowing that the shield was safe, designed to let people out but not in, Snap was better off here. Once he left the shield, he wouldn’t be able to get back in. A dumb design choice, he knew. But he had little time to think of it. Looking down at Snap, he said, “Stay here. I’ll help Penny.”

Snap shook his head. “I’m not letting you go out there by yourself!”

“You’re going to have to. That thing is determined to get you and I don’t know why. If you come out, you’re just giving it what it wants. So please Snap, just....” Rudy grabbed onto Snap’s shoulders firmly. “Stay in here where it’s safe. Okay?”

Snap didn’t look at all happy about this. He glared softly at Rudy, letting his lip curl up slightly as he growled. But he did give in after a few moments, looking away from Rudy. “Fine...” He then looked back, this time with a softer expression. “Be careful, okay?”

Rudy nodded his head. “I will.”

Without further hesitation, Rudy turned to glare at where the beast had gone. He was horrified to see that the wolf-like creature had Penny pinned down already. His friend was screaming loudly, calling for help. The winged wolf hadn’t tried to attack her yet, it seems. But its face was awfully close and its teeth looked ilke they were ready to sink down into some flesh. The pain of chalk against blood was probably the only thing that was keeping the beast from actually attacking.

Rudy looked at Penny’s failed attempt to stop the creature. The beams that she drew were exhausted and used up. They were laying upon the ground, twisted against each other and utterly useless now. The sight of it made Rudy’s blood boil. Not because it was Penny’s choice, but because it served as a reminder that if Skrawl had gotten this thing on his side, things would have taken an ugly turn.

Rudy swiftly began to draw, lines rapidly filling the air. Arching and turning and twisting, he drew the first thing that came to his mind. He quickly produced a large net lined with a flower that he just created that was designed to weaken and put zoners to sleep. Not something he would normally create, but he was getting desperate here and he needed to do something to stop this thing from hurting his best friend. Once the thing was finished, he grabbed onto it and got ready to use it.

He ran forward as quickly as he could. The winged wolf’s ears twitched like it heard his approach, but it didn’t do anything to look over. Perhaps it thought that it was still in the clear. It was going to have another thought coming. Once Rudy was able to get in close enough, seeing his friend still squirming on the ground, he mustered up as much strength as he could and he tossed the net towards the large beast-like zoner. The net flew through the air and soon landed on top of the beast.

The winged wolf’s body shifted and lowered a little. Its eyes widened in shock and its ears folded back for a few moments. Then it began to roar and shift its body about. From side to side, it went, trying to get the net off of itself. The net was caught on its wings, the sickle claws there making it rather easy to hold the net in place.

Rudy watched as it struggled before turning to Penny and rushing to her side. He reached over and grabbed onto her hand, looking at her worriedly. “Penny!” He called out to her. “Are you all right?!”

Penny couldn’t speak, her voice caught in her throat. She took in a few shaky breaths as she looked and stared up at Rudy. She straightened herself a little and then she turned to see the creature struggling in the net. She bit her lip. “What did you do?”

Rudy blinked at this before looking back at the beast. He noticed how it looked a bit sickly as it slipped on the ground, losing its balance. He flinched at the sight of this. He didn’t think it would look this bad. He then looked back at Penny and tried to smile the best that he could. “I know it looks bad, but don’t worry. It will be fine. Those flowers will just put it to sleep. Then we can take it somewhere where it can’t hurt anyone else.” He stopped for a second as he remembered something else. He narrowed his eyes slowly. “And it can’t be used by Skrawl...”

Penny let out a small sigh. “That’s true. If Skrawl managed to get a hold of it...” Her voice trailed off, clearly not wanting to think of that possibility.

Rudy looked down at his magic chalk, watching it sparkle a little. He had used most of it up in that effort. He hadn’t been watching just how much of this that he was using, and he doubted Penny was, either. At least they managed to stop the thing before it could do some real damage. Now they needed to figure out how they were going to transport such a large zoner somewhere, and just how were they going to keep it secured in the meantime.

Perhaps they could tie it up? Once it fell asleep and was unmoving, Rudy could use whatever he had left of the chalk to tie up its limbs and wings. Perhaps its jaws as well. He would need to use some stronger type of rope for it, though. He could tell that the creature was really strong. Its size alone made it enough of a powerhouse that traditional rope would not work. The rope that he used on it just now would work mostly okay, but he needed something even stronger. Something that wouldn’t easily break. Would nylon rope work?

Well, whatever he decided, he was going to need to do it quickly. He didn’t have much time to didle dally. If he didn’t try to take care of this now, if he didn’t try to do something about that beast quickly... He tried to shake off the horrible thoughts of what could happen in that case. He swallowed hard before turning around to watch as the beast would finally pass out from the flowers.

But that isn’t what happened.

To Rudy and Penny’s horror, the beast was standing straight up, a bunch of knots in the rope already having been snapped apart. It opened its mouth and bit down and shook the rope. Analysis of its chest revealed that it was holding its breath. Somehow, it was smart enough to know not to breathe in the fumes of those flowers and now it ripped the net in shreds. It all happened so fast, in the blink of a moment, that the two children edned up just staring with wide eyes, mouths agape, unable to move.

It was only the scream of their friend that they managed to shake themselves back to reality. The winged wolf had made a run for Snap, pounding the ground with its feet. Snap stood in the middle of the shield, watching in terror as the beast came hurdling towards him. As the shadow rapidly grew on him, the thing looming over him, Snap backed up near the edge of the shield. He forced himself to stop, looked behind him, and then back at the beast, his mouth open and panting.

“B-Bucko... B-Buckette..” Snap whispered softly, his eyes wide in horror. “H-H-Help me...!”

Rudy and Penny froze for a moment, staring in shock and horror as the thing started to strike at the shield. With each strike, the sphere shook more, wobbling about. The beast struck at the top, its talons going in a little deeply. But it never could actually pierce it. But it wasn’t about to give up as it continuously struck in various areas, desperately trying to get at Snap.

Rudy got out the chalk once more, feeling his heart thumping inside of his chest. Just what was going to stop this thing? How much more of this were they going to need to use before this thing was stopped? And just... was it possible that they would be able to pull that off before this thing got to Snap...?

Rudy did not have time to think about that. He only had time to take action. Raising up his magic chalk, Rudy began to make his move towards the bat wolf zoner, hoping to draw something small, like a freeze ray, to ensure that Snap wasn’t captured by this horrible thing.

But the bat wolf had gotten wise to him at this point. Rudy watched as a clawed foot was struck out towards him. He could hear Penny screaming in horror, followed by a scream of pain, as she too was hit. Rudy laid on the ground, groaning softly, before he sat himself back up. He attempted to head towards the thing a second time, but then he realized, patting around himself in horror, that he had lost his magic chalk.

“Rudy, where’s the...” Penny started to say before they were both interrupted by a loud scream.

The beast had managed to push its leg in so far, that it would stretch its paw around Snap’s body. Rudy felt his heart freezing at this. He hadn’t expected the creature to be able to do that. He and Penny both watched in shock as the thing lifted Snap up, dragging the shield with it. The shield was rapidly dislodged from the ground. It was like it was attached to the thing’s foot now.

Rudy and Penny continued to watch this going on for several long moments, their minds locked and stunned that the creature was even able to do this. They could hear Snap calling out for them, reaching out for them, desperately trying to wriggle himself free. But the beast’s grip tightened up as it spread its wings open. Rudy and Penny let out loud gasps at this before they rushed over as quickly as they could.

They managed to catch up to the beast as it tried to fly. They attempted to use their weight to hold it down, grabbing onto its leg and tail. They crawled up on it and gripped its fur tightly to secure themselves. The beast let out a loud screech of fury before it flapped harder and began to rise up into the air. Of course their weight wasn’t going to hold it down. This thing was massive. Rudy and Penny could feel their feet rapidly leaving the ground, giving them more of a reason to hang on tightly.

The beast started to fly forward, each wing beat almost sounding like thunder in their ears with them being this close. Air rapidly rushed around the creature as it flew, and that wind hit against Rudy and Penny, making it difficult for them to keep clinging on. And yet they still tried, knowing that they couldn’t just let Snap..

Suddenly the beast went straight up and began to spin itself around in rapid circles. It was like a tornado almost, only covered in fur and with many colors moving over its body. Rudy and Penny tried to ignore the vertigo forming as they desperately clung to the creature’s fur, nearly ripping it off.

But eventually, they just weren’t able to hold on any longer. They could feel their grip slip from the beast and down they plummeted.

“Aaaaahh!” Rudy and Penny screamed.

Snap reached out to them. “N-No!”

Rudy and Penny fell towards the ground. They felt as though they had fallen for hours, but it really only took a few seconds before they could feel pain wracking through their bodies. They finally hit the ground. They rolled around painfully, going this way and that, before they finally stopped, laying on their sides and groaning in pain.

They looked up and tried to figure out where Snap was now. They could soon see what looked like a moving dot and they thought they could hear, just faintly, Snap calling out to them for help. Soon the two of them disappeared, leaving Rudy and Penny alone.

Rudy sat there, his thoughts moving rapidly through his head, the realization of what had happened dawning on him. He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe. He was hardly aware of Penny looking at him worriedly. All Rudy coud think about was the fact that his friend had just been taken from him, ripped away from him and dragged off into the distance. And there was nothing that he could do about it. By the time he found the magic chalk or got more....

“Rudy... I-It’ll be okay...” Penny whispered to him. Her voice was shaky and it was clear that she was trying to hide her own sorrows. “W-We’ll find him, I’m sure. Let’s not...”

Rudy turned to glare at her. He didn’t know why she was trying to lie to him like this. She knew that it wasn’t going to be that easy to get Snap back. And there’s a chance that they might not be able to save him in time. They just couldn’t...

Rudy could feel the sorrow overwhelming him, causing tears of guilt to stream rapidly down his face. He leaned against Penny, who held onto him, the two embracing each other, and sobbed.

sss

Shit... Oh fuck shit... Why did it have to turn out this way? Why did those stupid brats have to get i nhis way? If only he had been faster, he could have....

Skrawl let out a few pained hisses as he struggled to walk. That unscheduled flight had caused him to hit up against a few trees and thorny bushes, scraping and bruising up his body quite a bit. He was not terribly hurt. He imagined that it wouldn’t take him long to be fine. But at the same time, he just... He wasn’t going to be able to do much scheming for a while, that’s for sure.

But what annoyed him the most about this loss is that he had lost his one chance at getting a really scary, intimidating ally. Sure, his Beanie Boys could do quite a bit of work, and they had some competence levels in of themselves. But they were also pretty goofy-looking and he realized that most of the zoners hardly took them seriously. This included those who should know better.

Realizing this, Skrawl thought that it was time to recruit someone else. In order for it to work, however, he needed a new zoner. A freshly made zoner, or at least a zoner not from around here, who hadn’t yet been molded by these heathens of ChalkZone City. He needed to find a zoner who was big and dangerous....and hadn’t actually heard about him. He knew that was going to be quite the challenge, but it would have been so rewarding if he had succeeded. He could only imagine how things would become if he were accompanied by a large, scary zoner that would send the zoners in such a fright that they would have no choice but to listen to him.

That isn’t what ended up happening, though. Skrawl could feel his gut burning up inside of his stomach as he thought about what Rudy and Penny had done to him. They had decided to get in his way, to refuse to let him have any peace, and once again steal what was rightfully his. That zoner he caught was just some wild animal. It was something he could have easily trained. It was not like he was taking some sentient zoner and making them work for him. Seriously, who cares if he took some wild, violent animal and molded it into his image? Was that so wrong?

Of course, the stupid creators and their zoner pal, and most other zoners anyway, would have something else to say about that. They would do whatever it took to stop him. And while this meant that they took this threat seriously and that’s what he wanted, at the same time, it was also infuriating as it made it a lot more difficult for him to obtain this goal.

Oh well, there wasn’t much that he could do now. He would have to head back to his hideout and wait this out. He needed to recover a little before he made another attempt. He wouldn’t try to capture that winged wolf again. It was probably hundreds of miles away at this point. He snorted heavily as he rubbed one of the deep bruises on his side. It was going to take at least a week before he would feel recovered enough to head out again, in search of a new zoner. Perhaps something easier to catch this time around.

He placed his hand over his eye and growled heavily. He coudln’t believe what Penny had done to him. That stupid little girl... Once he got a new partner and he got a new scheme going on, she was going to be first on his list. And it would be a double whammy as well. By hurting her, he would also hurt Rudy and that pesky Snap. It was a win-win situation. He smirked at the thought.

He suddenly felt as though he was being watched. He froze in place, his head turning slowly, miss-matched eyes looking about as he felt something piercing through his very soul. He felt a cold chill rushing up and down through his body, which hunched instinctively like a child being scolded by a parent. Just what was going on here...?

Then he turned his head and he suddenly found his view filled with darkness and rows of pointed teeth.


	8. Aftermath Of The Assault

“Stupid! How could I have been so stupid?!” Rudy shouted. He paced back and forth, his feet pressing deeply into the ground. It was getting to the point where he was practically making a dent in the hard floor beneath him. “I should have drawn something better! Faster! If I hadn’t just.... Ugh!”

Penny felt her heart sting as she watched her friend beat himself up over this. She tried to control her emotions, but she wasn’t able to stop herself from biting her lip or from her tears forming in her eyes. She wished that there was something that she could do to cheer her friend up. But she couldn’t think of anything.

And what could she do? She didn’t know how to find Snap or where he was. At least, not fast enough. They could create the homing beacons like Rudy did that one time. But would they even find Snap in time? What if that beast had killed him? The thought chilled Penny’s blood and the thought made her want to throw up. Regardless, she didn’t think that they should stand here, scolding each other on what happened. There were far more important things to worry about.

But at the moment, she could not bring herself to talk. Her jaws were nearly sealed shut and unable to move. She watched as Rudy continuously moved around like this, digging his fingernrails into his scalp, cursing to himself, nearly literally kicking himself... She didn’t know how long she was going to be able to handle watching this. It was like watching a nightmare unfolding.

She hoped that Snap was okay. She hoped that the shield would buy him sometime at least. The beast didn’t seem able to actually tear it open. So perhaps once it let go and so long as Snap remained in the shield, the creature would have a harder time getting to him. That gave them more time to help rescue him.

Rudy finally stopped pacing, but he hardly looked any better. His eyes were wide and wild. Tears had left his cheeks red and she was certain they stung him horribly. He was struggling to breathe, his nostrils flaring as he strugled to take in breath after breath. He soon looked over at Penny. She felt her body jolt as she saw the way he was looking at her. His facial expression was contorted into such determination and distress, a combination that broke her heart.

Rudy licked his lips slowly. “D-Do you have any ideas, P-P-Penny...?” His voice was hard to listen to. It was a little gravelly and kind of sore, like he was struggling in vain to speak. “Anything at all..?”

Penny released a small sigh. She wanted to be more hopeful than this. But the truth was..... “It’s going to be hard to find him quickly, Rudy. As soon as we can even get another piece of chalk, we....”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear! You’re supposed to have all the good ideas! You should be telling me what to do!” Rudy shouted at her. He sounded angry but there was a tinge of anger to his voice as well. Penny was able to catch this easily and it made her expression to him soften up a little more. “You should know what to do! You always have some kind of plan! Please.... Just...” A few tears moved down his cheeks. “...tell me what to do... please...”

Penny watched as Rudy came towards her slowly. His feet were wobbling and he was slipping constantly. He looked like he was having a hard time standing up. But even in spite of that, he managed to get close enough to her to grab onto her and pull her forward. She hardly made a sound at this.

“There has to be something we can do! Just tell me what it is...please! Penny...!” Rudy’s body trembled as emotion wracked through her body. He started to lose energy and he dropped onto the ground, his knees banging painfully against his own room’s floor.

Penny looked at him sadly. She couldn’t imagine what he was going through. They had been forced to leave ChalkZone patch themselves up. But it would seem such a decision only made Rudy’s tennsion worse. She couldn’t begin to imagine just what he was going through. She had her ideas, but she wasn’t inside of his head. She couldn’t think of all the extra thoughts that plagued him. In an attempt to comfort him, she reached down and started to gently pat him on the head.

“Shhh... I know that things look tough right now. I know what you must be feeling.” She tried to sound as convincing as she could. But they were still going through similar feelings of despair and hopelessness. “We will find a way to get our friend back. He is in that shield, remember? That thing hadn’t been able to break it.”

Rudy took in a few shaky breaths. “B-But it could still move it. What if it...”

Penny put her finger against his lip to silence him. “If you continue to think like that, then it’s only going to drag you down further. Yes, there are risks and I won’t pretend to think that Snap won’t be hurt at all. But you aren’t going to do yourself any favors if you keep dragging yourself down like this.”

Rudy looked towards the ground. He didn’t move and didn’t speak. It was like he was getting lost in his own thoughts, trying to think of how to respond. Penny watched him for several moments, licking her lips slowly. She then took a small step forward, leaning in closer to Rudy.

“We will find a way to locate him. Don’t worry. Just understand that we also have a duty to protect the other zoners.” Penny lowered herself down as she stared at Rudy in the eyes. “That thing could come back and attack them as well. We need to make sure that the citizens of ChalkZone City do not fall prey to this creature.” She reached out and gripped onto Rudy’s shoulders tightly. “Please.... pull yourself together, Rudy. Let’s do something about this.”

She waited as the long, quiet moments passed by slowly. The longer Rudy didn’t answer, the more she gritted her teeth and worried for him. If Rudy let himself be consumed for too long by his fear for Snap, then not only would that not help, but the other zoners could be hurt as well. She knew that Rudy would not want something like that to happen.

It seemed to take forever before Rudy made any sort of motion. He looked at the ground for a few seconds, his eyes indicating he was having some kind of realization. He slowly lifted his head up as he stared back at Penny. He drew in a deep breath and, at long last, he spoke up.

“Okay... Let’s head into ChalkZone City then...” Rudy whispered. “...before my mom calls me down for dinner.”

Penny nodded her head in agreement.

sss

This felt so strange. Never before had he needed to do something like this. There was no turning back now. The zoners were watching him, gathered intos such large crowds. They were waiting for ihm to speak, to explain to them why he had called them out here, why they were gathered into this crowd.

Rudy tried to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth as he was forced to utter the words he never thought he would tell the zoners. The microphone he held magnified his words so that they all could hear him. “Attention everyone! I have issued a state of emergency!”

The zoners were immediately restless.

“What’s going on?!”

“What happened, Great Creator?!”

“Where is Snap?!”

Rudy could feel his heart tighten up at the mention of that name. It served as a reminder of what had happened, his failure to save Snap, the hopelessness that he felt. He couldn’t even bring himself to say anything else. All he could do was just stare in shock, his lips quivering slightly as he fought back against the strong emotion that was threatening to swallow him up.

This reaction didn’t go unnoticed by the zoners. Almost immediately, the zoners started to panic. They began talking more, their voices raising up, their heads moving left and right as they tried to figure out what to do. Their voices began to create a noise cloud and it was difficult for Rudy to focus. He struggled to open his mouth, yet he felt unable to, his jaws aching and hardening at each attempt.

He instinctively turned his head to the side to ask Snap for help....only to realize that he wasn’t there. Rudy took in a shuddering breath as he realized how much he relied on his friends for help. To have one of them gone and missing, it felt like a shot to the face. He tried his best to keep his cool, but as time passed, this grew more and more unlikely.

Suddenly, Penny took a step up, her eyes narrowed in determination. She raised her hand up slowly as she stared down at the small crowd of frightened zoners. She cleared her throat. And as if by magic, the zoners appeared to die down their chattering. Rudy had no idea how she had managed to do that. He didn’t complain, though. He took a step back as he let Penny take over.

“I know how scary this situation might be. We wouldn’t issue a state of emergency if it wasn’t warrented. But you all must try to remain calm and logical. If you don’t keep focused, you will only make things worse.” Penny looked around at each of the zoners, her eyes remaining narrowed. “You are all better than that. I believe in you. So please, try to remain calm.”

The zoners looked at each other and mumbled to one another. They couldn’t bring themselves to say anything directly to Penny. Rudy could see their soft glares, however, and he knew that they weren’t very happy about this. He tried his best not to say anything, however, and just wanted to get things moving on.

A few moments later, as Penny realized Rudy still wasn’t in the mood to try to talk, the girl continued to speak. She tried to speak with as much authority as possible. “A little while ago, our friend Snap was taken by a large winged creature. Body of a wolf, wings of a bat. We have no reason to think Snap was its first victim. We want all of you to not only keep an eye out for Snap’s whereabouts, but to report any missing zoners as soon as possible.”

Penny gave pause for a few moments to give the zoners a bit of time to process this information before she continued.

“A curfew has been issued. No one is allowed to leave their homes during their time of sleep.” Penny said. Rudy flinched slightly at the term, but the zoners understood what it meant. After all, there’s no day-night cycle in this world. “Remain within the city as much as possible and don’t go anywhere without a buddy. Rudy and I will inform you of whenever we apprehend the creature and if we find there’s been more victims, we will let you know.”

With Penny finished and stepping back, Rudy suddenly felt the focus turning on him. He looked at Penny, blinking his eyes rapidly. He then looked back at the crowd. He wasn’t entirely sure if he could do this. He didn’t know if he could do this. But he had to at least try, didn’t he? Penny took care of the hard part. Now it was up to him to make sure that the zoners don’t start slipping into renewed panic.

Rudy moved forward a little and he stared at the zoners around him. He could feel their stares crawling through him, threatening to rip him apart. Rudy swallowed hard and he struggled to keep his breathing steady. He exhaled slowly and eventually managed to make himself at least sound calm. He then said, “I apologize for this horrible mess. I promise to ensure the safety of all of you. You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He smiled the best that he could, hoping to sound convincing. “Just be careful like Penny said, and try to keep yourselves from going crazy. This beast is too big to come indoors and I doubt it will even try. Not with all of you crowded together like this.”

That did seem to motivate the zoners a little, but not in the way Rudy would have liked.

“Yeah, we could burn it at the stake!” A zoner shouted as they raised her fist up into the air.

Another zoner joined in. “We could take a huge knife and slice its throat open!”

“What?!” Rudy wailed. He motioned his hands up and down quickly as he shouted at the zoners. “Th-That’s not what I meant! Killing that thing would be a huge mistake!”

A few zoners glared at him. Rudy flinched at how those stares felt against himself. He bit his lip and he struggled to keep calm. But it grew increasingly difficult with how they were glaring right at him like this.

“How do you know?” One zoner accused.

“Yeah, what makes you think something like that?” Another asked him.

A third zoner bared her teeth. “Don’t tell us you’ve....”

Rudy didn’t need to hear the rest of that sentence to know what the zoner was talking about. He rapidly shook his head. “N-No, that’s not it! I’m just worried that if you kill this one, there might be more. Do you really....”

But the zoners didn’t seem satisfied. If they weren’t accusing him of hiding something or whatever else they could think of, they were arguing with each other or demanding more information. Rudy couldn’t believe what was happening. In all his time, he’s never seen the zoners quite like this. It sort of reminded him of the time when a lot of Snips were being drawn and erased into this world, which really upset the zoners. But this was feeling as though it was going to climb to a whole new level.

He looked over at Penny, staring at her helplessly. She looked like she was at a loss as well. The zoners almost seemed like they were settling down before. But all that seemed to be tossed out of the window now. Thanks to Rudy’s poor planning and poor wording, it seemed like things were only going to get even worse. Rudy didn’t know what to do, and he could tell neither could Penny.

But then...

“Silence!”

A loud, booming voice rocked through the air, startling the zoners in the large crowd. They all shuddered and froze, their words stopping in the air even if they were only halfway finished. With wide eyes, they looked over and they could see a massive form emerging from behind the buildings. They immediately recognized who this was.

“Biclops!” Rudy shouted loudly. He tried to say something else, but his words failed him. All he could do was just stare as the massive zoner came in, his massive, vertical eyes glaring at the zoners down below. Despite not being aimed at him, Rudy couldn’t help but flinch.

Biclops folded his arms and glared down at the zoners, who had gone silent and were cringing slightly from the sight of the angered giant zoner. “Tsk tsk tsk..” Biclops shook his head slowly. “For shame.... Do you see how you’ve been acting? Is this how we want to solve all of our problems now? Through fighting, accusing, and arguing?” Biclops held his hand up in gesture.

The zoners couldn’t bring themselves to answer. A few of them hung their heads in shame.

Biclops released a small sigh, clearly not wanting to drag this on. “Look, I’ll keep watch. Nothing will get by me, I assure you. If I see this....beast Rudy Tabootie speaks of, I will capture it. Rest assured, it will not keep roaming around this place for long.” He pointed his massive thumb to his chest. “You can count on me.”

Rudy and Penny smiled at this. They were glad for the giant’s intervention. His words seemed to have finally soothed the zoners, many of them content with having a massive bodyguard for the city. Of course, promising something and actually doing it are two different things, though Rudy and Penny were certain that Biclops would stay true to his word.

But there was still the matter of figuring out how they were going to find Snap...

sss

“You what...?” Rudy and Penny stared at Biclops in shock, their eyes wide.

Biclops looked at them sadly. “I.... didn’t want to say anything in front of them.” He looked away from them, his eyes filling up with shame. “I wanted them to believe that I could stop that thing, but I’ve faced it before and it’s...not easy.”

Penny narrowed her eyes. “So you lied to them? Just to get them to stop panicking? Wouldn’t that make things worse?”

“Perhaps, but things weren’t going so well there, right?” Biclops cocked an eyebrow up as he stared at Penny. “Which would you rather have? That crowd to break into a panicked riot at that very moment, or would you rather them be calm and be able to follow orders and take the necessary steps to protecting themselves?”

Penny tried to think of a reply to that. She tried to think of a way to poke a hole in what Biclops had stated. But she couldn’t think of anything. All she could do was just sigh in mild frustration.

Biclops closed his eyes softly. “Sometimes a lie or two are necessary in preserving as much safety for as many people as possible. That’s just how it is.”

Rudy nodded his head slowly. “I can see why you would think that. Just....” Rudy took a few steps forward, staring at Biclops intently. “...please try to keep your promise?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best, even if I don’t think I’m fit for it.” Biclops said.

Penny still didn’t like this. She would have preferred Biclops to tell the zoners the truth. But at the same time, she could undestand his point of view. After all, she and Rudy tried to reassure the zoners, but their methods didn’t work and only wound up riling up the zoners more. Perhaps Biclops method, though slightly deceptive, was warranted in that case. Biclops was right. They couldn’t afford a panic right then.

But there were still some things that needed to be taken care of. Biclops needed something more than just a few traps to protect the Chalk Mine, for one thing. He could leave short amounts of time. But now he was going to need something more affective in order to keep doing that. Or else he may come back to the chalk being stolen. They certainly couldn’t risk Skrawl taking any. Even if that evil zoner didn’t try to recruit a creator somehow, he could still destroy the chalk and render them powerless. He’s already tried to do that before.

And also, there was something else that needed to be addressed as well. It was something that stunned her and Rudy and it was something that she felt should not have been a secret. But she and Rudy already promised not to mention the name outloud for not. Not that it was necessary to tell the zoners the name, anyway. They were already aware of a flying beast. That was all that they really needed to know right now.

“You say you know this creature?” Rudy asked, beating her to the punch. Biclops nodded his head once. “What is its name? Where did it come from?”

“His name is Draow.” Replied Biclops. “He belongs to an evil and cruel creator that I hope you never run into. He has not been in ChalkZone in years, though, so I doubt you’ll have to worry about that.” His eyes narrowed slowly. “But Draow is another issue entirely.”

“Oh I’ll say he’s an issue.” Rudy’s voice was tinged in frustration and anger. “Penny and I tried to stop him, but he’s constantly thwarted our attempts.”

Biclops growled, “I’m not surprised. He was created to be highly resilient against other creators. I’ve seen him take down many past creators before.” Upon seeing the looks on Rudy and Penny, he said, “Yeah, to say that he’s dangerous is an understatement. There’s only been one zoner who could defeat him and I haven’t seen that one around in a long time. I don’t even know if he’s still alive.”

Penny flinched at this. “Well that doesn’t sound very encouraging.”

Biclops raised an eyebrow. “Did you expect me to tell you some miraculous thing that will surely stop Draow? Sorry, but for you, I can’t do that. I trust that you know how to handle the hard truth.” He shifted himself a little. “Just...do me a favor and the next time you see him, just hide. Draow is a drifter nowadays. He’ll probably get bored and move onto the next area.”

“But what about Snap...?” Rudy asked softly. “Shouldn’t we try to....”

Biclops went silent for several long moments. Then finally, he said, “I won’t try to stop you, but I can’t guarantee that you’ll succeed.” He softened up his stare, staring at the children sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

Rudy and Penny didn’t say a word. Penny put her hand over her mouth while Rudy just stared at the ground, silent and dejected.

sss

A million thoughts raced through Rudy’s mind as he thought about Biclop’s words. He couldn’t get them out of his head. They kept pounding him and he was constantly forced to endure it. It was like he was locked in a neverending battle with his psyche. He didn’t want to fall into despair and give up hope. But with the way Biclops had spoken to them....

It wasn’t like Biclops told them not to try. He clearly wanted them to give it a go. He clearly wanted them to do what they can to protect ChalkZone from Draow. He was just....warning them of how hard it was going to be. That much, he and Penny could understand.

So why couldn’t he see his words on Snap the same way?

Biclops did make it clear that he did not advice against trying to save Snap if possible. He was simply warning him and Penny on how hard that was going to be. He made it sound as though anyone caught by Draow will never return. Rudy and Penny didn’t want to believe that and it was clear neither did Biclops. Sure enough, he and Penny would do what they could to save their friend.

But Biclops’s warning made him wonder just how much time they really had. Did they have as much as he thought? Was it far less? Did they have more they needed to worry about? Were they already too late?

The young teen rubbed the sides of his head at this dilemma. He struggled to keep his focus, but this grew difficult within seconds and he could already feel the massive headache forming. He did his best to fight against the terrible thoughts and he tried to fend off the horrible feelings that were emerging and threatening to take him over. He didn’t know how long he was going to be able to handle this.

He had already been laying in bed for about two hours now, thinking about this. He adjusted himself in his bed, tossing and turning multiple times to no avail. His mind was too busy churning out thought after thought regarding Snap’s situation. His emotions were a mix of determination and desperation. He was no longer crying about Snap’s predicament because he had shed most of those tears a while ago. But that did not mean that his urgency to save him had diminished.

He would find his friend somehow. He didn’t know how or how long it would take. But somehow, mark his words, he would find Snap and he would get him out of that terrible situation Draow had put him in. Whatever situation that might be...

Rudy could feel his mind filling up with horrible thoughts of what Draow might be doing with Snap right now. There were so many things that he could be doing to his best friend right now. Was he torturing him? Was he ripping off a limb? Was he trying to feed him to someone? Was he delivering him to someone else? This and other thoughts plagued him, forcing his mind to remain awake and constantly shift through all the rapidly moving thoughts.

Indeed, Rudy had a continuously hard time going to sleep. The terrifying thoughts, the uncomfortable heat on his bed, and the doubt expressed from Biclops, as well as Penny’s worries, were making it hard for him to fall asleep. He still tossed and turned in the bed and struggled to keep his eyes closed. It didn’t take much for his eyes to feel burnt out and tired from constantly trying to keep them closed and his eyes slowly opened up, looking around slowly at the ceiling above him or at the rest of the room around him.

Then finally, at long last, he started to feel his mind starting to drift off into some much needed sleep.


	9. Twisted Nightmare

No... Oh no...

Please... not that....anything but that...

Rudy could feel his heart pounding hard in his chest as he looked around left and right. What had happened to this place? Just where was he? Everything was just.... dark and smokey. It was like he was going through a thick, neverending fog. It felt like it was swirling around him, refusing to let him go.

And yet he still kept moving. He wouldn’t stop. He was determined to keep on moving, determined to figure out just how to take care of this situation. He didn’t know what it was, but he was compelled to keep moving. He had to keep going, or else he couldn’t...

“Bucko!”

Rudy lifted his head up immediately at the sound of his friend calling out for him. It sounded faint, but he knew that Snap was around here somewhere. He rushed forward, pumping his arms forward and back, his heart pounding against his chest, threatening to come out. He tried to fight against it as he rushed forward as quickly as he could, his legs burning throughout.

He could see something in the distance. Just barely... Some sort of shape... As he got closer, he thought he could see a shape forming slowly. Something dark was coming out of the mist. Rudy licked his lips slowly and pushed himself to go faster, going at maximum speed and then some.

Just then, he could feel the clouds parting a little, allowing him to see the huge beast before him.

Draow.

Rudy widened his eyes in horror at this, seeing the wolf bat creature holding onto Snap with one of his feet, the talons wrapped around tightly. Snap was covered in blood and trembling, wriggling his way about the paw, hoping to break free. Rudy could feel his heart tightening up when Snap looked at him in fear like that.

“R-Rudy! Please... Help me...!” Snap shouted loudly before silenced by the squeeze of Draow’s paw.

Rudy rushed forward, but something rose from the ground. A serie of thorny vines shot up and pushed him back. He yelped in pain as he rolled around on the ground. He kept going a few times before he finally skidded to a stop. He rested there for a few moments before shaking his head and looking up.

Draow was sneering at him. The mouth corners had pulled up, giving the beast an expression Rudy had never seen before. It was somehow more chilling than jsut assuming this thing was non-sentient. Rudy watched Draow carefully as he pushed himself up from the ground, his eyes unable to leave the piercing teal orbs that appeared to glow in the encroaching darkness. Rudy could hardly focus on just how dark it was getting, nor had he noticed the slow changing hues around him. All he could see was just Draow holding Snap.

Rudy took a defensive stance. He reached into his pocket to grab his magic chalk. He wielded it in front of himself, hoping that it would be enough to deter Draow. But the creature only just laughed at him as though he was being presented with some silly gift or something. Rudy gritted his teeth and growled loudly, moving forward and jerking the chalk a little more. He tried to do whatever he could to make Draow back down, but the creature just wuldn’t budge.

Soon the beast pulled his head back and he opened his mouth up a little, the sneer somehow becoming broader. Rudy felt himself jump when he heard those loud, booming chuckles coming out of the creature’s mouth. Then words flowed from the open mouth despite there being little movement outside of the winged wolf licking his lips slowly.

“You think you can save your pitiful friend? You didn’t even try to save him before.” Draow told Rudy. He raised Snap up more, shaking him from side to side like he were just a ragdoll. “Do you think you have a chance to get him back from me? Why, I probably would finish eating his head before you get any ideas to save him!”

At this, Draow pressed a claw against Snap’s body, causing the blue zoner to scream, “Rudy, why aren’t you helping me?!”

Rudy felt his heart freeze at this. He took in several shaky breaths as he tried to think of how to respond. He struggled to say something. But his sentences fell short from his mouth. He soon found that he couldn’t say anything else. He was just frozen still there, nothing more than forming squeaks from his mouth.

Draow just laughed at this. He moved himself forward, his back becoming parallel to the ground, and he motioned his wing towards Rudy. “You see? You won’t even try to save your little pal here! I guess you really don’t care!”

Rudy shook his head. “N-No... That’s not....”

“Rudy...” Snap whimpered softly. Tears flowed down from his face. “Y-You don’t really care about me?” It broke Rudy’s heart to hear Snap say something like that to him. He never though that Snap would view him like that. “I-I thought we were best friends. Was I just a toy for you?”

Rudy could feel his mind turning into ice when Snap said that. The young boy continuously tried to think of something to tell his friend. He tried to think of a way to help him feel better, something to reassure Snap with. But his mind was just...locked, and no matter what he did, he just could not...

Without warning, Draow made his move. Rudy didn’t have time to react. Draow tossed Snap up into the air and opened his jaws wide. Rudy felt his heart skipping several times before he rushed forward as quickly as he could, holding his hand out towards him, trying to grab Snap. He moved forward as fast as possible, and yet somehow, everything around him began to slow down.

“Snap! No!” Rudy shouted as loudly as he could.

Everything still seemed to slow down greatly. He could feel his breath becoming shallow and his voice going dry as this happened. Snap seemed to fall in slow motion towards the gaping mouth. Rudy couldn’t forget how Snap looked at him as he fell. A look of disappointment...

Suddenly, Snap was gone in the chomp of the beast’s jaws. In an instant, Rudy was suddenly aware of the coloring around him. Things had taken on a blood red tinge, now pronounced and accented by the blood dripping from Draow’s jaws. Rudy remained frozen, horrified by what had just taken place. He struggled to breathe, struggled to speak, the sound of bones cracking filling his ears, invading his mind.

No... Oh gawd no... Please.. This couldn’t have happened...

Rudy gripped the sides of his head and shook it slowly, his wide eyes staring at the ground. He could barely hear Draow’s gloating words as he became lost in his own mind. He didn’t notice the dark clouds swirling around him, closer and closer. He didn’t notice the red mist covering over him, drawing in to him. He didn’t notice the world starting to collapse all around him. He was only aware of his swirling, torrent of emotions. He shook and trembled for several moments before he finally couldn’t take it any longer.

Rudy pulled his head back and let out a loud scream, “Snap!”

sss

Rudy jolted awake in his bed, shouting, “Snap...!” He took in several shaky breaths as he looked around him. Sweat dripped from his body and onto the ground. He panted heavily as he raised his hand up, wiping the sweat and tears from his face.

He continuously looked around the room, slowly getting a sense of just what had happened. It took him a while before he realized just where he was. Not outside in ChalkZone, but instead here, right back in his own home... But despite that, he was still rather shaken up, his lower lip quivering as tears continued to stain his cheeks. He pulled his legs to himself as he rested his chin on his knees.

That nightmare felt way too real. He could still hear Snap’s screams in his head. He could still feel the blood from his friend dripping onto his face. He could still feel drool from that monster coming down, soaking his body in it. He could still hear his own screaming as he kept trying to breathe, a few hiccups coming about as a result of his constant sobbing.

This... This was.... Oh gawd... That nightmare was going to be etched into his head. He would never forget it. Not with how detailed it was, not with that look Snap had given him... Not with how Draow just chomped down on his friend’s body like it was nothing...

Rudy closed his eyes and let his burning tears flow more. He didn’t want to think that Snap would hate him for this. He wanted to believe that Snap was smart enough to know that he would never abandon him on purpose. But... But what if Snap really did blame him for this? What if Snap felt he was the one at fault? What if he rejected him if he were to try to come to him? What if...

Rudy shook his head hard a few times before he settled down, trying his best to get those thoughts out of his head. He didn’t want tot hink about that. He didn’t want to believe in any of that. Snap doesn’t hate him. And he was waiting for him to come rescue him.

Yeah, that’s what was happening. Snap was just trapped and just waiting for him to come over and get him out of that situation. Snap wouldn’t hate Rudy for what happened. Snap would be happy to see him. Snap would have faith in Rudy to come rescue him. That’s just how that blue zoner was. Rudy had known him long enough to know his personality. After all, he did design him.

Rudy took in a shuddering breath as he forced himself to lay back down. It was still dark out yet and he needed to get some more sleep before tomorrow. But as he laid down to rest, he made a silent promise to look for Snap as soon as he could. He would go into ChalkZone, find Draow, defeat him, and save Snap. His best friend was counting on him to succeed.

Rudy would be sure that he wouldn’t let him down.

sss

Rudy poked around silently at the piece of scrambled egg on his plate. He licked his lips slowly, wanting to take a bite from it, and yet he could not bring himself to do that. It wasn’t that he was full. He just couldn’t eat the rest of his food for some reason.

His parents didn’t seem to notice.

“I can’t believe how exciting this is!” Mrs. Tabootie cried out. She rubbed her hands together rapidly, raw energy running through her body. “Today’s the beginning of...”

“Oh will you calm down, Millie?” Mr. Tabootie spat lightly. He sounded upset, but really, it wasn’t that much. “I know you’re excited for this, but at least try to approach it with some dignity.” He raised his hand up in gesture. “And just why the sudden change of heart? You were a little suspicious before.”

Mrs. Tabootie blinked a few times before smiling sheepishly. “I guess that was before I understood what was going on and.... Wait, why are you telling me this? You were just as excited before, too! Why the change?” Mrs. Tabootie put her hands on her hips.

Mr. Tabootie shrugged his shoulders. “I am excited. I just want to approach this more calmly so that we don’t screw things up again.”

“And how did we do that?”

“Remember Dr. Von Dotkor....?”

Rudy flinched at that name. He tried not to remember the time when he nearly exposed ChalkZone becaues he forgot to draw a stupid power supply to his creation. But what he also could not forget, which stung just as much, is when his parents found out he wasn’t a genius. They were so deflated after having gotten so worked up over their son creating perpetual motion. And remembering that, his dad’s behavior made sense now.

His dad didn’t want them to get worked up again. He didn’t want them to set themselves up for failure just like last time. His dad just wanted to err on the side of caution. His mom was just getting a little too excited. Trying to remain calm about this would be a good idea.

As for Rudy himself, he wasn’t entirely sure what he thought of this idea. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy about where they were going to day. He didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. And he did feel a bit stupid for thinking like that. But with what happened to Snap, his mind was pretty choppy and messed up. He couldn’t focus as well, which might explain why he couldn’t finish his breakfast.

“I’m sorry, dear. I’m just so... I mean, not many people are able to see the Teddison Cosmo, the man responsible for much improvement in our quaint little down.” He could hear his mother say.

His father replied, “I know. It is...unprecedented. A once in a lifetime opportunity.” He gave pause for a moment and Rudy thought he could hear him release a few small coughs. “But we also need to remember that...”

Rudy could barely hear his parents at this point. As he continued to swirl his fork over the last few pieces of scrambled egg, he thought back to his earlier trip into ChalkZone. He didn’t want to wait until Penny got a hold of him and they check it out together. He was so distraught over that nightmare and over his failure to save Snap that he went in by himself to try to look for his friend. He didn’t care that it was six in the morning when he did this. He just wanted to try.

Sadly, there wasn’t much development. None of the zoners had seen him yet and no one had noticed Draow at all. The beast’s location still remained a secret. Rudy bit his lip firmly, feeling pain from his teeth pressing into flesh, as he thought about the implications of this. He didn’t want to believe that it was always going to be like this. That everytime that he headed in, it was only going to lead to more disappointment....

He shook his head once and tried to knock those thoughts out of his head. He could not let himself become to drawn into the despair. He reminded himself that he would keep looking for his friend. Although he didn’t succeed this time around, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t try again. Maybe he would succeed one of these times and....

“Oh shit... I lost track of time!” Rudy yelped when he felt his dad jumping up from the table, knocking into it. “Mr. Cosmo wanted to see us around ten thirty in the morning and it’s already close to ten!”

His mom let out a sharp gasp. “Oh dear, you’re right!” She looked over at Rudy, her eyes widening further than Rudy’s ever seen them go. “Finish eating, Rudy. We need to head out in a minute!”

Rudy watched as his parents scrambled to get ready. He was beside himself in shock. He had never seen his parents move so fast like this before. And all for some man named Mr. Cosmo....

Well it’s not like he didn’t know who the guy was. But his dad just finished telling his mom to remain calm or else they might end up making things worse. Yet here he was, scrambling about like some kid getting ready to go to an amusement park. It was insane. But then again, he had seen his parents get worked up over the littlest things. So perhaps he should not really be surprised by this.

Regardless, Rudy did as he was told. Despite the fact that he was not hungry, he did force himself to eat the rest of the scrambled eggs. He didn’t really care that the eggs were cold and it felt like ice slithering down his throat. He just wanted to get this done and over with so that he could focus on what he felt was most important right now:

Finding his best friend.

sss

This was Mr. Cosmo’s place? This was where he worked at? It was so hard not to be drawn in by it. The shere size, the shere beauty of the design... With him being an artist at heart, Rudy could easily appreciate all of the details. His parents were just as wowed by it, but he doubted that they understood as fully as he did. They couldn’t appreciate it just like he could.

The building was massive in size, stretching up, looking almost like a series of skyscrapers that were pressed together. The silver was bright and nearly glowed, and somehow it seemed to also have a tinge of green. Rudy didn’t know how Mr. Cosmo managed that, but he was impressed. And how parts of the building seemed to twist around and yet still blended in as one piece.... Man, that must have taken quite the eye for design.

Just approaching this thing felt intimidating. Rudy licked his lips slowly as he tried to process what was happening. Each step felt stiffer and slower and he found it increasingly difficult to keep going. He took in breath after breath as his eyes constantly scanned up and down, staring at the building. He swallowed hard as he forced his stiff legs to keep moving.

It seemed to take forever before they reached the door. They paused for a moment, collecting their thoughts. Then, slowly, they entered the building.

The inside of the building was more massive than they thought it would be. In fact, it seemed to be larger than the building was on the outside. They didn’t know how this feat was performed, but they were caught in amazement at the very sight of it. Their breaths were held in their mouth as they entered in very slowly, taking the time to explore the details of where they were and what was going on with the design of the building.

It was nice and brightly colored, with rows upon rows of fluorescent lighting. Everything almost felt like a saturated white color and yet somehow, it didn’t seem to hurt the eyes. That might be due to the material of choice. It was hard to tell if this was actual wood or just painted wood, but whatever it was, somehow it helped to absorb some of the lightning. It felt like such a sharp contrast, seeing this wood seem like it was both white and not, but that’s how it was. Just how did Mr. Cosmo manage to do this?

The family of three continued their way further in. The area they had arrived in had a tall ceiling with a window above them, letting in some natural lighting. Then there was the hallway in front of them. A short one where the wall from the arrival area seemed to shoot down and cross over, creating a sharp transition. The area went from feeling open and inviting to, somehow, more serious and focused in the span of a few moments.

Swallowing hard, Rudy forced himself to continue forward. He fumbled with his hands a little as he went, his teeth clenching tightly. He didn’t know what to expect when they would arrive at their destination. He hadn’t fully known how to feel about this meeting before, but now that he was heading in, now that he was going to meet Mr. Cosmo in his own place, after seeing all of this, it was enough to make him hesitate a little, realizing just what a bit deal this truly was. He could feel his heart racing against his chest as he let all of this sink in.

He and his parents soon arrived at the end of the small hallway, where it suddenly turned a sharp right. They didn’t know if this was where they were supposed to be going or not. But there was literally nothing else here to guide them with. They looked at one another, exchanging looks of nervousness, but they also tried to reassure each other. Surely, this wouldn’t be that bad.

Then they finally saw what looked to be a small window on the side. Was this where people had to sign in? The family approached slowly, moving in cautiously, their eyes watching cautiously and with much anticipation as they tried to see who was there.

They did not expect to see Mr. Cosmo sitting in the chair, staring out at them.

Immediately, Rudy and his parents were startled, jumping back away as they looked at the man in shock. They struggled to say something, but their words were just muddled together, interlocking in a huge mess, just a jumble of words.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t seem to mind this. Instead, he just interlocked his fingers slowly and smield at the family. “Did I surprise you?”

Mr. Tabootie spluttered a little. He swallowed hard, cleared his throat, and he tried again. “W-Well, we thought that was where we sign in and...”

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up slowly. “Oh don’t worry. It is. You aren’t lost. Here...” He reached underneath the opening of the glass window. He pushed a piece of paper towards the family. “...please fill this out and we can get started as soon as possible.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie looked at one another before they looked back at Mr. Cosmo. Rudy could see how confused and nervous they looked. Despite that, he could see his dad reaching out for the clipboard with the pen attached to it.

“Oh and if you want to know why I’m here.... Well, I often prefer doing these things myself, you know?” Mr. Cosmo raised his hands up at his sides for a few seconds. “It’s a good way of making sure that things go exactly how I want them to. Sometimes, to do a job right, you have to do it yourself.” He motioned his hands towards the parents. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Mrs. Tabootie fumbled with a strand of hair for a bit and said, “I do agree that does make some sense...”

Mr. Tabootie gave a slow nod. “I think I see where you are coming from. Well anyway...” He looked down at the clipboard, bit his lip, and looked back at Mr. Cosmo. “We’ll fill this out as soon as we can.”

“Excellent.” Mr. Cosmo smiled.

“And after this?” Mrs. Tabootie asked.

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes twinkled a little. “Then we begin your son’s assessment. I do think he holds a lot of promise. What he’s about to do today....” He leaned in closer, resting his arms on the table, elbows cocked outward, his grey-blue eyes staring intently at the parents. “....will determine just what kind of promise that is.”

sss

The young fifteen year old boy struggled to keep up with Mr. Cosmo. That guy moved quite fast, something that wouldn’t have been easily suspected from his physical appearance. Not that he was out of shape or anything. He just didn’t come across as someone who could move this quickly. “Mr. Cosmo, is this really necessary?”

“But of course! In order to determine your skill, we need to ensure maximum efficiency!” Mr. Cosmo raised his finger up towards the air. “The best way to do that is to put you in a nice, quiet room, away from everyone else. Your parents and I would only affect your scores.” He looked over his shoulder and stared at Rudy. “Have you never taken a test like this before? Alone?”

Rudy answered, “I think I have, but not like this.” Rudy flinched when he said that. “I-I mean...”

Mr. Cosmo chortled softly. “That’s all right. I think I get what you mean. Now...” With a smile still on his face, the red-haired man looked out ahead, his arms folded behind his back. “...once we get to the room and you are settled down, I will give you an hour to complete the tests. I have given you three of them. Don’t worry, they aren’t too long. I have chosen specific questions for this task. They are focused and will reveal more about your potential than some long, hundred-question test.”

Rudy wasn’t entirely sure how that was possible. He couldn’t help but stare at the man with some skepticism. But he did not attempt to counter the man. He didn’t really feel that it was his place to do so. Instead, he just watched him carefully and wondered just what was going to happen. He still didn’t know what the man planned to do with these tests right after. He was light on those details.

Rudy looked out ahead and he saw that they were rapidly approaching a room at the end of this hallway. The room had a label on the side that read ‘Warning: Test Happening Inside’. Kind of awkward wording. He’d certainly seen better at his school. But it seemed to serve its purpose.

The teenager didn’t say a word as they got close enough for Mr. Cosmo to reach out and grab onto the door knob. Mr. Cosmo turned it easily, allowing Rudy to step inside. The boy looked around, noticing how this room was a bit smaller than he thought, but didn’t feel too crowded. There were some rows of computers with walls around them for privacy, a small round table with a single chair, and a chalkboard on the side.

Oh and some weird black window that confused him. He did notice how they walked, it did shine of several colorations. He wondered if it was there to help calm people taking tests. It did seem pretty relaxing.

Rudy turned around and asked, “Where do I take the test?”

Mr. Cosmo motioned to the computer located right up against the corner, to his right. “That computer should have the tests right there. I put them there because you can either just take the test right at the computer. I have a program set up for it. It’ll make things quicker for me. But...” He then looked over at the small table. “..if you would rather do it by hand, that’s fine. Either way will work.”

Rudy nodded his head slowly. He looked over at the clock, taking note of what time it was now versus how long Mr. Cosmo had allocated for him. “So... I guess I better get started, right...?”

Mr. Cosmo smiled. “If you need more time, feel free to ask me. That small red button on the wall? It’ll connect you to me and you can just ask.” He let out a small chuckle and said, “But you’re a bright child, aren’t you? I don’t think you need more time....” He stared into Rudy’s eyes, almost as though trying to pierce his soul. “...do you...?”

“I-I...” Rudy moved back, feeling his heart clench for a moment. In a split second, Mr. Cosmo’s face returned to normal. But that still didn’t fully calm him down. He looked at the man, breathing in a little quickly. He then said, “Y-Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Rudy cleared his throat and tried to sound confident. “I’ll be done before the hour is up.”

“That’s a good lad. See, having some determination doesn’t hurt.” Mr. Cosmo moved towards the door. “Now, I shall leave you to it. Good luck!” Soon he shut the door behind him, leaving Rudy alone in the room.

Rudy stared at the door for several long moments. He bit his lip, licking his tongue over it slowly, before turning his head to look back at where the test was located at. He swallowed hard, glanced up the clock above him, and then forced himself to walk over towards the computer.

His head began to fill up with so many questions. Some of them, Mr. Cosmo already answered, but Rudy didn’t feel fully satisfied with them. Others just left him in a state of confusion. Some weren’t even answered at all, as he couldn’t ask them. There were just some things that he couldn’t completely understand about what was going on here.

Mr. Cosmo saw potential in him, sure. But just what kind of potential? What about his scores impressed him? Rudy could not imagine why Michelle didn’t get chosen, or even Penny, who was certainly a lot smarter than him. He wasn’t being down on himself, either. It was the truth. There were so many other potential people to choose. So why, out of all people, did Mr. Cosmo choose to further test him? He knew that Penny was not doing this because she clearly stated that Mr. Cosmo never sought her out. It was just him.

Rudy narrowed his eyes slowly. He did hope that things would be explained eventually. He hoped that, at some point, he would come to understand just what Mr. Cosmo wants. But in the meantime, he had only one option, and that was taking the test.

Rudy went over to the computer and grabbed onto the papers. He held it up, seeing how they were all neatly stapled. The instructions were clear and easy to read, and he had been provided with a numbe two pencil to help mark in the answers. He looked at the computer before him, remembering Mr. Cosmo’s words. But he never did feel too comfortable using a computer. He was always a hands-on sort of guy. So he took Mr. Cosmo’s offer of just sitting down in thte chair and doing this manually instead of crunching it into the computer.

Upon seeing the questions, Rudy couldn’t help but blink a few times. This was not entirely what he was expecting. It was still similar to Mr. Cosmo’s tests, but he didn’t think that the subject would revolve around art so much. Had Mr. Cosmo guessed that just from his tests before? Was he focusing on finding someone with an artistic skill to help him change the world, or whatever he was talking about before?

Well, the man did say that even the ‘lowly artist’ would benefit from this, so....

Rudy wasn’t sure how much time had passed before he finally put the pencil down for a break and look up at the clock. He noticed that it had been twenty minutes so far, and he filled out he would say....a quarter of the way through. He was making some good time. If he kept it up at this rate, he would be finished pretty soon. He just needed to....

Rudy let the pencil drop as he rested his elbows on the table and held up his head. He gritted his teeth and hissed softly, feeling his head spinning a little. He felt a sudden onslaught of emotions hitting him like a hurricane, and suddenly it became hard, if not near impossible, to concentrate on this test.

What was going on with Snap? What about the other zoners? Had Draow appeared again? Rudy’s head continued to pound with these questions, which repeated themselves over and over again. A dull headache spread throughout and he was unable to focus on much else for much longer.

He released a small grunt as he pushed himself against the table, letting out a small sigh as his hands gripped the sides of his head tightly. He looked down at the test. He could hear the sound of the second head ticking away, the minute hand moving slowly, creaking along. Rudy tried his best to ignore it, but no matter what he tried, it seemed almost impossible to do. His headache only got worse and worse....

...that is, until he eyed the chalkboard. Rudy could barely turn away from it. His eyes focused intently on it as he felt his tongue wetting his drying mouth. Some thoughts moved through his head and he tried to struggle with sorting them and understanding them.

Did he really want to do it? Did he really want to get up and leave just to see what’s going on ChalkZone? He already checked this morning, and he already decided that he should wait until after this was all done before he did so. This test was only going to last another, what, forty minutes? Surely, things would still be how they are in forty minutes, right?

But he was aware of how fast things do change. Sometimes, all it takes is a single minute for all things to go wrong...

He looked back down at the test. How would he even begin to justify leaving? Would he even have enough time? He had no idea how far out he was from ChalkZone City. He hadn’t noticed how far his parents drove or in what direction. This would make navigating ChalkZone pretty hard. He might as well wait until after he got home and...

...but what if he didn’t get home until late...? What if by the time he did look, something worse happened...? What if....

All this worrying about Snap and the other zoners caused his stomach to churn inside of him. He tried to rub his hands against his stomach, hoping that would soothe it. But it seemed to have no effect on it. If anything, it seemed to start making it worse and he struggled not to throw up.

There was no way that he could keep taking this test. He needed a bit of fresh air. He needed to stop and take a rest. Clear up his mind. It was the only way that he could possibly finish this. He did feel bad about stopping right now after he had been on such a role. But if Mr. Cosmo wanted his optimal performance, he would need understand the need for a rest. Rudy will finish this test in time. He just needed a small break for now.

Rudy stared over at the chalkboard once more. He did bring his magic chalk with him. He always did. He could just take a peak inside and see what was going on. That wouldn’t hurt, right? Maybe he would run into a zoner that he could speak to. Someone that could give him an update on what was going on. Then he could maybe search a little while for Snap, but stick with that immediate area so he wouldn’t take long to get back.

Rudy decided that there was no more time to waste. If he wanted to check on Snap and the zoners, if he wanted to push aside these emotions so he could finish this stupid test...

With his eyes narrowing slowly, softly, Rudy took a moment to look around. It didn’t seem like there were any cameras hidden in here. There didn’t seem like there were any signs of a window and certainly no signs of someone in the hallway, coming in or not. He looked back up the clock to see how much time he had left. With that in mind, he looked back towards the chalkboard.

He walked up towards the chalkboard. He reached into his pocket to pull out his magic chalk. He stared at the sparkling piece of white stick for a couple of seconds, took another look around the room, and then he proceeded to draw a portal on the somewhat small chalkboard. The light flashed in his eyes and he looked away, holding his arm up, then he looked through the opening, seeing the details of ChalkZone inside. Without much hesitation, Rudy immediately crawled through the portal, disappearing inside.

Unbeknownst to him, a pair of eyes were watching him intently.

sss

Mr. Cosmo watched in silence, his fingers tapping against one another, as he watched the teenager do something that most people wouldn’t believe if he told them.

Disappearing into the chalkboard.

The man remained still for several long moments, his mind trying to ponder if what he had seen was truly real or not. He kept staring long hard, waiting to see any sort of sign that this had been faked or not. He felt his stomach churn slightly, emotion starting to move through him rapidly, as he waited for any possible hallucination to clear up.

But as time passed, things stayed the same. Through the one way mirror he had set up, cleverly disguised as a black rainbow thing to anyone looking in from the other side, he was able to see the glowing opening that was the portal. The chalkboard was illuminated as was anything close to it. The portal showed no signs of being closed. A bold move by the teenager, he would say so himself. He must be really confident that no one was going to come in and see this.

But for all his artistic intellect, for all his ability to notice the details, it would seem the teenager hadn’t yet noticed the trap that he had just walked into. Mr. Cosmo smiled to himself, proud of what he had been able to accomplish. He knew that his efforts would be worth it.

He turned his attention to Ms. Saffron, who had just arrived. She was moving in slowly, her wide eyes staring at the mirror. It was obvious she had seen what he saw as well. She was struggling to speak, but her voice consistantly failed her. Mr. Cosmo watched this for a few moments before turning his attention back to the chalkboard.

Slowly, his eyes furrowed softly. This wasn’t exactly what he thought would happen. He had been jumping a little at straws, taking some guesses and some risks. To find this child this quickly.... He would need to bump up his plans a little bit. Fortunately, he had already been doing something pretty similar before. It was just a matter of time before it would all fall into place.

“S-S-Sir... what’s...” Ms. Saffron spoke up, her voice a hushed whisper.

Mr. Cosmo looked over his shoulder. A single blue-grey eye pierced through Ms. Saffron. “It would seem that we have went to the right school after all...” He turned his head as he watched the open portal. “I think we’ve found our perfect...candidate.”

“Really? You still want that....” Ms. Saffron whispered softly. Staring at the chalkboard for a moment, she moved in closer, holding her hands and arms to herself. She was still in a state of shock of seeing the open portal this quickly. “You are sure about this?”

“As sure as ever.” Mr. Cosmo spoke with confidence. “Now...” His voice remained quiet, nothing more than a mere whisper, as he barked out the order, “Inform our ally of the news.”

Ms. Saffron gasped at this, her eyes widening as her hand moved to her mouth. “This soon? But sir....”

Mr. Cosmo swerved his head in her direction, cutting her off. “I know he’s already had his work cut out for him. But still, be a dear and tell him.” He slowly turned his head as he looked at the portal. His frown remained on his face for a few moments before a darkened smile spread along his face. “Things are about to get very...interesting.”

Ms. Saffron hesitated for a moment. Then she turned and walked away.


	10. Confusion Admist The Drama

Mrs. Tabootie tried to remain as calm as she could. She kicked her feet against one another. She fumbled with her hands. She looked around, left and right, trying to think of what to do pass the time. It would be a while before Rudy would come out. So she needed to do something until that happened. She didn’t know how long she had been standing here, but already she could feel her legs kicking about, unable to contain the energy storing up inside of them.

Her husband seemed to be doing only slightly better. He wasn’t fidgeting around as much and he looked pretty calm reading that newspaper. But she could tell just by looking into his eyes that he was not as relaxed as she thought he looked. His eyes were filled with nervousness, a trait that she could easily see after being married to this man for so long. It was easy to tell with how his eyes were that it was just plainly obvious to see that he was upset as well.

Okay, so upset was not the best word. But still, Mr. Tabootie was as troubled as her about this and he was trying to keep himself as calm as possible. Mrs. Tabootie wanted to say something to calm him down, but she couldn’t think of anything herself. And how could she herself help him when she was not so calm, either? It just didn’t make a ton of sense and she just....

Mrs. Tabootie cleared her throat as she got up from the chair. She was getting a little bored just sitting around. She started to pace around in the room slowly, her hands on her hips, occassionally folding back behind her. She let her eyes close a little, letting them rest a bit. She reopened them and she glanced up at the clock.

“Joe, how long did Mr. Cosmo say the test will be?” She asked as she turned her head to stare at her husband.

Mr. Tabootie hardly looked up from his newspaper. “I think around an hour I think?”

Mrs. Tabootie looked up at the clock again. It wasn’t yet an hour, but for some reason, it felt like much more time had passed. Things had been slowing down to a crawl for her and it was getting rather irritating. She licked her lips a couple of times before she kept on walking about, trying to burn off some of this excess energy.

But she wasn’t sure how much longer she could do this. Each second that went by felt like many minutes. They didn’t get any word from Mr. Cosmo about when he would come back to see them, or what precisely would happen after Rudy was done. Would he come out right away? Or would he end up staying back and speaking to him longer? And just what were she and Mr. Tabootie expected to do in the meantime?

She did feel a little bad for not figuring out a better way to control herself. She wished that she could follow her husband’s advice and just chill. But if even he wasn’t able to calm down...

Finally, after struggling so hard to control herself, she just exhaled forcibly, unable to stop the grown that came out. “What is taking so long?” She heard herself mutter.

Mr. Tabootie lowered the newspaper and glared softly at her. “You don’t have a lot of patience, do you?” He motioned down to the magazines that he was sitting nearby. “Come on, read one of these.”

Mrs. Tabootie looked down and felt her lip curl up at the sight of them. “I don’t like any of those magazines.”

Mr. Tabootie groaned as he put his hand against his face, rubbing it up and down slowly. “I don’t get what you want. I told you that it would be an hour. I would think that you would have more self control than this.”

“I do have self control. It’s just that....”

“It’s just that...what...?”

Mrs. Tabootie opened her mouth to speak. But she quickly shut it. She wasn’t really sure what to say at this. Just how should she respond to her husband’s question? He was making a valid point. Why was she getting all carried away like this? She was normally not like this. Was it really for the fact that this was Mr. Cosmo? She could control herself initially, but then she just.... Mrs. Tabootie couldn’t help but lower her head in shame.

Mr. Tabootie sighed softly. “Now dear, don’t beat yourself up over this. We’ll get everything sorted out soon. I doubt it’ll take much longer for Rudy to be finished.”

Mrs. Tabootie hoped that her husband was right. She one more took a look at the clock behind her. Only about five minutes passed so far. It was going to take a long time, but she imagined that some answers will be given out soon enough. It was just a matter of time and patience. She couldn’t just...

That was when she felt her heart sting slightly as she thought about her so once more. She wondered how he was doing. She hoped that the test was not too stressful, though she didn’t really know what to expect. She and her husband were not allowed to go see him because Mr. Cosmo wanted him to be able to focus. While she could understand that, she did want to at least be able to make sure he was doing okay. Was she being a bit too protective of him? Maybe, but she was his mom. What did anyone else expect her to do?

She was about to ask Joe something else when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She felt her stomach burn slightly in excitement when she thought it was Mr. Cosmo. She whirled her head in the direction where it was coming from. But when the door to the waiting room opened up, she felt herself deflate when she saw it was just Ms. Saffron.

“Oh hello, Ms. Saffron.” She could hear her husband say. “What a pleasant surprise. We weren’t expecting to see you here just now.”

“I doubt you were.” Ms. Saffron nodded her head slowly. She moved in a little further into the room. She left the door wide open behind her. She paid that no mind as she clasped her hands together and stared intently at the Tabooties. “How have you two been doing?”

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie looked at each other when the woman asked this. They blinked a few times, pondering what this could have meant. They didn’t expect her to ask that sort of question. Then again, she was just being polite.

Looking back at her, Mrs. Tabootie was the one who responded. “We’ve been doing fine, thank you. I...” She tried to speak further, but her voice got caught in her throat. She put her hand to her throat and gently rubbed it up and down as she struggled to say something.

Mr. Tabootie stepped in. “My w... I mean, we both had been wandering how Rudy is. Do you know when the test will be over?” He stopped himself for a moment before he correctd himself. “I mean, we know it’s supposed to be an hour. I just mean that...”

“How long is it before he’s done?” Ms. Saffron asked.

Mr. Tabootie nodded his head. “If it isn’t too much trouble....”

Ms. Safforn waved her hand from side to side. “Not any trouble at all. Unfortunately, there is not much that I could tell you on that.” She held her hand up in gesture. “Even I’m not allowed to go back there and interfere with your son. So we’ll just all have to wait and see.”

Mrs. Tabootie said, “Oh.... Well, okay...”

Ms. Saffron tilted her head to one side. “Is something wrong.”

“No, not really.” Replied Mrs. Tabootie.

“She’s just excited. So am I.” Mr. Tabootie said with a small smile. “I mean, this is probably one of the biggest deals we’ve ever become a part of.”

Ms. Saffron gave a smile back. “I know. I can understand your excitement.” The woman took a moment to look at them before placing one hand against the top of her other hand and tapped her fingers against it in a thinking stance. She took a moment to look around the room and she seemed to notice just how empty it really felt in here. She gave an expression that said that she clearly thought there could be more in here. “Would you be interested in coming with me to talk? Mr. Cosmo did allow me to answer any questions you might have had but didn’t ask before.”

Mrs. Tabootie could feel her eyes lighting up at this. She immediately straightened herself up and moved closer to the woman. Before she could stop herself, she immediately nodded her head feverishly and cried out, “Y-Yes, please!”

“Millie..!” Mr. Tabootie called out. He then turned to Ms. Saffron and said, “I do apologize for my wife. She is just really excited and...”

“Yeah you already told me. And that’s fine. I’m sure you have questions too, good sir?” Ms. Saffron asked.

Mr. Tabootie rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah, I do.” He said softly, forcing himself to admit the truth.

Ms. Saffron’s smile broadened. Well then just follow me. I’ll take you to my room and we can discuss things there.” And with that, the woman turned and started to head towards the door. Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie immediately followed behind her closely.

sss

This was going to bite him back in the ass at some point, wasn’t it? Somehow, he had a feeling that him coming all the way out here was going to be a problem. Just why did he come all the way out here? Why did he break his own rules? Even after telling himself that he shouldn’t do this, he still went and...

Well, there was nothing that he could do about it now. He was here, so he might as well just go on with it. At least it didn’t take as long as he thought to get back to ChalkZone City. Now it was just a matter of trying to find someone to speak to. That might be difficult as most zoners seemed to be gone, likely hiding from sight of potential danger. He didn’t want to bother the zoners inside, so he kept moving along, hoping to find someone.

It was around then that he ran into Rapsheeba. The zoner had been moving down the street pretty quickly, looking as though she was in a rush. Rudy could see the panicked look in her eyes and he nearly jumped at just how piercing her stare was. He had to quickly scramble to get out of the way before she accidentally ran into her.

It didn’t take long before Rapsheeba realized who she had run into. “Rudy!” She called out, her voice filled with shock and worry. “I’m so glad I found you!”

Rudy took a moment to silently examine Rapsheeba. She didn’t appear injuried, at least. So that put his mind at some ease. But not completely. There was still something clearly going on and he needed to know what it was. There was no way that Rapsheeba would be running like this if it was not important. He bit his lip softly as he tried to push aside his exaggerating thoughts. “What’s going on, Rapsheeba?”

The singer zoner was definitely emotionally distraught. As she spoke, her voice was heavy and strained and she spoke pretty quickly. It was like she had so many things she wanted to say at once that it just came out in the air like water onto the ground.

“Th-The beast came again.... And it... He... and it’s just awful. We’ve found that more zoners had disappeared since you told us of this thing!”

Rudy’s eyes widened and he gasped in shock. “What? More? But when I was here this morning, no one was....” His voice trailed off, unable to bring himself to continue.

Rapsheeba nodded her head. “Yeah it was fine up until a little while ago.” Rapsheeba shifted her head, looking out behind her. It was hard to say what she was looking at within the city. “About ten minutes before you arrived, I noticed a shadow on the ground and I sounded the alarm. The other zoners heard it and they ran into their homes.”

Well, that would explain why the city felt a bit empty.

“Not all of us made it. I could hear that a few zoners were caught in that thing’s claws.” Rapsheeba put her hand on her face as a look of sorrow plastered over it. “I wish I could have done something to help them, but I was just too scared and I....” Tears flowed down the singer zoner’s face as she struggled to wipe them away. “I’m pretty pathetic, aren’t I?”

Rudy shook his head, unable to believe what she said. “No! You’re fine!” Rudy moved in closer, putting his hand on her shoulder. “You couldn’t have done anything.” He stared down at her with the most compassionate smile that he could think of. “Don’t blame yourself. At least you managed to save most of the zoners. There’s that.”

Rapsheeba sniffled a little. “Yeah but if I had moved faster, maybe the others would have been saved as well...and....”

Rudy couldn’t help but stare at the zoner with a strong sense of sympathy. Poor Rapsheeba, blaming herself like this. He could understand her pain. He himself still felt guilty over what happened to Snap. But just as he didn’t give up on saving his friend, he was not going to let Rapsheeba give up, either. She might not have been able to save a few people, but she could at least help the ones that were still around.

Without thinking, without speaking, the teenager took a step forward and bent his leg so that he was reduced to her height. She stared at him in teary confusion, and then stiffened up a little when he reached around and grabbed onto her, pulling her into a hug. Rapsheeba soon relaxed and leaned against Rudy for support, letting her arms wrap around him.

The two stayed like this for several moments before they finally parted and looked at one another. Rudy remained silent for a bit as he let Rapsheeba wrestle with her thoughts. He gave her the time that she needed to clear her head before he would try to speak to her again. Whatever else she wanted to say to him, it must be very important.

Only when he was sure that she was fine enough did he try to speak, “Just who was taken, Rapsheeba?”

The singer zoner turrned her head to the side. “W-Well I know that Blocky and Lars have been taken.”

“What...?” Rudy whispered in shock, his eyes going wide. He felt his body stiffening up at the realization that yet another creation of his was taken away. But he’d feel this way towards any zoner taken out of this place. Especially by a monster like Draow. “D-Did you see where they were taken to?”

Rapsheeba nodded her head, which made Rudy’s heart jump with joy....sort of. He doubted Rapsheeba could give too much information, but this is the closest that he’s gotten to figuring out where to go to find Snap. She motioned her head in one direction. “He flew off in that direction over there.”

Rudy followed Rapsheeba’s head and then....

He immediately froze. The direction that she was pointing in, it was leading right where Mr. Cosmo’s building was. That was the very same direction. Was... Was Rapsheeba trying to say that.. Was Penny right to be cautious...? Was Mr. Cosmo...

Rudy gritted his teeth and tried to fight off these emotions. He didn’t really have any proof of this. Other than being a little creepy, Mr. Cosmo hadn’t done anything in particular that would make him this suspicious of him. If anything, the man had lived up to his reputation and didn’t come off as particularly dangerous or anything. He might just be overreacting to this stuff and things weren’t as bad as he thought.

And yet... He couldn’t deny that, even if Draow just happened to fly in this direction, it did seem awfully convenient that this was the case. It could be coincidence, but then, what if it’s not? What if there’s something more going on? What if there was something more to that building than met the eye?

....or maybe Rapsheeba indicated beyond that place. Draow might have flown further. It was really difficult to say right now, and he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Looking back at Rapsheeba, he watched as she shuddered and cried a little, obviously mourning over the loss of Lars and Blocky. Rudy could feel his heart going out to them as well, and he silently hoped that they would be okay. He moved his hand over Rapsheeba once more and pulled her into a half hug. She looked up at him expectantly.

“I’ll do my best to find them all and stopping that beast once and or all.” Rudy spoke, trying to sound as confident as possible. “You can count on me for that.”

Rapsheeba gave him a smile, but then she frowned slightly. “I do hope that you fair better than Biclops did.”

Rudy widened his eyes at this, suddenly feeling uncomfortable around Rapsheeba. That took quite a feat to accomplish when it came to Rapsheeba. “What do you mean?”

Rapsheeba’s glare remained but she still had something of a soft expression. It was clear that she was more disappointed than actually angry. “Biclops promised to protect us, but he was not around to fight that thing.” She gritted here teeth tightly and Rudy shuffled uncomfortably. “H-He had promised....”

Rudy could sense the agony in the zoner’s voice, as well as her sense of betrayal. Rudy couldn’t think of how to reply to this. He and Penny had suspicions that the truthw ould come out and the zoners would realize that Biclops was not as capable as he claimed to be. Already more zoners had gone missing. He wondered if more zoners had started to doubt the giant.

Knowing that Rapsheeba would be upset with him, he decided it would be best if he refrained from telling her that Biclops confessed to him about the situation. The singer zoner didn’t need more reasons to be upset, anyway. So instead, he felt it was better to focus on something else. Perhaps there was something else that they could...

Rudy had to stop his train of thought when he realized that he had been gone a little longer than he would have liked. Mr. Cosmo might be coming back to check up on him. And he left the portal open...

He hated to have to cut this short, but if he didn’t get back there quickly, he was going to get into a lot of trouble. Actually, that was the underestimating best case scenario. It would actually end up horrific for ChalkZone. What would that man do if he saw the portal and saw that this place existed? What if he tried to keep him in that room and force him to tell him about all about that world? What if he tried to do something, like experiment on the zoners?

He quickly looked at Rapsheeba, who seemed a bit startled by his sudden change in demeanor. He did feel guilty, but the adrenaline pumping through his body reminded him that time was of the essence. He can always come back in here later and actually do what he had intended, and that was try to see if he can find Snap and Draow. If Rapsheeba was correct in her statement, and if she really did see a massive, flying beast head back where the portal was, then maybe that’s where he’d go next. His previous suspicions about Mr. Cosmo dropped as they were replaced with feelings of determination.

“I need to get out of here.” Rudy froze when he said that. Well that sounded really rude. He looked to the side and he could see the way that Rapsheeba was looking at him. He took in a deep breath and he exhaled slowly. “Sorry about that. What I meant to say is that... Well...” He rubbed the back of his head. “I’m sort of enveloped in something right now, and if I don’t head back...”

He was going to tell her about the potentiality of ChalkZone’s exposure. But he quickly stopped himself. Again, Rapsheeba’s already going through so much. This wasn’t something that he particularly needed to tell her. At least, not right now. Maybe after all of this has blown over.

“I promise I’ll be back later.” Rudy told Rapsheeba. “Just inform me when I get back of any new happenings. And keep up with the good work protecting the other zoners and yourself.”

Rapsheeba still seemed a little confused. But nonetheless, she smiled very slightly and nodded her head once. “A-Alright, Rudy...” Rapsheeba whispered softly. She raised her hand up and waved at him. “See you l-l-later...”

Rudy felt guilty about having to leave Rapsheeba like this. He felt bad to force her to spend some time alone in this city that was being ravaged by Draow. But he would be of no help to no one if he stayed here and allowed ChalkZone to get exposed. So he turned himself around and began to rush back in the direction he had come from.

He was once again thankful that it wasn’t that far. But a part of him still slapped himself mentally anyway. Regardless of the distance, it was still a bit too out of the way. Every second that passed was time that he lost ensuring that Mr. Cosmo didn’t see the portal. He could draw something, but that would just waste even more time, plus what if the man heard the thing? Right now, his mind was racing too much to think completely clearly, so he focused on just trying to get away as quickly as possible.

When he arrived at the portal, he immediately slowed himself down. He stared at the portal cautiously, licking his lips slowly. He didn’t want to rush this. He didn’t want to make any sort of slip ups. So he carefully, slowly, made his way over, trying to be as quiet as he could. He peered in and slowly looked around.

Oh thank goodness, it was still empty. The room, that is. There was no one to be found in there. Rudy quickly climbed into the room and erased the portal behind him. He fumbled with his magic chalk. He dropped it on the ground. He reached down to grab it, but then he heard footsteps. His heart tightened up and skipped a few beats before he quickly put the piece of chalk into his pocket.

Just in time.

The door swung open and he could see Mr. Cosmo walking in. His arms were folded behind his back as he stared at the teen curiously. Rudy was too stunned to say anything first.

“Well, you seem to be done pretty quickly.” Mr. Cosmo commented.

Rudy blinked a few times before looking back at the test. He sucked in a sharp breath when he realized that he never actually finished. Staring at the clock, time had already run out. He felt a little sick when he realized just how much time he had actually spent in ChalkZone. He rubbed his stomach lightly, scolding himself for not just getting the damned test done. Now what was Mr. Cosmo going to say?

“M-Mister... I didn’t...” Rudy swallowed hard. He had to confess this right away. The man was going to find out, anyway. “I didn’t finish it...”

Mr. Cosmo stood there, blinking a few times. Then he said, “Oh? Why not? Was it too much of a challenge?”

Rudy tried to think of what to say to that question. He struggled to think of some sort of answer. But he ultimately just blanked.

Mr. Cosmo raised his handa nd moved it from side to side. “Oh don’t worry about that. I’ll still look at what you did anyway.” Mr. Cosmo sounded surprisingly chill despite things. Rudy would have thought that he would have scolded him for delaying things. Rudy watched in silence as Mr. Cosmo headed to where his paperwork was. “Let me see what you’ve managed to do.”

Rudy didn’t bother trying to stop the man as he picked up the papers and took a look at them. He still remained frozen, struggling to breathe, as he watched the man sift through them. He cringed and gritted his teeth, fully expecting the man to react in some harsh, negative manner. But nothing could have prepared him for what the man actually said.

“Well well well...” Mr. Cosmo’s eyes seemed to twinkle, brightening up. “This is better than I would have expected.”

Rudy was dumbfounded. “Wh-What? R-R-Really...?” Rudy couldn’t think of what else to say about this.

Mr. Cosmo smiled and nodded his head affirmatively. “Yes. I don’t think I need to see the rest of the test to know that you would have performed really well in it.” The man moved in closer. He reached out and looped his arm around Rudy and pulled him close. “My boy, you are looking to a rather bright future ahead of you.” The man motioned his hand outward dramatically. “I can guarantee you that.”

Rudy wanted to be happy about this. He struggled to smile. But for some reason, he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Instead of feeling an excited sensation, it was more burning, as though something felt a little wrong here. Rudy tried to push the thought aside for now and he opted to return a smile to Mr. Cosmo.

sss

Mr. Cosmo had spent the next few minutes going over every answer that Rudy had managed to give. Rudy remained quiet and moved back to give him the space and room that he needed to do this. It was difficult looking away as the man kept flipping through the pages that were done, and it was hard not to notice how his smile seemed to broaden more and more.

A part of Rudy wasn’t really sure why this was happening. From how Mr. Cosmo behaved before, shouldn’t he have been a little upset, at least? Mr. Cosmo sounded as though he wanted the test done and completed. For him to act like it wasn’t a big deal all of a sudden... Perhaps this is why he started to feel as though something was off.

But despite that, Rudy still wanted to try to give the man the benefit of the doubt. There was no harm in what he was doing and his parents can always bail him out if they saw any reason not to trust this man. Mr. Cosmo could not do anything without his parents’ permission, as far as he knew. If he did try something, he would get into trouble with the local authority. Even if he were well known, that still didn’t really change much.

Checking the test didn’t take as long as the boy thought it would have. Either the man was going really fast or maybe he didn’t complete as much of the test as he thought he would have. Either way, within, like, fifteen minutes, he was already hearing Mr. Cosmo congratulating him on a job well done and ushering him out to meet up with his parents.

Rudy couldn’t help but be a little stunned by this. It seemed to be happening a little too quickly, making him feel even more on edge. He tried to keep up a smiling face as Mr. Cosmo took him to where his parents were. He didn’t want the man to think that he was feeling suspicious or anything. It was best to act as though nothing was wrong.

Rudy and Mr. Cosmo immediately noticed Ms. Saffron coming in their direction, Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie behind her. Rudy realized that Ms. Saffron must have taken them somewhere to talk. Perhaps about his test? That seemed likely, considering how his parents looked happy and excited, even more so when they saw him and he could see their eyes twinkle. Within seconds, he could feel himself being enveloped by them, their arms squeezing him gently yet firmly.

But whatever they were saying, he could hardly hear anything. Just jumbled words and muffled statements. His focus was not on them. He turned his eyes and strained to watch Mr. Cosmo and Ms. Saffron. He watched and listened in silence as the two thanked his parents for bringing him here and congratulated them on his performance. Mr. Cosmo even said how well he did, lying and stating that he finished all the questions in half the time. This really pleased his parents and he could feel their excitement rising up.

He didn’t understand why Mr. Cosmo would lie to them like that, though, unless he thought they would have been confused otherwise. Perhaps.... It would make sense.

The man went on to explain that he wanted to see Rudy again soon and he said that he would call later when he figured out a good time. His parents excitedly agreed to this and even told him what times worked best for them. They were eager and obviously wanted at ime as soon as possible. Ms. Saffron managed to calm them down and promised them that a time would be available as soon as possible.

But Rudy, despite all of his efforts, wasn’t able to fully relax or clear his mind. He wasn’t able to fully push away the thought of something going on here. He couldn’t shake off the uneasiness that he was feeling. He bit his lip firmly as he felt his stomach stinging in his chest. He had one thought moving through his head.

He hoped that he was wrong.


	11. Revelations

“Things are going quite fine. Better than what I would have hoped for.” Mr. Cosmo said with a grin. He could feel Ms. Saffron’s eyes on him. He could feel her confusion. All he did in response to that was to keep smiling. “Those boy’s parents are easier to play than a fiddle.”

Ms. Saffron remained quiet, hanging back away behind the man. She made a few sounds as though she were struggling to speak. Of course she would. She still didn’t fully understand just what it is that he wanted to do. She would come to understand eventually. She just needed a little bit of time. Perhaps he should explain more of his plan to her so that she had a better grasp.

He turned his head and looked at her. He watched as she fumbled with her hands, her body shaking just slighlty. She opened her mouth to speak, only to stop herself. It was some sight to witness. He couldn’t help but soften his expression just a little bit. He hadn’t intended on making her feel stressed out.

Mr. Cosmo moved in closer towards her, taking his time. Ms. Saffron, though taller than him, still seemed to shrink a little as he got closer. Was she fearful of him hurting her? No, that couldn’t be it. Maybe she was just afraid of accidentally offending him. After all, he didn’t exactly react the best way earlier. He licked his lips slowly. Perhaps he should have tried to handle that in a better manner.

Slowly, he reached out to touch Ms. Saffron on the shoulder. “At ease now, woman. No need to be so nervous.” He tilted his head upwards a little. “You should be proud. You did your job like you were supposed to. Keep this up, and everything will fall into place.”

Ms. Saffron shuffled uncomfortabley. “S-Sir, are you sure that we should be doing this?”

“Oh come now, you signed up for this, remember? I know you want to make the world a better place. And with me, you will.” Mr. Cosmo said with a smile. He moved himself closer, causing Ms. Saffron to move back slightly. Mr. Cosmo let his hand move along her cheek, caressing it with the back of his hand. “I know you are as smart as you are beautiful.”

Ms. Saffron stammered at this. “S-Sir, I....” She couldn’t bring herself to continue, for something had gotten in the way of her speech.

Mr. Cosmo’s lips.

The man kept his lips pressed up against Ms. Saffron’s for a few seconds before parting. The sudden, out-of-nowhere kiss caused Ms. Saffron to freeze, her eyes going wide as she stared at her boss in shock. He just smiled back at her before turning around and taking a few steps away as though nothing had happened.

Mr Cosmo’s face turned serious as a thought crossed his mind. As it remained in his head, it started to burn a little and he had to struggle to fight it off. He looked back at Ms. Saffron, his flirtatious face gone, his eyes narrowed into slits. The woman immediately stiffened up at this. Using Ms. Saffron’s silence to his advantage, he started to speak up.

“Remember, there’s a lot at stake here. I told you what could happen if we don’t do something about this.” Mr. Cosmo’s voice came in a warning tone. “I cannot stress enough how much trouble we will be in if something isn’t done soon.” He gave pause for a moment before he leaned in a little towards Ms. Saffron. “Do you understand me?”

The blonde woman swallowed hard for a moment, licking her lips, before nodding her head. She didn’t attempt to speak, obviously still shaken up by the sudden kiss earlier.

Mr. Cosmo turned his attention to the chalkboard that he stood close to. A simple object with a simple design and simple coloration. To many, it was just a means of expressing ideas and to try to teach people stuff. But for him, it meant something so much more than that. The sight of this chalkboard alone was enough to elicitate thoughts of awe and wonder....but also fear. And it was this fear that was helping to guide him through this. He did not want to make a mistake.

He made himself a promise. And he intended on keeping that promise. He was going to make sure that his plan would succeed. He cannot fail this. Not while there was a chance that.... He forced himself to stop. He needed to focus his time on pushing his plan forward.

sss

“It was pretty weird, Penny. I’m not sure what to think...” Rudy admitted, his voice low and soft.

When Penny came over to her friend’s place to ask him about how things went, she did carry a sense of caution with her. A part of her had a feeling that she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear. And it turned out that she was right, although it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. Honestly, this was better than what she had experienced in ChalkZone.

She had tried to find Snap to no avail, and the closest lead that she got nearly got her ripped up by a wild zoner. She gritted her teeth at the memory. She wasn’t even sure what all had led up to it. She was just glad that she got out of that situation.

Penny, not wanting to be silent for much longer, reached her hand out towards Rudy, placing it on his arm. She rubbed it up and down slowly as she whispered to him, “It’s done and over with at least. You don’t have to see that man ag....” She stopped when Rudy looked at her. “Rudy..?”

The boy said, “Mr. Cosmo wants me to come back soon.” He sighed as he lowered his head. “My parents are going to decide the time. I have no say.”

Penny stared at Rudy for a few long moments, trying to figure out if she had heard that right. When it became obvious that it was, she let out a small sigh, accompanied by a low growl. “Shouldn’t they have spoken to you about that? I mean..” She motioned her hand to Rudy. “I know we’re still young, but at age fifteen, shouldn’t we both have some level of consent for this? Couldn’t your folks have asked you what worked for you?”

Rudy shook his head. “They didn’t think it was necessary.” He lowered his head. He started to chuckle softly, an act that Penny didn’t expect him to do after expressing his worry earlier. “Well it might not be too bad, anyway. It’s just a meeting. Mr. Cosmo’s probably just going to tell my folks the same old stuff and get me to take another test and....” His voice trailed off and he sighed. “I don’t really know what to do.”

Penny watched her friend in silence, struggling to think of a response herself. She didn’t know what she could tell Rudy and she didn’t know what might help him feel better. She was just as confused as he was and she didn’t have a clue on how best to approach this.

Except, of course, to take caution.

But that wasn’t what was truly on Rudy’s mind. The thing with Mr. Cosmo and Ms. Saffron was actually taking a back seat to something that they both agreed was far more serious.

She could tell that he was still thinking about Snap and those missing zoners. The look in his eyes gave it away. Rudy could try all that he wanted to, but he wasn’t going to be able to hide this fact from her. She knew him long enough to tell these things. As she stared at him intently, as Rudy continued to keep his head away from her, she reached out slowly and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Rudy shuddered before looking back at her.

“Rudy, it’s going to be okay.” Penny did flinch a little when she noticed how she sounded. She didn’t sound exactly the most confident and... She tried to ignore that as she focused on attempting to reassure her friend. “We’ll go into ChalkZone and we will try to find Snap. I promise you, we will find him.”

Rudy, however, didn’t look entirely convinced. He just gave a small snort and grunt, raising his lip up slightly. “You keep saying that, but I’m not sure if I believe you.”

Penny flinched at this.

Rudy continued, “Neither of us know where they could be and...” His eyes suddenly widened as his voice trailed off. “Wait a minute...”

Penny tilted her head to one side in confusion. “What is it?”

Rudy raised his finger up, waggling it a little as he struggled to speak. He looked away for a couple of seconds, his tongue tripping over his lips and teeth. He only spoke gibberish for a while, intermixed with a few little words here or there. Then finally, he looked at Penny and said, “I-I do remember something! I forgot to tell you... Rapsheeba said she saw the shadow of the creature heading back towards where Mr. Cosmo’s place is and....” He froze at this.

It didn’t take a genius to know exactly what was being implied here. Penny spoke carefully in a hushed tone. “Do you think that it’s possible that...?” She couldn’t bring herself to finish.

“I-I don’t know. I mean, I could see the connection, but it might also be a coincidence...”

Penny nodded her head slowly. That was true. It might just be a coincidence. Or it might be something more. There was only one way to tell. And she knew that Rudy knew this as well. She remained quiet and let him continue.

“It’s at least a place to start looking. It’s better than nothing, right?”

“That is true.” Penny agreed. She looked over at the chalkboard for a few moments before looking back at her friend. She narrowed her eyes slowly into slits. Not with anger towards Rudy, but towards the one who had caused this mess in the first place: Draow. “Perhaps we should head in now.”

Rudy stared at her for a few moments before nodding his head affirmatively. “Yeah, I agree.” He bit his lip for a moment, sucking on it. “I just hope that no more harm has been done to ChalkZone since I was there last.”

Penny looked at him reassuringly. “Even so, I don’t think the zoners will blame you.”

“I hope you are right.” Rudy said before got out his magic chalk and went over to draw the portal.

Penny watched him sadly, wishing that she could say more to reassure him. She wanted to believe that the zoners wouldn’t blame him for what was happening. They usually didn’t. But there was always that chance that something could happen. Nothing like this has ever happened before. The zoners might shift more dramatically this time around. They just had to hope that, if that did happen, the zoners won’t get in the way of figuring out the truth of what was happening.

With the portal drawn, the two teenagers headed inside. After erasing the portal, they two looked at each other and then back at ChalkZone, looking around. They felt a little weird at first as they looked around and saw no sign of Snap. They were half expecting him to come up and greet them. When that didn’t happen, they both felt a sting in their stomachs. They fought it off the best that they could as they headed in deeper.

Glancing around, neither of them could really see anything wrong at first. At least, nothing that caught their eye. Rudy’s house relative to ChalkZone was a bit further out from the city and from where most zoners lived. So that didn’t surprise them too much. In order to get a better idea of just what was going on, they headed towards the city.

As it came into view, the place was eerily silent. Penny had to fight off a cold shudder and she could see Rudy doing the same. Neither of them were used to a quiet city in a world like this. Even the chitter chatter of the numerous stick figure zoners was not heard anywhere here. This made them grow increasingly nervous as they began to step foot into the city.

It continued to be quiet even as they got closer to what should be the main square of the city, where most of the action takes place. But even this area was empty and devoid of life. Both teens are aware that this was because they told them to stay in their homes, but it didn’t change the fact that this was creepy as shit.

Penny could feel a cold rush going through her body as she felt as though she were being watched. She looked around for a quick second, seeing the buildings all around her. She could see no one, but she was certain that some of the zoners were watching her and Rudy carefully. Some of them may even be glaring at them, wondering why they hadn’t caught the flying monster yet. Penny tried her best to shake off the feeling as she and Rudy continued to look around.

The buildings didn’t seem to be damaged. Draow either didn’t come back to harrass them more or he hadn’t thought thought of actually attacking the buildings directly. Maybe he just didn’t want to bother? Well at least that still left the buildings a safe place to be. For now...

Suddenly they could hear someone shouting at them.

“Rudy? Penny? Is that you?”

The two teens turned their heads, but they didn’t need to look to see who this was. There was no way that they would mistake that accept for anyone else.

It was Spy Fly.

“Hey there.” Rudy said quietly as he waved his hand upwards. “It’s good to see you.”

Penny nodded her head. “I’m so glad that you weren’t taken by that thing.”

“What thing? Oh... You mean the big furry creature?” At the teens’ nod, Spy Fly said, “I’m a bit too fast for someone like him. But I am said that he still managed to take our own. I try to warn them, but even that isn’t enough.” She shrugged her shoulders a little, looking rather down. “I just hope that they are okay.”

“Yeah, me too...” Rudy murmured softly.

Penny took a step forward. A thought came across her mind. “Spy Fly, is it all right if I ask you a couple of questions?”

“Oh sure!” Spy Fly spoke, gesturing with her hand.

Penny felt a little cautious of the first question, but still asked it anyway. “Has anyone else been taken since the last time me and Rudy were here?”

Spy Fly tapped her finger against the side of her face thoughtfully. Then she said, “I did hear Bathtub Granny has gone missing.” Her face expressed the utmost sympathy to the two teenagers.

Rudy sucked in a sharp breath at this. “Another one....”

Penny looked at her friend sadly before turning her attention back to Spy Fly. “And my second question...” Spy Fly listened intently to what she was about to say. Penny drew in a deep breath and said, “Have you gotten any footage of what happened?”

Spy Fly stared at Penny for a moment before her tiny head nodded once. “I believe I do...” She rubbed the back of her head. “Though everything recently has a been a blur.” She motioned to the two teens and said, “How about I go and look for it, if it exists?” She suggested. “If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

Penny nodded her head slowly, as did Rudy. They both silently agreed with this. If Spy Fly has any sort of footage that could help them, it was going to make things a lot easier. Or at least, they hoped that it would. In any case, it was still their best shot at finding their captured friends.

They said nothing as Spy Fly left, venturing out back to her home in order to find the footage that she might have. As she disappeared, Penny looked over at Rudy, whose head was down and his eyes looking desperate. Penny reached out and touched his shoulder to comfort him. Rudy didn’t attempt to speak or react to her touch. Penny wasn’t sure how to react to this.

With nothing else that they could think of to do and with them not wanting to pester the frightened zoners in hiding, both Penny and Rudy decided it was best to just leave the city and explore the areas outside of it. Maybe they could find some clues out here while they awaited for Spy Fly’s report. It was better than nothing.

But when they headed on out, they were suddenly greeted by someone.

“Rudy Tabootie! Penny Sanchez!” Biclops called out, raising his hand upwards. 

Penny asked, “Shouldn’t you be watching the mines?”

“I have that covered.” Biclops explained. “I’ve been patrolling around for Draow and I saw you two. I wanted to give you my report.”

A report? Did this mean that Biclops had found something? Penny could feel her heart fluttering a little at this possibility. If Biclops had found something that could lead them to Snap and the others...

“That’s great, Biclops!” Rudy said excitedly. “The only thing I’ve heard is that Draow went in the direction where Mr. Cosmo was having me take this test and...”

Biclops’s face suddenly went white, his body stiffening up. The look in his eyes, it was difficult for Rudy and Penny to look away. It was clear that something about what Rudy said triggered something in the giant. But what could that be? Neither teen could think of it, unless.... Could it have something to do with....

Penny whispered softly, “B-Biclops? What’s...” She was hesitant and careful, not wanting to accidentally upset the giant further. She was struggling against her own racing heart.

“D-Did you say M-M-Mr. Cosmo...?” Biclops asked slowlyand carefully. His eyes seemed to glow a little in some kind of emotion. Though its exact identity was unclear.

Rudy nodded. He bit his lip, hesitating to say anything. Eventually, he forced himself to ask the question that both he and Penny were thinking of. “Do you know him?”

Biclops stared at the two children for several long moments. Then his eyes narrowed slowly and when he replied, his voice sounded as though it had darkened several shades. “Of course I know him. He’s my creator...”

Rudy and Penny stared at Biclops for a few seconds before the implications of what he said came crashing down upon them. The two teens gasped loudly, covering their mouths with their hands. They looked at each other, blinking quickly. Memories flashed in the back of their head. They were both well aware of what Biclops had told them before. And if he were right on this....

Penny never felt so dizzy and sick at the same time so fast before.


	12. Figuring Out What To Do

His head was spinning in circles. He could feel the ground beneath him moving. He could feel himself swaying from side to side. He could feel his hand pushing so hard against his head that he thought it was going to crack under the pressure. He gritted his teeth tightly and he struggled to keep breathing. He could feel his vision fading a little, sweat pouring down his face.

Did Biclops just.... Could he have... Did this mean that...

Rudy’s mind exploded into a million questions. He couldn’t control himself. He wasn’t able to stop himself from falling down onto his knees. He leaned forward, using one hand to hold himself up while the other still remained glued to his head. He struggled to comprehend just what had happened here. He had never thought Biclops would have spoken those words. He didn’t think that things would have gone down this particular path.

And from the looks of it, neither did Penny. Rudy could see the look of shock and horror and confusion in her eyes. She was obviously struggling with her own thoughts to. She was even trying to speak but to no avail. What could she say, anyway? He couldn’t think of anything himself.

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly as he thought back to what Biclops had told him in the past. It might have been years, but he could never forget how Biclops informed him of the fact that there used to be more creators roaming around in ChalkZone. He was also aware that not all of those creators were exactly the nicest people.

Especially that one child that created Biclops.

He could still remember seeing that footage that Biclops displayed before him. There was no way he could forget that smug snake of a child, a little scottish kid who decided to play a cruel joke and created a giant with poor depth perception. Rudy remembered how his heart stung at how Biclops’s first introduction to the world was tripping and falling down onto his face. He was grateful that Biclops didn’t get too hurt from that, but still...

And now Biclops was trying to tell him that this kid, that small child that he had seen doing that, happened to be.... Mr. Cosmo...? That little bratty child grew up to be the same Mr. Cosmo that had helped out with this city, had gotten to take that test, and then....

Oh no...

Rudy struggled to control his churning stomach, licking his lips rapidly as he swallowed hard. He could taste the bitterness sliding all the way down his throat. He couldn’t help but shudder. He lifted his head up as he looked back at Biclops. Knowing that the giant was not the type to lie, Rudy was forced to reach an unsettling conclusion.

Mr. Cosmo had another reason for wanting to bring him in for testing.... But just what precisely that was, he couldn’t figure out. Heck, he didn’t even know if Mr. Cosmo knew about his connection to ChalkZone. But then why else would he be so focused on him...? Suddenly, everything made sense.

“Mr. Cosmo, or as I knew him, Teddisson, is a very dangerous creator. Or rather, he was.” Biclops said. “You’ve already seen what he did to me.” He pointed a finger at his original eye, the one that he had even before Rudy drew him a new one.

“Oh yeah, that was awful.” Penny replied, rubbing her arm slowly up and down. “I can’t believe he did something that cruel to you.”

Biclops shook his head slowly. “That wasn’t the worst thing that he did.”

Rudy and Penny widened their eyes, but they weren’t particularly surprised. If someone that young would deliberately create something that would get hurt just trying to walk around, that left room for the same child to do something worse. They wanted to believe that this kid wouldn’t go that far, but from Biclops’s tone of voice, this child was so far from being innocent.

Biclops narrowed his eyes softly. “What I am about to tell you stays between us... I don’t want you spreading this around the other zoners. Just like with Draow, it will cause unnecessary panic. And besides, Mr. Cosmo doesn’t have access to ChalkZone...” He paused for a moment before he stared intently at Rudy. “...am I correct...?”

Rudy felt his blood chilling as he realized the implications. He shook his head rapidly. “N-No, he doesn’t. He didn’t even bring it up.”

But this did not soothe the giant. “That makes it even more suspicious.” Biclops’s voice was deep and serious, leading to the two human teenagers to look at one another with worry. If Biclops was this concerned about this... Biclops continued, interrupting their train of thought. “Anyway, do you promise to keep this hush-hush for now? I know you must be tired of me asking you to keep secrets. But it is imperative. A lot of zoners here remember who this guy was, and they remember his beast. You will awaken the nightmares of many a zoner if you slip up.”

Rudy hated the idea of keeping up this lying, even if some of it was just relating to not saying a certain name. He wanted to be honest with the zoners on what he finds out. If a nightmare from the past were back, shouldn’t they have every right to know?

But then again, he was aware of how nuts the zoners can get when they are overtaken by an emotion. He had seen what they are like when they were angered or panicked. If Biclops was telling the truth, and Rudy had no reason to not believe him, then the revelation that he was seeing Mr. Cosmo might send the zoners into a frenzy unlike any he’s ever seen before. And he knew how detrimental that would be, especially when it came to trying to figure out what to do about this.

“So about Mr. Cosmo...” Rudy asked in a low, soft voice. “...what did he do, exactly?”

Penny motioned her hand up slowly, cautiously. “Was it as bad as you were implying?”

“Oh no.” Biclops said. “It was worse.”

The two teens shuddered at this response. Biclops was rarely this blunt. That made his response all the more terrifying. They braced themselves for what the giant was about to tell them, grasping each other’s hands to try to reassure one another during this whole thing.

Biclops began his tale, pulling his hair to activate his eye videos so that they could watch as well as listen to the story.

“Many years ago, little Teddisson was one of the children that came into ChalkZone. He was like many of the others. Adventurous but mischevious as well. He would draw random things just for the fun of it, which would sometimes be at the unfortunate recieving end for another zoner minding their own business.”

Rudy and Penny watched the video of Mr. Cosmo drawing a snake to scare a zoner on purpose. Then another time, he was pouring syrup on the road to make some zoners slip and slide on it, causing some cars to crash. Another scene showed him botching up the paint job of several zoner homes, and then another had Mr. Cosmo throwing toilet paper all over a zoner’s garden and trees.

“Teddisson was at first....just that. A little runt that had way too much time on his hands and just wanted to have fun, even if it meant pestering us. I think he liked the control. At home, he could never do any of this. But here, he has the power to create, and he abused that power so he could pull pranks and do stupid shit like I’ve shown you. As annoying as that is, it was still something that we could handle. We’ve had many creators like this, and it never amounted to anything that we couldn’t handle.”

More scenes of Mr. Cosmo were shown. They didn’t really stand out from the typical ‘jerk causing problems’ thing. Outside of using magic chalk, this. Mr. Cosmo liked causing misery for the zoners, that’s for sure. But that misery mostly amounted to just pranks and hardly much else. Even his more violent ones were actually less violent in ChalkZone than they would have been in the Real World.

Rudy had a feeling that there had to be more to it than this. For Biclops to go on about how dangerous this guy was, pranks couldn’t have been all that Mr. Cosmo did. So when exactly did he start to....

Rudy quickly got his answer, and it wasn’t what he had expected it to be.

“That all changed one day. None of us saw it coming. Many couldn’t even find an explanation for it. Most of us just agreed that on this particular day, Teddisson had snapped.”

Biclops showed Rudy and Penny a rather gruesome scene. Using what looked to be black chalk instead of the normal white chalk, Mr. Cosmo had suddenly drawn what looked to be a knife and he rushed over at a random zoner and stabbed them. The zoner was not killed, but instead left there bleeding and crying in pain. Another zoner came to help, but Mr. Cosmo kicked them between the legs and he proceeded to tie a noose around his neck. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going to happen next. Rudy and Penny watched in horror as Mr. Cosmo hung this zoner. They could hear the neck snap. The sound vibrated in their stomachs, making them feel nauseous.

“That had only just been the beginning.” Biclops explained. “From that day forward, Teddisson was never the same. What were once harmless or annoying pranks became death traps. Zoners were dropping left and right. The streets were rapidly becoming paved with blood.”

Rudy struggled not to throw up at the gore-filled sight before him. Mr. Cosmo laying out traps that drove spikes through zoners, or squashed them, or ripped them apart... These just laid everywhere in ChalkZone. He must have set them all up at once, as that would explain why Mr. Cosmo managed to kill that many zoners so fast. After the first kill, the zoners would have been cautious, but in this case....

Rudy heard Penny gasp in horror and he watched her put her hand to her mouth. At this point, they both bore witness to Mr. Cosmo tearing a small zoner’s head off. The sight sent chills down their spines. There was no way that this small zoner would have been a threat to him. For him to go and do something like that... Just how far gone was this kid?

The scenes never improved from there. Rudy and Penny didn’t want to keep watching. They didn’t want to keep watching this blood-filled horror. But they could not turn away from it. Something about it was keeping their eyes glued to it. As they kept watching, they started to understand more and more why this kid terrified the zoners and why mentioning his name would have been a bad idea.

“We never thought things would have gotten this bad. We don’t know why Teddisson snapped, or why he decided to kill us like that. He was totally fine with us the previous day. Then this happened and...” Biclops had to stop, putting his hand to his chest as he struggled to breathe. He continued, “He went on to cause more trouble, and when we zoners started to fight back, he decided to reel in some ‘help’...”

In the scene shown to the two teens, Mr. Cosmo was heading over towards some children. They were easily recognized as the same children Biclops shown to them a while back. The children were looking uncertain and skeptical as Mr. Cosmo appeared to be telling them something.

The scene jumped, but it was crystal clear that whatever Mr. Cosmo told them, it had worked. Each child now possessed their own black chalk and they, too, began to wreak havoc on ChalkZone. Somehow, things had gotten even worse at this point. Rudy and Penny bore witness to more strangulations, more stabbings, more crushings, as well as other unique ways of death only possible in ChalkZone. As more zoners fought back, the more brutal and violent things started to become.

Then they saw it. Mr. Cosmo drawing something big and massive. It rose out of the ground, a body of light brown fur, a massive wing span.... It was Draow.

“The arrival of Draow changed everything for the worse. We zoners did get a leg up on things, but that was dashed when Teddisson created Draow.”

Draow’s first act upon creation was charge at a group of zoners who were holding makeshift weapons. The beast opened up his mouth wide and jumped down on them. The two humans had to stifle themselves to keep from vomiting as they watched Draow crush the zoners’ skulls with ease, as though they were just a piece of candy for him.

More zoners tried to rush at Draow. But the big creature immediately turned around and struck at them with his big sickle claws. The sharp tip tore into them easily, slicing them into two pieces. Guts spilled onto the ground as the zoners dropped down, bleeding to death.

Biclops’s body was shaking as he recounted this story. “We found out too late that this kid had designed Draow to be resistant to creators... Because one day, some creators from another part of ChalkZone had come over and seen what was going on and tried to help us. But they, too, struggled. And when it came to Draow.... Let’s just say some weren’t so lucky.”

That was an understatement. While the new creators were able to at least hold their own against Draow, a handful of them wound up getting hurt. One had their leg ripped clean off and another was struck in the head so hard that they passed out. It didn’t look like he was going to wake up again.

The creators that were able to fight back held their ground the best that they could. They drew whatever they could to stop Draow. It was like deja vu. Rudy and Penny couldn’t help but notice the eerie similarities between what happened to them and what was going on here. These kids were trying so hard to catch the beast, but he keeps evading them, spinning around and diving in different directions, almost like some sort of deranged acrobat. More creators ended up dropping because of this.

Penny still had her hand pressed to her mouth. Rudy could hear her sniffling as she tried not to cry. He could see the tears flowing down her face rapidly. He could see how she was trying so hard not to cry harder, but he knew that she could only hold back for so long. Wanting to give her some reassurance, he moved towards her and put his arm around her, pulling her into a hug. She looked up at him in surprise before leaning against him, crying softly.

Rudy could barely watch the images anymore. He shut his eyes and looked away. He couldn’t believe that something awful like that had happened to ChalkZone. He couldn’t believe that some kid had decided to be that cruel and twisted. Knowing just what kind of monster Mr. Cosmo truly was....

“I’m sorry you had to see that...” Biclops said. At this point, his eyes had returned to normal. It was clear that he has had enough with showing them all that stuff. Rudy and Penny did not argue or debate this. “But at least now you have a better context of what I’ve been worried about.”

Penny whimpered, “I-I just.. How could he have...” She stopped and wiped her tears away, trying to compose herself the best that she could. She gave nother sniffle before she said, “Just what happened to him afterwards? What made him leave?”

Biclops replied, “....someone did manage to stop him.”

“So he isn’t unbeatable?” Rudy asked carefully. It might have sounded a little silly to anyone listening, to be asking about something like this. But he really needed to know this. He didn’t think that he could just let this go. “There’s a way to stop him?”

“Yes. He isn’t invincible. It just took a long time before someone was able to beat him.” Biclops’s eyes narrowed into slits. “But that victory hardly means anything when we’ve lost so many in that battle. I don’t think you fully understand what happened there. That kid, that stupid fucking kid, had caused a downright war in ChalkZone.”

Rudy and Penny stared at Biclops in horror, unable to respond.

Biclops turned away from them. “Why the fuck did you think I didn’t want you anywhere near the magic chalk, Rudy?”

The male teenager lowered his head as his mind flashed with images of what happened that day. All of a sudden, with this new context, Biclops’s actions that day had a whole new meaning. He licked his lips slowly and swallowed as he forced himself to look up at Biclops. “I’m so... so sorry about that...”

Biclops let out a small sigh. “Yeah, I know you are. Just...” He paused for a moment before he forced himself to continue. “....be careful, okay? I-I don’t want to lose you, too.”

Them too..? Did Biclops lose loved ones in this? That made it even worse.

But Rudy didn’t want to stress out the giant zoner any further. Despite wanting more information, he felt they all had enough... ‘excitement’ for one day. They could always come back later when they recovered mentally. So he raised his hand up and said, “Thanks for the information, Biclops. We really appreciate it.”

Biclops smiled shakingly. “You’re welcome, Rudy Tabootie.”

With that said, Rudy and Penny turned around and walked away, heading back. There was much to be discussed.

sss

Little did the two teenagers know, there was another pair of eyes that had been watching them. Sectioned eyes that seemed almost unnatural blinked a few times. Each blink was presented with a clicking sound, almost like a camera was built into the head.

Settled down behind the nearby rocks, someone peered over the edge, staring intently at the retreating teenagers. Their breath was slow and heavy, their mind spinning about as they tried to think of what they were going to do now. Their fingers tapped the rocks gently, quietly, as their teeth gritted slightly. They did not fear getting caught. Their body was rather small and nearly indetectable. There was a reason that they were called....

Their thoughts trailed off as they looked down at the small watch attached to their rigid arm. It was really tiny and only they could make out the time. And from what they were seeing, they needed to take action and fast.

They looked back at the retreating humans and frowned deeper. Perhaps they should have tried something more convincing before. They had their chance and they blew it. Now these same teenagers were going to dig in more deeply than they should have been allowed. If something wasn’t done soon, they could say goodbye to their head. They gripped their head lightly for a moment, shuddering, before trying to think of a possible solution.

In the end, though, there was only one thing that could be done. They needed to report this as soon as possible. It was only through this that they had a potential chance of continuing to survive. They had done a good job before. Surely they could be forgiven for something like this, right?

But it was hard to tell with their boss. While that guy might seem calm and relaxed, there was also something hidden underneath the surface that was frightening. There was something about him that was just screaming ‘stay away from me’. They themselves, despite being small and agile, were at risk and even they had to be very careful of what they did. It would only take one screw up, one smack, before they were squashed.

Despite all that, it was not difficult to come up with a decision. They knew what the right path was and no amount of fear was going to sway them from that. They just had to hope that those teenagers did not get wise to what they were doing.

Without saying another word, the small figure took off, the sound of an insect’s wings beating as they went.

sss

“Those visions, they were horrible...”

“I can’t believe something like that really happened here. I knew that some children were troublemakers, but I never thought it got that bad.”

“Me, neither. But now that we know, what are we going to do about it?”

Indeed, what were they going to do about it? That was the million dollar question right now. The two teenagers were well aware of the situation now. They were both aware of what Mr. Cosmo has done and they both knew that he has been in ChalkZone before. This created an unsettling atmosphere as they both thought of recent events and they struggled to figure out just what this all was implying.

Penny was still aware that it could just be coincidence. Just because Mr. Cosmo was in ChalkZone before didn’t mean that he still knew about it or had any plans for it. This might be all for naught and they were getting upset and paranoid for no reason.

But she could not brush aside the fact that it still seemed rather strange that Mr. Cosmo would choose Rudy out of all people for these tests that were supposedly ‘helping humanity’. Not to bash on her friend, but wouldn’t those tests require someone with a higher education score? Wouldn’t that guarantee better success? Even with that pushed aside, out of all the directions that Draow could have gone, why did he go back in the direction where Mr. Cosmo’s place was? That seemed a little too close for comfort.

As much as she didn’t want to admit it, things were starting to be pushed in the direction of Mr. Cosmo knowing something. This could all be a set up and they were being played like puppets in a theater. Anything that they did might be something that man wanted. Or she might be wrong and this was all just an exaggeration. But regardless, she and Rudy could both agree that they now needed to be on their toes.

“I-I hope that this man isn’t planning to...” Rudy’s shaky voice said. He was struggling to breathe, fear rising up inside of him. “I-I don’t want to imagine what he could do as an adult.”

Penny tried not to shudder at that thought. “True. If he could cause all that damage as a child...” She stopped herself once she see how nervous Rudy was getting. She licked her lips and swallowed hard. She tried to think of how to continue, what else that she could say. “Well, anyway... We.. We should....” Her voice trailed off.

Rudy looked over at her. “What should we do? Do you think we should....I don’t know...try to see if Mr. Cosmo really does have a way into ChalkZone, or at least knows about it?”

“That might work. If we had any guarantee that he knows, then we can appropriately react. But Rudy... How would we even pull this off?” Asked Penny.

Rudy rubbed his chin a little. “That would be tricky. I mean, we can’t just walk up to him and say ‘Do you know about ChalkZone’? If he knows, he will be onto us and...” He cringed slightly as he looked around, his eyes eyeing the chalk trees to their side, the entrance of the Mumbo Jumbo Jungle. “Everyone here will be in big trouble.”

“That’s an undersatement.” Penny said, agreeing with Rudy. “So we will need a way to figure this out without tipping him off. And to do that, we’ll have to be subtle.”

“In other words, nothing like Terry Bouffant.” Rudy said in a joking tone.

Penny couldn’t help but chuckle, despite the seriousness of the situation. It was nice that Rudy was able to find some humor despite what was going on. It wasn’t really much of a distraction, but it did provide for them some chuckles to help ease their tense bodies and minds.

But it did also make them think something that they never thought they would.

They almost wished that they were just dealing with Terry Bouffant.

It wasn’t that they wanted Terry to try to expose ChalkZone again. But at least she wasn’t a mass murderer like Mr. Cosmo was. Her goal never involved actual harm to the zoners, at least not directly. And she lacked experience, which would mean she’d be easier to handle than Mr. Cosmo.

But in the end, they...

“Rudy!” A voice suddenly called out. “Oh Rudy, there you are!”

Rudy and Penny turned around to see a small zoner rushing over to them. The zoner in question was easily recognizable as Buttered Toast Man. The bread-like zoner was sweating, the droplets colored yellow as though made of solid butter themselves. It was clear that he had been running for a while, and he had to stop in front of the two teens, put his hands on his knees, and pant a little to catch his breath.

Once he was able to breathe normally again, he raised himself up and looked at the two teenagers with mixed emotions. “Something terrible has happened!”

Rudy asked nervously, “What is it? What has happened, Buttered Toast Man?!”

The zoner fumbled with his fingers a little, looking a little hesitant at first. But then he raised his hands upward and cried out, “Rapsheeba’s been taken!”

This sent ice through the teens’ blood as they turned and looked at one another, their eyes meeting and becoming rigid in place. They were both thinking the same thoughts. They were both realizing the same things at the same time. They held their breath as they struggled to cope with what they had just heard. They looked back, finding it difficult to fully control themselves.

Rapsheeba’s gone too...? Penny tried to control her emotions, but it was hard not to feel the bile rising up in her stomach. That made the count up to... She couldn’t remember. But a good number of zoners were now missing. Taken by that huge beast, taken to who-knows-where. Who knows how many more will be taken before they manage to figure out precisely what is going on?

“Please, you have to do something!” Buttered Toast Man cried out. “You have to help her!”

It was heartwrenching to see this zoner act this way. It was just as uncomfortable to see Rudy so conflicted in what to say. Penny watched in silence as she struggled before looking to give Buttered Toast Man a look of great sympathy.

Rudy finally spoke up, his voice struggling to remain coherent. “I-I-I don’t know what to.” He held his hands out, showing how desperate that he really was. “I’m not sure where to begin looking. I-I think I have an idea, but I’m not sure and I....”

“Can’t you draw a homing bacon like you did before?” The bread zoner suggested.

Rudy bit his lip. “That worked before because I knew where Biclops was. But for Rapsheeba...” He put his hand against his forehead as he struggled to think. “I need some way of tracking her and I don’t have anything that I could...”

Buttered Toast Man pulled something out of his pocket. “Would this work?”

Penny’s eyes widened when she saw what looked to be a torn piece of one of Rapsheeba’s outfits. “How did you get that?”

Buttered Toast Man shook his head. “That doesn’t matter right now.” He stared intently at Rudy as he handed the male teen the cloth. “Do you think this will be good enough?”

Rudy scratched his chin thoughtfully. Then his eyes seemed to spark, coming to life for the first time in days. “This just might work.” He held the cloth between two pinching fingers away from himself, studying it up and down. “Perhaps I could draw a tracking machine that goes by smell and... That’s it!”

Penny and Buttered Toast Man took a few steps back as Rudy immediately went to work. They both watched in silent awe and amazement as the boy worked quickly to create something metallic, long, and slender. It was more detailed than most of his other creations.

While Rudy did have a rule against creating too many sentient beings, that did not apply when the creation is just a machine programmed to do certain things.

That was why Penny was not at all shocked to see that Rudy drew what was essentially a robotic greyhound. She opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it immediately. She couldn’t believe the look of this thing. The silver body shined in the light, making it appear to glow rather brightly. The body was so sleek and slender and it looked like it could easily reach a hundred miles per hour with those powered thin legs. The head, long and pointed like a dog’s, looked over and stared at them. The pupils were robotic, a bright blue eyes lined with a foreign-like iris, a feature that was difficult to describe. The eyes themselves glowed brightly as the thing pulled its head back and let out a loud, electronic howl.

Rudy didn’t hesitate to raise the cloth up to his creation. “Smell this, and track her down.” He told the robotic dog.

The metallic beast lowered its head and gave the cloth a few sniffs. Penny couldn’t help but note how artificial the entire process seemed. But it still appeared to work as the beast snorted and started to take off. It moved so fast that it rapidly moved out of sight.

Buttered Toast Man put his hands on his head as he cried out, “What are you doing? It’s getting away!”

Rudy’s magic chalk was once again held up. “Don’t worry. I built in a tracking system in Grey.” He quickly began drawing something else. “We just need a mode of fast transportation to keep up. And I know just the thing.”

The idea of using a rocket-powered sled machine was not what Penny thought Rudy was going to draw. But oh well, it would work just fine. Rudy was already in the front, getting ready to power it on. But before Penny got in, there was something that she needed to do first.

“You need to stay here.” She said to Buttered Toast Man. “It’ll be safer here.”

Buttered Toast Man shook his head. “No, I need to go with you! I’m tired of all of these disappearances! I need to come with so that I have a chance to stop this myself! I need to....”

Penny raised her hand up. “I know you want to do something, but if you come with us, you’ll be at risk of being captured, too. You can’t help anyone if you are behind some bars or something, now can you?”

Buttered Toast Man looked at her for a few moments before lowering his head. “I-I suppose not....”

Penny looked at him sympathetically, reaching out with one hand and placing it on his shoulder, or whatever it’s called on him. The two of them looked into each other’s eyes for a few moments before Penny leaned in a little and said softly, “You’re better off back with the others. Do what you can to keep them safe, okay? Rudy and I will report to you as soon as we know anything about Rapsheeba’s whereabouts.”

Though the bread-like zoner didn’t want to, he eventually submitted to Penny’s idea. “All right...”

Penny gave him a reassuring smile before she turned and went to Rudy, who was waiting for her. Penny felt guilty about delaying this, but she needed to make sure that the toast zoner didn’t attempt to do anything that would have gotten him into trouble. The last thing they needed was for another zoner to go missing.

With no more interruptions, she and Rudy started up the sled and they began to slide along the ground swiftly. They held on tightly as the area around them became a colored blur and the wind pushed up against their faces, distorting them a little. It didn’t take long until they could see the metal greyhound up ahead, still on the trail for Rapsheeba. Rudy and Penny followed close behind, doing their best to stay within the sights of the robotic dog.

sss

Rudy couldn’t stop staring at what was being displayed before him and Penny. He wanted to think that this was some kind of joke, that something else must be going on. He wanted to believe that this isn’t what it seemed and he could feel his head shaking slowly in denial, not wanting to believe it. He didn’t want to think that this could be possible, and yet no matter what he did or how much he tried, he could not deny what he and Penny had stumbled upon.

There was no way that they could dismiss this as anything but more evidence leading towards Mr. Cosmo knowing more than he had let on before. Rudy still wanted to believe that it was just a coincidence, but it was starting to look less and less likely. With what he was seeing here, just how long could he keep that up?

Rudy and Penny were both standing in the spot where Grey had taken them. The robotic dog had followed Rapsheeba’s recent smell all the way here. Rudy could feel his blood chilling as he recognized this spot.

It was the same place that Rapsheeba said was where she had seen the beast zoner take off to.

There was no portal here. Rudy had erased it earlier. But he still knew where the spot was. He could feel it even when he moved his hands around it. He let his hands fall down to his sides as he looked over at Penny. The two of them exchanged worried looks, neither of them sure of just how to handle this. They both knew that they couldn’t just dismiss this. But yet at th same time, how would they go about it?

“It is hard to believe.... But all signs are pointing in this direction.” Penny whispered softly. She walked around the area slowly, her eyes examining the place up and down. “I don’t see too much disturbance here. But if Draow had carried Rapsheeba, then that kind of makes sense. Though I’m surprised that the grass doesn’t look disturbed from him flapping his wings.” Penny rubbed the back of her head.

Rudy looked at where the portal was before, his eyes narrowing slowly. “It looks like we don’t have much of a choice, then.” He looked over his shoulder to stare at Penny with one eye. “We need to interrogate Mr. Cosmo and find out once and for all if he has any involvement with what is going on.”

Penny silently nodded her head in agreement.

There was still no guarantee that Mr. Cosmo had anything to do with this. But it did seem all to fall into place that way. Draow and Mr. Cosmo knew each other and had worked together before. Mr. Cosmo was, at least in the past, aware of ChalkZone’s existence. He had been involved with some really horrible things being done to ChalkZone. And Drawo has been spotted, more than once, coming to this exact location, carrying some of the zoners that he’s managed to capture. All signs pointed in this direction.

But they still needed proof. They still needed to take the necessary steps to figure out if this was true or not. They couldn’t just rush in, acting like he was for certain guilty. What if he wasn’t? What if they wind up wasting all of that time? Just how were they going to explain themselves? It was going to be rather difficult trying to think of what to tell their folks if they get caught up in all of this.

Rudy forced himself to exhale slowly, trying to get himself to relax a little more. Despite his uncertainties, there was still something that could be done. They didn’t even need to plan a way to sneak into Mr. Cosmo’s place to learn if he really was involved or not.

Rudy already had a ticket in.

“I’m going over to Mr. Cosmo’s place again soon, like I’ve told you.” Rudy said. He could practically feel Penny’s eyes upon him as he continued to speak. “I will try to find out things from there.”

Penny bit her lip. “Be careful, Rudy. You know what might happen if he is involved and he finds out what you are doing.”

Rudy swallowed hard. He struggled to keep himself composed, not wanting to frighten Penny or give her more reason to worry. He hid his fear behind a stern expression, trying to be as unflinching as possible. “I know.”

Neither of them had any clue on how this next meeting will go. Neither of them could really prepare for what Rudy was about to face. They didn’t even know how long it was, nor if there was any way to find out a lot of information. There was no guarantee that things wouldn’t go sour.

But it was the best that they had. This was their one chance to get information without having to make plans to sneak into some big building they were both still largely unfamiliar with. Rudy didn’t need to lie to anyone or trick people into letting him in. He didn’t need to use ChalkZone to get back into the building and use stealth to try to find something. He had an upcoming chance to find out whatever information he could about Mr. Cosmo. He just hoped that he didn’t screw it up.


	13. Already Seen It Coming

Going back to Mr. Cosmo’s place didn’t yield the same feeling as it did before. Granted, the emotions involved were never anything super positive. But before, there wasn’t this much tension, this much uncertainty. And before, the revelation of Mr. Cosmo really being a creator that suddenly went insane one day hadn’t been revealed yet. And now that’s been brought into the light...

Despite that, it was still important to try to remain composed. Any small thing might give away to Mr. Cosmo that he was aware of what was going on. Any misstep might sound the alarm and cause Mr. Cosmo to....take whatever actions were involved with this.

Rudy struggled to keep himself as calm as possible. He didn’t hint with his parents that he felt something was wrong. He tried to act as excited as them. They were clearly looking forward to this meeting and he didn’t want to ruin it for them. He didn’t want them to believe that he had just given up so easily. They had never acted this proud of him before and he admitted, a part of him didn’t want to let go of that. So he focused instead on trying to deal with Mr. Cosmo silently.

He wasn’t sure how he was going to go about it, though. He needed take his time and formulate a plan. He felt bad that he still didn’t think of something despite having a bit of time. But he had only been to this place once. He supposed that he needed even more time to figure out where he could go, if there was a chance that he could flee, or something like that. He didn’t want to give up that easily.

Perhaps if Mr. Cosmo gave him another test, he could use that time to try to gather information. Maybe he could slip out of the room and explore a little. A risky move, but if Mr. Cosmo gave him the same amount of time as before, then this shouldn’t be a problem. He just needed to watch his time and also watch where he was going, or else he was just going to get into trouble and he couldn’t afford that. Not while there were so many people relying on him for this.

He silently reminded himself of all the trouble that this man had caused before. To know that he had been that horrible to the zoners... Rudy hoped that he could keep his anger hidden underneath his face. The last thing he wanted to do was lose it and get his parents upset with him and force Mr. Cosmo to raise his hand. This was especially worrying since he had no idea what Mr. Cosmo would do to him or what else he was capable of.

As he and his parents had entered the building, as they moved through back to where they had been before to meet up with Mr. Cosmo, Rudy’s heart pounded as his mind raced. Many questions began to form in his head and he couldn’t get them to leave. They were the same questions that he had asked himself before and they were the same ones that he was unable to answer.

Just why hadn’t Mr. Cosmo said anything to him about ChalkZone? In private, no less? He had him alone in that room and he could have said something. Yet Mr. Cosmo still went on and on about that test and seemed to be focused on that. A part of Rudy wondered if this meant that he really didn’t know anything. But with the way Biclops had reacted, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Was Biclops right? Was this more reason to be suspicious? Was Mr. Cosmo hiding the truth and feigning what he knew in order to lure him into a false sense of security? Did Mr. Cosmo have some sort of devious plan that somehow involved him?

Rudy still couldn’t be sure, but he was determined to find out somehow today. He wasn’t going to leave this building until he got the information that he wanted. It was going to be tough, he knew. He might not even be able to succeed. But darnit, he was going to try. He just hoped that this first try was good enough.

His parents suddenly stopped moving. Rudy nearly collided with them. He looked up at them in confusion and wondered just what the heck was going on. He didn’t expect them to just stop like that. But then he saw that they were looking at something and he shifted his gaze.

Rudy noticed that they were at the same window as before. The one where they first met Mr. Cosmo in this building. But much to his confusion, as well as his parents’ confusion, there was no one there. The room behind the window was actually dark, the lights having been turned off. This caused them to look at one another, blinking slowly, trying to grasp the situation.

“Didn’t he say he wanted to meet with us today?” Rudy heard his mom say. Her voice was softa nd filled with uncertainty. “I could have sworn...”

“I’m pretty sure it was today, too. Maybe he just forgot?” His dad narrowed his eyes. “But that doesn’t seem like him.”

Rudy moved in closer to the window. He leaned in a little and looked around. There was indeed no sign of that man in here. Unless Mr. Cosmo was a master of hiding and figured out exactly how to go undetected for whatever reason, the man was obviously not around here.

Rudy rubbed the back of his head, wondering why Mr. Cosmo wasn’t here. Had he forgotten about the meeting? Did they simply remember the dates wrong? He gritted his teeth as another thought came to his mind. What if Mr. Cosmo was planning something and they were walking right into this trap? What if...

“Oh there you are!”

Rudy jolted as he quickly turned around....

...only to see Ms. Saffron standing there.

“I’m surprised to see you here this early.” Ms. Saffron said as she moved in a little closer. “Mr. Cosmo wasn’t supposed to meet with you until another hour and a half I believe.” She explained.

“Oh... I thought it was...” Mr. Tabootie smacked himself in the head. “Oh, that’s right! I remember now. Gee....” He looked over at the blonde woman. “We’re sorry. Should we leave and come back?”

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “No, that won’t be necessary. He would be glad to see that you’re so eager.” She turned her back to them and motioned with her hand. “Come on, I’ll take you to the waiting room.”

Rudy and his parents, though still confused, followed the woman down the hallway. Back in the waiting room they went, which was thankfully located not far from the sign in window. Ms. Saffron was nice enough to open up the doors for them and let them into the room. Though despite being in here before, somehow the room felt...smaller. Or did Rudy himself just not notice until now?

“I would have taken you to a larger room. We have one available. But right not it’s being....renovated.” Ms. Saffron rubbed her hands together, almost as though she were nervous about something. “I do hope that these accomodations are fine while you wait for Mr. Cosmo to show up.”

Rudy watched his dad take a step towards Ms. Saffron. “When will he be arriving?”

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “Mr. Cosmo is pretty busy right now. He’s getting something set up and....” She stopped herself. She seemed to be struggling to figure out just what to say after that. Then finally, she said, “I can’t give an exact time frame. But I’m sure he’ll be here soon. He did tell me before that it wouldn’t be long before he was finished.”

Rudy was about to say something, but his mom beat him to the punch, asking just what was on his mind.

“What is he working on, exactly?” Mrs. Tabootie asked.

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slightly. “That’s confidential information. It doesn’t concern you.”

Mrs. Tabootie flinched slightly. “....yeah I know. Sorry, just that...”

Ms. Saffron’s expression softened up. “It’s quite all right. I understand that you are just excited for this meeting. And rightfully so.” She rubbed her hands together, her smile stretching along her face. “Your son will be part of a world changing thing, and that’s something that you should be proud of.”

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie smiled at this.

“We are grateful that Mr. Cosmo has looked past any...issues that he thinks might exist...” Mr. Tabootie struggled to speak. Rudy stared at his dad with wide eyes, feeling a small sting in his stomach. Mr. Tabootie noticed this and he turned away from his son, his eyes darting left and right. He stammered, “W-W-Well it’s just... g-g-great that he is able to...” He couldn’t get himself to continue, likely pulled down by Rudy’s emotions.

Ms. Saffron cocked up an eyebrow at first before her eyes flashed, seeminlgy understanding.

Mrs. Tabootie spoke up for her husband. “What my husband here is trying to say is that we are happy that Mr. Cosmo sees our son as someone who has potential. Others...” Mrs. Tabootie froze. Judging by her glare, Rudy had a feeling that he knew whom she was thinking of. “We would like to thank Mr. Cosmo for that.”

Smiling, Ms. Saffron said, “And you will get your chance soon.” She raised her hand up in gesture. “Would any of you like something to drink? I can bring you some tea of you’d like.”

“Sure, that would be lovely. Thank you!” Mrs. Tabootie replied. She turned to her husband and asked, “What about you, dear? Could you go for something to drink?”

“Hmm.... I’m not sure about tea....” Mr. Tabootie said softly.

“I have some soda if you’d prefer that.” Suggested Ms. Saffron.

“Sure, go with that.” Mr. Tabootie nodded his head. “Thank you.”

Ms. Saffron smiled at the parents before shifting her gaze to Rudy. “And what would you like, Rudy?”

The teen thought about this long and hard for several moments. But eventually, all he could do was just shrug his shoulders. “I am not really that thirsty right now. Don’t worry about me.”

Ms. Saffron furrowed her eyes. “Are you absolutely sure?”

Rudy could feel all eyes on him. Despite that, he still managed to hold his ground and nod affirmatively. “Yes, I’m sure. If I change my mind, I will let you know.” He went quiet for a few seconds before he finally said, “I’ll probably just want a glass of water later on or something.”

“Well okay..” Ms. Saffron stared at Rudy for a few long seconds before she shifted her gaze back at the parents. “I will be back shortly. Please make yourselves at home while I get the beverages ready. I promise, it won’t be long.”

Mr. Tabootie nodded his head. “Thank you for your hospitality. We apologize again for coming in so early.”

“It’s no trouble at all!” Ms. Saffron waved her hand dismissively. A smile spread along her face. “I would have done the same thing as you if I were in your shoes. Now...” She turned and headed towards the door. “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”

Rudy watched as Ms. Saffron left, feeling his eyes slowly narrow. He wasn’t sure how long she would be gone, but even if she were gone for a while, this was not how he thought things would have gone. He didn’t have a moment alone where he could just explore, and the woman did say to stay here. She was out there in the hallways. If she saw him snooping around, just what was she going to do about that?

Rudy looked over at his parents. They had already decided to sit down in the nearby chairs. They were each holding a magazine and had already started to read. He couldn’t help but envy them a little. Unlike him, they could relax enough to try to enjoy their time here. Then again, they didn’t have the worries that he had, the ones that had been plaguing his mind. If they had an inkling of what he had felt...

Rudy let out a forced sigh, realizing that there was no way that he could do what he wanted. At least not now. And none of them knew how long Mr. Cosmo was going to take to get here. Rather than crying spilt milk over it, Rudy realized that it was best to just join his parents and wait.

Walking over to a nearby chair, Rudy adjusted himself in it and leaned back. One arm rested on the arm rest, draping off, while the other was pressed against his chin and side of his head, allowing him to rest like this. He didn’t bother grabbing a magazine. His aching mind was preoccupied with other thoughts, anyway.

He wondered again just how those zoners were doing. He was worried about all of them. None of the ones taken were aggressive or deserved anything like this. And yet Draow still took them....because Draow was created to be a near unstoppable cruel zoner who got kicks out of hurting people. The thought was enough to cause his mind to burn and he had to struggle to keep the emotion from rattling his body, or lest his parents find out.

The one that he worried about the most was Snap. He could still feel his heart freezing and hurting as he thought of just how much of it was his fault. He was right there. He could have stopped that kidnapping. He could have kept Snap from being taken by that large beast. He had a chance to stop the rampage right then and there.

And yet he failed... Despite having the magic chalk, despite having Penny with him, he still couldn’t stop one zoner. Draow managed to get away with Snap. Not only that, but he’s been taking zoners left and right while he’s been gone. Somehow, the beast had been clever enough to avoid coming out when he’s there, meaning that Rudy could not get another chance to stop Draow. He formed a tight fist with his hand, shaking it out of sight of his parents.

He still hoped that Snap would forgive him. Penny reassured him that there’s little reason why Snap wouldn’t forgive him. But Rudy couldn’t help but feel some level of paranoia about that. Snap might not be so willing to let this be water under the bridge after he so vividly failed to protect him. He struggled and fought the best that he could against his forming, burning tears.

That was why he was not going to give up. Even if Snap was angry at him, he was still going to try to save him no matter what. He wasn’t going to allow himself to waddle in sorrow for too long. That wasn’t going to help save Snap, now was it?

He was interrupted from his thoughts when he noticed that Ms. Saffron was already returning. He was a little surprised by how fast that was. Or had more time passed than he realized? He looked up at the clock and he tried to figure it out, but he guessed that it couldn’t have been more than fifteen minutes, probably even less than that.

Ms. Saffron managed to open up the door despite carrying two heavy-looking glasses. One was filled with a dark-colored sparkling fluid that was instantl revealed to be soda. The other looked more amber and had a small bag in it. Obviously tea. Ms. Saffron got the door open with her leg, holding the drinks in the crook of her arm, and she entered the room.

“You wanted the tea, right?” Ms. Saffron asked as she went towards Mrs. Tabootie first. When the large woman nodded, Ms. Saffron handed her the tea.

“And I wanted the soda.” Mr. Tabootie said as he held out his hand.

“Of course. Here.” Ms. Saffron reached out with the second drink and handed it to the man. As he stared to sip it, she looked over at Rudy. “You are absolutely sure that you don’t want any drink? I don’t mind going back out and...”

Rudy raised his hand up and shook it from side to side, his head following suit. “It’s okay. I should be fine.” He did feel a slight dryness in his mouth. But he pushed that feeling aside the best that he could and said, “I’ll get something to drink after the meeting with Mr. Cosmo.”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head slowly. “Well all right. It shouldn’t be too long, I imagine. It might even be before your parents finish their drinks.”

A part of Rudy hoped that would be the case. He hoped that things would go that fast and they could finally get a move on. He wanted to finally be able to try to find some information regarding Mr. Cosmo. While trying to pry something out of Ms. Saffron was an option, he was still more interested in trying to get information from the big cheese himself.

As he listened to his parents drinking, no other sound being available at the moment, he tried to think of how he was going to do this. As each second ticked by slowly, that brought him closer and closer to confronting Mr. Cosmo. If the man was truly behind what was going on, he would need to find proof without tipping him off. This was especially important considering that he happened to be in the man’s building, whom he knew better than the fifteen year old boy.

And then there was...

He tried to push the thought aside the best that he could. He wanted to remain positive for this. He already acknowledge before that it was going to be tough and he didn’t want to be a broken record to himself. He swallowed hard and tried to relax. It wouldn’t hurt to be a little confident, right?

Rudy’s ears suddenly filled with the sound of a loud thud. He thought at first that it was just someone upstairs working on something. But when he heard a soft moan to go along with it, as well as the sound of glass breaking, he immediately whirled his head around.

...and he immediately saw his parents on the ground.

“Mom...! Dad...!” Rudy screamed as he jumped up out of his seat and rushed over to them. “Wh-What’s happened?!”

His parents didn’t respond. They were just laying there in a heap. Their eyes were closed and their heads turned to the side. Their bodies had gone fully limp and they were utterly unresponsive. The glasses were both broken and whatever fluid was in there had spilled off to the side, staining the groun beneath them. Rudy reached out to his parents, stopped for a moment, hesitating, and then placed his hands on their shoulders and shook them gently.

“Please wake up! C-Come on.... You have to get up!” Rudy called out to them. When they didn’t move still, he pulled his arms inwards towards himself, licking his lips slowly and swallowing hard. He could taste a foul bitterness in his throat. Could they be...?

Rudy checked their breathing and their heart rate. They seemed to be fine. At least they were still alive. He let out a small sigh of relief at this, but it wasn’t enough to help him fully relax. His mind spun in circles and he felt his head filling up rapidly with heavy thoughts.

“Rudy Tabootie...” A feminine voice said behind him.

Rudy felt his body shuddering, a cold sensation moving through him, as he looked over to see Ms. Saffron staring at him. Gone was the warmth that she had previously and instead they seemed to glint with some sort of intent. Rudy took in a few heavy breaths before burning anger started to rise up inside of him.

“Y-You... What did you do to them?!” Rudy demanded. He adopted a fighting stance, fully prepared to strike at this woman if she dared attempt to do anything.

Ms. Saffron didn’t look too fazed. “Your folks are fine. Don’t worry about them.” She stared to move in closer towards Rudy, her eyes staring intently at him. “Now don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be...”

Rudy kept his body tense and he bared his teeth at Ms. Saffron. He felt his body starting to tremble as he took a few steps back. He held up a hand, his fingers arched, showing her that he was ready to attack. That didn’t stop the woman from continuing to approach him slowly. Rudy breathed in and out rapidly as he looked left and right, trying to think of what the fuck he was going to do now.

Rudy eventually pushed himself up against the wall. He struggled to move himself back further, wanting to get away from the woman. He looked towards the door, knowing that it was his best chance of escaping. But he stared at his parents, not wanting to leave them behind. He took in a few shaky breaths before returning his glare to Ms. Saffron.

“Don’t try to fight this, Rudy. I know you’ve been wanting to talk to Mr. Cosmo. I came here to help you with that. Just come with me and...”

Rudy shook his head rapidly, baring his teeth. “I’m not going anywhere with you! Just let me and my parents go!”

Ms. Saffron rolled her light hazel eyes and said, “Why are you so worried about them? It’s not like they’ve been hurt. They’ll be taken care of and they will be fine. Now then, little boy...” Ms. Saffron reached over and seized Rudy by his arm, squeezing it tightly. “Come with me. You still have a meeting with Mr. Cosmo.”

Rudy wasn’t about to go down without a fight. He started to struggle and twist his way around, trying to dislodge him from Ms. Saffron’s grasp. “Let go of me, you filthy... Aaahhh!”

Rudy’s eyes widened in pain when Ms. Saffron suddenly twisted his arm, almost to the point of breaking it. She held him there, pushing him up against the wall, preventing him from escaping. The sharp pain crawled up his arm and started to invade the rest of his body. He had to struggle to keep breathing.

Ms. Saffron put her face close to his and hissed, “Listen here... This isn’t a big deal. Mr. Cosmo just wants to speak to you. Nevermind your parents. They just needed some rest. It is you that Mr. Cosmo wants to speak to. And if you are going to continue making this difficult....”

Rudy gasped in pain when Ms. Saffron started to bend his arm a little more.

“I don’t want to have to do this, so please don’t force it on me.” Ms. Saffron told him, her teeth gritted. “Or, I promise you, there will be regret.” Rudy’s eyes widened at this. “So are you going to go peacefully?”

The teenager wanted to say no so much. But at the same time, he also didn’t want the pain. Ms. Saffron had assaulted his right arm, the best arm that he had for drawing. If she damaged it, then that would greatly hinder his ability to stop Draow. And then there were his parents. He didn’t know how well off they were going to be if they resisted. Ms. Saffron stated that they weren’t hurt and would be fine. But if he kept fighting against her, how long would that last?

Realizing that he had no other options available, Rudy released a low hiss before just going limp, pinned here to the wall. He turned his head away, refusing to look at the woman in the eyes. His mind started to ring with previous thoughts that he had.

It seemed he and Penny had been right to being a little skeptical about the purpose of those tests.

Rudy struggled to keep his feet from slipping as Ms. Saffron dragged him down the hallway. She was moving at a swift pace as though she really needed to get somewhere fast. Rudy tried to ask her to slow down, but she would cut off his speech by squeezing his arm or yanking him hard. Rudy eventually just gave up and he concentrated on just trying to ensure that his feet don’t trip out from underneath him, resulting in him face planting against the ground.

He didn’t know how long he was being dragged by this, but at some point, he saw a large door in front of him. Almost like a garage door, but shaped a little differently. He could hear something clicking, a red light flashing, and it started to rise up slowly. Rudy flinched as he heard the sound rattling through the air, irritating his ears.

Once it was open, Ms. Saffron pulled on him, forcing him to come with her. Rudy felt tension rising up inside of him as they passed through the opening, soon entering the room.

A really massive room.

Was this what Ms. Saffron had been referring to? This place? The thought caused his gut to wrench. How could he have not noticed the...

His thoughts were interrupted as he was pulled forward faster. This time, his feet did slip and he wound up stepping on his bent foot. He let out a cry of pain and started to limp. Ms. Saffron grabbed his arm more firmly at this, providig him with some support so that he didn’t fall.

Rudy looked around the room as he headed in deeper. It was huge, like he noted before, but it was also dark with only a handful of lights turned on. It was like a storage area, though he saw no large boxes. He couldn’t tell if there were any doors from where he was coming in from, but he could tell that there was a tall platform and a desk placed on top of it. Rudy turned his head up and he could see a set of eyes staring down at him.

It was Mr. Cosmo.

Rudy gritted his teeth as his mind began to spin, swirling with thoughts. His body trembled, wracked with emotion. He felt his body starting to light up on fire, spreading throughout, threatening to burn him up completely. It took everything that he had to keep from spouting venom at the man.

“Hello, Rudy Tabootie. So nice of you to join us. I’ve been expecting you.” Mr. Cosmo leaned in against the desk, speaking as though this was some sort of business meeting. He spread his hands outward slowly and continued, “Please come on in. Don’t be shy. You can get closer.”

Rudy could feel Ms. Saffron pulling him forward, bringing him closer to Mr. Cosmo. Rudy struggled only briefly, but the pain in his arm and especially his foot made it difficult for him to keep resisting.

Once the teen was closer, Mr. Cosmo said, “Why don’t you make yourself comfortable, Rudy? I do believe that we have much to discuss.”

Rudy kept his teeth bared, but he didn’t attempt to say anything, mostly out of fear of Mr. Cosmo might try to do something to his parents if he were out of line too much. So he was forced to remain still and quiet while this man prepared whatever ‘test’ that he had in mind.

While Mr. Cosmo was quiet, Rudy turned his head to the side and he noticed there was something large set back, a few feet behind the desk, off to the side. Rudy leaned in a little closer, squinting his eyes a little. It looked like some large glass container, the walls looking thick even from where Rudy was standing. But why would Mr. Cosmo...

Rudy’s eyes widened when he saw that the container was not empty. There was a form inside of it. Something big and teal and purple and...

There, inside the glass chamber, was Skrawl.


	14. Danger Revealing

He couldn’t believe that this was happening. He wanted to pinch himself and pray that this was some sort of horrible dream. Repeated attempts to do this only resulted in him being forced to open up his eyes to the reality before him.

Mr. Cosmo sitting at a desk high above him, leaning forward, and staring intently at him.

Ms. Saffron holding him in place so he couldn’t try to leave.

And of course, Skrawl, unconscious, laying in a glass tube.

Rudy could feel his head spinning in circles as he tried to comprehend this. He rubbed his head multiple times but nothing he did would make the thoughts go away. He gritted his teeth tightly and he felt his world become swirly and unrecognizable. It was like he had been placed inside of an invisible merry-go-round. His wobbly feet seemed to concur with that train of thought.

Rudy, his body going tense, refused to look away from Mr. Cosmo, his fingers folding together against his palm, shaking. He could feel his thoughts moving through his head a million miles an hour. He couldn’t tell which question he wanted to demand the answer to first. There was too much going on at once, too many things that needed to be asked.

But eventually, he did manage to think of one that he couldn’t just let go of.

“Why are you doing this?” Rudy hissed softly. He would have moved closer to Mr. Cosmo if Ms. Saffron wasn’t still holding onto him. “Why did you bring me here? What was the point of those tests?”

Mr. Cosmo didn’t attempt to respond. The man merely stared down at him with a small smile on his face. The fact that he didn’t seem to be affected by his anger somehow made Rudy even more furious.

Ms. Saffron tightened her grip on Rudy. Then she looked up at her boss and said, “Sir, aren’t you going to tell him?”

Mr. Cosmo blinked as he looked at Ms. Saffron for a moment. Then he seemed to have something click in his mind and he quickly nodded his head. “Oh, that’s right! Thank you for reminding me, Ms. Saffron.”

Rudy jerked a little from Ms. Saffron, though he was quickly subdued again. He didn’t bother glaring at her, however. It was not her that had truly earned his ire already. Far as he knew, Ms. Saffron might just be a pawn in all of this. Mr. Cosmo was good at swaying people to his side, right? This woman holding him was probably just another victim of that.

But he didn’t hold that much understanding for Mr. Cosmo. He couldn’t find any sort of excuse for the man to suddenly start killing zoners like that. And now this man obviously wants him for something.... Rudy gritted his teeth at the mere thought of that, shuddering. He didn’t want to imagine what this man had in store for him.

And yet, it was one of the deepest questions that he had at the moment.

Mr. Cosmo broke the silence, moving him away from his thoughts. “I know that this isn’t the best way to meet. I’m sure that you aren’t exactly very comfortable right now and I do apologize for that.” Rudy just glared at him. Mr. Cosmo ignored the glare and continued, “But it was a necessity. I had to be sure that I picked the right...contendent.”

Rudy could feel his blood already starting to chill, and Mr. Cosmo hadn’t even started to tell him his plans yet. Rudy was already certain before that this man wanted him for something. But it was one thing to believe that and another thing entirely to hear it being confirmed. Rudy could feel his teeth clenching together. He struggled to keep himself looking firm, trying not to give away his fearful state.

Mr. Cosmo slowly smiled. It was almost as though he could detect what Rudy was feeling. “I can assure you, Rudy, that I don’t have anything...ill planned for you. It’s just....” He shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I have had my...disappointments recently. I was hoping that you could break that trend.”

Rudy noticed the man taking pauses in his speech and deduced that Mr. Cosmo did not think out this meeting. That did little to calm him, however. After all, this man did find a way to trap him here with him with his parents nowhere to be found. He was also able to realize that, for Mr. Cosmo to do this at all and not act like he was going to get into trouble for it later, he must have found a way to make sure that his parents could not call the police. What if that knock-out stuff that got his mom and dad had something to erase short-term memories?

“I’m sure you are wondering how I decided to pick you out of everyone.” The red-haired man tilted his head up, his eyes giving off a small bit of a twinkle. Rudy could have sworn he saw black, but perhaps he was just hallucinating. “It’s quite simple, really. If you think about it...” He leaned in once more, his stomach pressing up against the edge of his desk. “Why do you think the tests were focused on art? That hadn’t been a coincidence.”

Rudy growled lowly, “So it wasn’t just to show that even ‘lowly artists’ could succeed?”

“Now that seems a little harsh, boy.” Ms. Saffron said. “He....”

Mr. Cosmo cut her off. “Oh don’t think for a moment that I don’t believe artists can’t succeed. But....yes, I suppose it was a bit of a ruse to cover up the true meaning of the test.” The man paused for a moment, as though to allow Rudy a bit of time to let this information sink into his head. Only when Mr. Cosmo seemed certain that Rudy grasped that message did he continue his speech. “The real reason that it was focused on art is that...well... You’d be amazed on what subtle things you pick up when you spend all of your time in ChalkZone...”

Rudy immediately froze in horror at this. He felt his breath stopping and a dizzying sensation sweeping through him. If it weren’t for Ms. Saffron, he would have fallen down. Especially given how much he was shaking. He could barely keep his legs straight.

He couldn’t stop staring at the man when he said that. He felt his world snapping into pieces upon realizing that even more of what he feared was true. This man really was the same person from all those years ago, the same man who tortured ChalkZone as a child, and he still remembered that world after all of this time. Not only that, but if he was right on all the vibes that he was getting and the implications of what he’s just learned, that means that....

Mr. Cosmo has been plotting to do something with ChalkZone for years...

...and he has been using this test as a ruse to make that happen...

Rudy felt a sudden surge of energy rising up inside of him. He began to once again twist around in Ms. Saffron’s hands, trying to free himself from her grasp. Despite his efforts, Ms. Saffron was stronger than him. This fact surprised him, considering that she didn’t look stronger. He made one more tug before Ms. Saffron pulled him back sharply and began to twist his arm behind his back again. Rudy hissed in pain before forcing himself to settle down.

Then a thought came to him. He looked over at where Skrawl was. Questions began to form in his head, causing him some achiness. He swerved his head over to Mr. Cosmo and demanded, “How did you get that zoner? You must have already had access to ChalkZone, right?”

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him, blinking a few times.

“Then why didn’t you try getting in right then? Why waste all your time looking for the ‘perfect candidate’ or whatever you think of me?” Rudy resisted the urge to struggle, resisted the urge to take a step forward. “You must have a reason, don’t you?”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head slowly. “Indeed, I do. Now you can tell that I already have a way in there. I’ve actually had a way for years now.” He nodded in the direction where Skrawl was being held before looking back at Rudy, his blue-grey eyes unblinking. “But you know what they say. You can’t rush good things.” He held his hand up in gesture. “If I had just gone in there without a perfected plan, I would just be setting myself up for failure. I’ve learned that lesson a long time ago.”

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” Rudy hissed, his voice low and growly.

“Oh? I presume Cyclops told you?” Mr. Cosmo said before quickly correcting himself, “Oh I’m sorry. Biclops.”

Rudy just narrowed his eyes further and growled, his teeth bared.

“I take that as a yes. I’m not surprised he’s told you about it. Probably a good thing I haven’t yet gone into that world again, even though I so desperately want to...” Mr. Cosmo paused for a moment, looking as though he was deep in thought, reminiscing over what had happened before. Probably about all the zoners that he’s killed.... Mr. Cosmo continued, “I’ve only recently reunited with my dear...friend...and he’s managed to inform me, in his own ways of course...” The man made a deliberate, slow motion off to the side. “...of some details, like Biclops’s interesting name change. But he has yet to tell me of you. Not that it’s really needed.”

With his teeth bared, Rudy growled, “What was that test for?”

Mr. Cosmo stared at him intently and said, “Why, it was to figure out which one of you lot were the most likely candidate to being ChalkZone’s current protector.”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this.

The man said, “You see, I’m aware of how ChalkZone works. There’s always at least one person in charge of keeping it safe, though more are ideal. I knew that if I wanted to do anything in that world, I would first need to contend with the protector. In which case, that means you.” The man motioned to Rudy.

The teenager immediately felt more chilliness spreading throughout his body. He trembled a little harder and he could feel some goosebumps rising up on his body. He could feel his hair raising up on tend. He licked his lips slowly, his throat rapidly going dry. He couldn’t stop his shuddering or his whirling head or the heaviness that was growing in the back of his skull.

Just what was this man going to do with him? If this man knew that he was the biggest obstacle... Did this mean that he was going to try to eliminate him...?

A rush of burning adrenaline moved through his already shaky body. He fought against the increasing fight or flight instincts. He tried again to struggle, only to yelp in pain when the blonde woman holding him bent his arm even further, nearly stapping it from the joint. He was forced to hold still, making one of his eyes open up while his teeth were clenched, staring at the man before him.

“I know that this news may frighten you. But I can assure you, Rudy Tabootie, that I am not here to try to take you out.” Mr. Cosmo cooed softly, as though he were trying to calm the teen. It wasn’t working. “There is more than one way to deal with a potential....problem. And that is...” He moved his hand out towards Rudy. “..make that problem into an asset.”

It didn’t take more than a second for the implications to sink in, clicking in Rudy’s mind. “Y-You want me to join you?!” He wailed, shock tinged on his voice. He jerked forward once, ignoring the pain in his arm, as he shouted, “I would never consider that!”

Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh. “I had a feeling you’d refuse. I hadn’t yet told you everything. You don’t really know the full impact of this situation.”

Rudy noticed there was a noticeable change in the man’s voice, but he was too lost in his burning thoughts to really think much on it. Right now, all that he cared about was the fact that this evil man was trying to use him against ChalkZone in some way. There was no way that he was going to allow that to happen.

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up in gesture. “I don’t think you fully grasp what’s going on here, Rudy. I’m not your enemy here. I just want to help you. I can bring you better understanding, and with that understanding, you and everyone else will be safer.” Rudy tried not to spit at that statement. “Do you have any idea just how dangerous a world like ChalkZone can be?”

The brown-haired teen’s body went rigid at this, and he felt almost like a cat arching its back, ready to fight off some foes. Rudy’s eyes felt as though they had gained a dangerous glow. “It is not ChalkZone itself that’s dangerous. It is those who abuse it that....”

“...are you saying that you don’t trust me? Why, I’m hurt!” Mr. Cosmo put his hand to his chest. But despite that convincing expression, Rudy knew that Mr. Cosmo was just feigning it. “But really now, Rudy... Even you should know how untrue your statement is.” He turned his head, focusing intently on Skrawl. “My friend mentioned witnessing you and this ugly thing duking it out. I believe it was even trying to kill you.”

Rudy corrected in a growl, “He...”

“Whatever.” Mr. Cosmo shrugged his shoulders. “But you get my point, I’m sure. This thing here is proof that this world that you love to protect so much has a rather....dangerous edge to it. I realized that a long time ago. I would have hoped you, by now, would have learned the cold, harsh truth of that world.”

Rudy struggled to keep himself under control. “I’ve been there and I know for a fact that most of the zoners are safe! Most of them have no interest in attacking a human!” He lowered his head slightly. His eyes remained glued to Mr. Cosmo’s gaze. “Don’t try to paint that world just because of a few bad eggs.”

Mr. Cosmo blinked a few times before releasing a chuckle. “Oh dear sweet child...” Rudy cringed when Mr. Cosmo called him that. “...you remind me so much of myself. I, too, once believed the same thing.” He cocked his head to one side, bending his neck. “I am grateful that the black chalk has helped me see right past that little bit of trickery.”

Black chalk...?

Rudy didn’t recall Biclops mentioning this. Was he unaware or did he hide that information. Rudy felt his stomach bile rising up at the thought of being lied to. But considering Biclops seemed to think it as a necessary evil at times, maybe he did it because he felt there was no other choice. Did Biclops think that he’d go looking for it? And if that’s the case, just how dangerous was this black chalk?

Rudy shook the thought out of his head for the time being. The black chalk and whatever the heck it did wasn’t the main thing that he was concerned about right now. This man was threatening ChalkZone. He needed to figure out how he was going to stop him. But in order to do that, he had to get out of here. How was he going to....

Mr. Cosmo cut off his train of thought. “I’m sure even you can be convinced by the black chalk. It opened up my eyes in ways never felt before. And it helped me realize just how... devious those zoners, I think they call themselves, really are. They might act all sweet and innocent, but they can turn on you on a dime. In that world, they can get away with anything. Who is going to find out? Who is going to report the crime?”

Rudy said, “The ChalkZone police will...”

“Heheheh... You really are naive, aren’t you, little boy?” Mr. Cosmo said with a smirk on his face. “Do you really think that they will bother doing anything for a dead human child? They only care about themselves.” His voice grew slightly dark as he continued, “That is why something must be done soon.”

Rudy could feel his body shaking harder as more fear and anger swelled in his stomach and chest. A part of him didn’t want to know what this disgusting man wanted to do, but at the same time, he knew that the longer he didn’t say anything, the more that this was going to eat him up inside.

And so he asked the dreaded question.

“What do you have planned for ChalkZone?”

Mr. Cosmo motioned back to where Skrawl was. “That thing’s just part of the beginning. The early steps towards a better, safer world. The start of a plan to make everything....” He stopped himself for a few moments, collecting his thoughts, and then said, “..well, I don’t want to drag this on for too long, so I will tell you the gist of it.”

Rudy remained silent as Mr. Cosmo began to explain. It wound up being a longer explaination than he thought. Not that Rudy really cared. He was too focused on what this horrible man wanted to say.

“Those zoners are a nuisance, Rudy. They lie, they cheat, they swindle, and those are just the ‘better’ ones. Others, like what you’ve faced, are clearly dangerous and potential murderers. They need to be tamed, Rudy. Someone needs to put them on a leash, put them in cages. Someone needs to find a way to control them. Only then could this world be safe from their invasions.”

Rudy couldn’t tell if he was hearing right. A part of him found it difficult to really believe what the man was saying. Was he even talking about the same world?

And how dare he speak about the zoners in that way... He ground his teeth against one another. This man was treating the zoners like they were just some kind of wild animal or something. He was basically bringing a call to violence against an entire group of people. And for what? For some misguided hope for some peace? What a disgusting, horrible man...

Mr. Cosmo continued.

“I didn’t realize the truth until the black chalk took my hand and revealed it to me. The things that I saw... They were awful. I knew that I had to do something. I had to stop those lying bastards before they could carry out their plans. I couldn’t allow them a chance to get into the Real World. I didn’t know how to handle things more efficiently back then, I admit. I had to resort to killing them. After all, a dead zoner can’t try to hurt you, now can they?”

Rudy growled lowly at this, his body still shaking in emotion.

“But now I am older and wiser. I now realize that I may have gone a bit...overboard with killing the zoners. That just caused them to gather up against me. Numbers and numbers....as well as some brainwashed creators who didn’t know any better. I was eventually subdued.” Mr. Cosmo gritted his teeth, his mind flashing with anger, likely remembering what had happened. “I will not make the same mistake this time. Oh no.... I will not kill the zoners this time, unless I have to.” His eyes glinted as he stared at Skrawl. “I’ll find my own ways to control them. After all, controlling them would have more benefits. Those monsters can be used for...other purposes.”

Rudy felt his blood running cold at this. “You’re going to...” He stopped for a moment to swallow hard. He took in a few shaky breaths. “...t-t-turn the zoners into slaves?”

“Well, ‘slave’ is a pretty subjective word, is it not? All I’m really doing is bringing out their potential.” Mr. Cosmo said. “They might all be corrupt little creatures, but that doesn’t mean that some good can’t come out of them. It’s just a matter of where you look.” Mr. Cosmo said, turning his head again, this time to the other side. He looked at Rudy intently with one blue-grey eye. “Don’t be so upset, Rudy. I just want to benefit everyone by turning the zoners into something useful.”

“No one would ever...!” Rudy couldn’t complete his train of thought. He started to wrestle with Ms. Saffron again.

“Hold still!” Ms. Saffron said. But when Rudy didn’t attempt to calm himself down, she pushed him down, forcing him to kneel on the ground. She looped her arm around his throat and pressed firmly. “Shut up! He’s not done talking yet!”

Rudy tried to speak, only for Ms. Saffron to hold him more tightly there, nearly cutting off his breathing. Rudy struggled a little more before stopping, forcing himself to glare at Mr. Cosmo.

“I’ve already told some people about the idea. Well, a lot of people. And they loved it.” Mr. Cosmo said.

“What..? Y-You told them about...” Rudy sucked in a sharp breath, his mind freezing at the realization.

“Oh don’t worry, I’ve told them not to do anything drastic. They understand.” Mr. Cosmo made a quick motion with his hand. “They aren’t going to try to erase anything dangerous. After all, they all want in on the deal.”

Rudy struggled to speak, “Who did you tell...?”

“Why, everyone in my company knows about ChalkZone.”

Rudy felt like he wanted to throw up.

“Some took a little convincing..” Mr. Cosmo looked at Ms. Saffron for a moment. Rudy turned his head to see that she was looking away in shame. Then he glared at Mr. Cosmo. “But they all agree that this world and its inhabitants have potentiality for the betterment of mankind. Through making them useful, we can eliminate the danger factor and make both worlds safe.”

Rudy couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Mr. Cosmo was planning to use ChalkZone like it was some sort of commodity? How dare he... Rudy wanted so much to charge at Mr. Cosmo when he said that. Only Ms. Saffron kept him from getting anywhere.

“I don’t know why you are upset about this, Rudy. I would have thought that keeping both worlds safe was your ideaology.” Mr. Cosmo said, sounding almost bemused.

“Keeping the worlds safe shouldn’t involve turning the zoners into your mindless slaves!” Rudy shouted back.

Mr. Cosmo shook his head a few times. “Still so naive... You remind me of myself, you know.”

Rudy bared his teeth. “Don’t fucking compare me to you...”

Mr. Cosmo ignored that statement. “Once, I believed that things like this weren’t necessary to keep both worlds at peace. Oh how wrong I was....” He stared at Rudy intently for a few long moments before he spoke, “And one day, you will see just how right I am. Don’t worry. I will help you open your eyes for the reality that is there. Then you will see the necessity of this all. And you will help me build a safer world. One where the wild and untamed zoner will not harm a human, and instead help us build a greater, far better future.”

The longer this man spoke, the loonier he was starting to sound. Rudy had a hard time even seeing him as completely human. Whatever the black chalk did to convince him that zoners were evil, it clearly didn’t involve any sane measures.

And this man clearly wanted him to meet the black chalk and be ‘cleansed’ as well... Rudy felt his body chill at the thought. He didn’t really know what the black chalk could do. He didn’t know if the black chalk had forced anything on this man or if it just ‘spoke’ to him somehow and made him believe these things. But whatever the case might be, Rudy knew that he didn’t want to meet this black chalk.

He tried to think of what he was going to do. Trying to wriggle himself free wasn’t going to help. Ms. Saffron had him pinned down and would just hurt him some more if he dare try to escape. Even if she was not holding him, the garage-door like thing behind him was shut. The only other way out was through one of the other doors this room might have, and since he didn’t know this place and Mr. Cosmo did, that would not do him any favors.

Oh gawd, what was he going to do...? He had to try something, anything to get free. He had to find a way to escape this evil man and stop him from doing anything to ChalkZone. He needed to make sure that he never set foot in that world ever again. He had to...

There had been a question that he had been avoiding asking. He had been afraid of the answer, knowing that it may very well send him into a blind rage, and that would not have been good for his current situation. But he had to at least try to ask. He couldn’t just stand there and avoid it. He had to know.

With a darkened voice, he asked, “Did you have anything to do with my friend’s disappearance?”

Mr. Cosmo cocked his head to one side. “What friend?”

Rudy’s eyes darkened. “Snap...”

There was a long pause and Rudy felt increasingly uncomfortable. He struggled to control his breathing as he waited for the man to answer him. It seemed like several hours were passing as the man still refused to answer. The longer this went on, the more shaky Rudy got. He struggled the best that he could against trying to shout again.

But that didn’t change the fact that the air around him felt like it was getting chillier and darker. It was like some kind of cold front was developing just in this area and just for him. He could feel more goosebumps froming on his limbs and he could no longer tell which were out of fear and which were out of cold. Not that it mattered right now as he focused on Mr. Cosmo, waiting for an answer.

Eventually, Mr. Cosmo’s smile returned. A simple, quick act, but it was enough to be nearly bone-chilling to Rudy. But the man didn’t stop there. He got up from his seat and he stepped slowly to one side. He raised up one arm, as though gesturing to something. That was when Rudy noticed something large moving forward, loud tapping sounds being heard easily in this quiet room. A large head seemed to pop into existence just behind the man, and a pair of glowing teal eyes emerged, a long, stretched out snout curling back its lips to expose sharp teeth.

Rudy immediately recognized Draow. He felt himself move back a little, instinctively trying to get away in case the beast tried to bite him. The beast looked at him intently, very clear recognition in those eyes. Rudy stared at the creature for a few moments before he heard Mr. Cosmo speak up.

“I think that may answer your question, am I right...?”

Rudy no longer felt the urge to rush Mr. Cosmo. At the moment, he was more worried about Draow rushing at him and tearing off his arm. With how he was positioned behind him, he guessed that the creature had some level of protectiveness of him. Regardless if it was just business or genuine love, it didn’t change the fact that he would be screwed if he tried to attack Mr. Cosmo. So instead, he tried a quieter approach.

“What did you do to Snap..?” Rudy hissed. “Did you throw him in a jar, too, like Skrawl there?”

Mr. Cosmo just chuckled. “Oh don’t worry about your little friend, Rudy. We aren’t here to discuss him or...whatever this Skrawl might be to you...”

Rudy cut him off, “Neither of them deserve to be used as weapons! Nor the other zoners that you have captured, you monster!”

“Oh my, a monster? Me? You have me confused with....someone else.” Mr. Cosmo reached up and rubbed the underside of Draow’s jaw and throat. The winged zoner seemed to like it. “The untamed zoners are the real monsters here, Rudy. You’re just too...optimistic about them to see it. Though I admit, I am surprised that you really think that Skrawl is worth saving. Why would you want to save someone who keeps trying to kill you?”

The teenager didn’t know how to answer that question. He resorted to just glaring at Mr. Cosmo.

The red-haired man did not fail to notice this discrepency. “See? You can’t even come up with a good answer.” He motioned to Rudy. “You just want to save him because you believe it’s ‘right’. But tell me, would he even care to return the favor? Have you ever saved him before? Did he ever return the gesture? Has he ever thanked you for the help?”

“I...” Rudy tried to say. He soon shook his head and growled, “He still doesn’t deserve to be used by you...”

“Oh how noble of you.... Wanting to believe such things... But in the end, that won’t get you far, would it? As soon as you save this Skrawl, is he going to be respectful of you? Or is he going to stab you in the back?” Mr. Cosmo asked him, practically staring into his soul. “I imagine you helped him out before, but didn’t he go right back to treating you like crap? Did I get close?”

Rudy struggled to answer, but his voice had vanished.

“Now why in the world, if that is the case, should you really care for this creature? If he doesn’t care about you, how wise is it for you to free him? At least in that glass jar, he can’t hurt anyone, not even you.” Mr. Cosmo said. His voice was calm and almost soothing...if it weren’t for the smile on his face or for the fact that Rudy knew that he was no friend. “This is where zoners belong, Rudy. They need something to keep them from hurting other people. You’ve seen the proof for yourself.”

Rudy looked over at Skrawl. He could feel his mind tingling with thoughts as he let Mr. Cosmo’s words sink in a little bit. He couldn’t deny the fact that Skrawl was a dangerous zoner. He had tried to take over ChalkZone numerous times. Rudy has had his fair share of difficulties against him. The jellybean zoner would stop at nothing to take over ChalkZone. Maybe Mr. Cosmo was...

No, he was wrong. Regardless of Skrawl’s recent actions, he didn’t deserve to be locked up like this. He didn’t deserve to be treated like he was some sort of wild animal. If Mr. Cosmo wanted to deal with him, why not just send him to a prison? Why trap him and use him like this? Rudy gritted his teeth tightly as he swerved his head back to Mr. Cosmo’s direction. The man looked almost surprised by this move, but nonetheless still stared at him unblinking.

“You still don’t see the truth, do you, kid? I’m not surprised. You’re as stubborn as I remember myself being. You just don’t want to look beyond those foggy glasses that you protect your mind with.” Mr. Cosmo turned his head to the side. His eyes furrowed, as though slightly disappointed with Rudy. He raised his arm up to the side and flicked his hand forward, gesturing to Ms. Saffron. “I think we’re done here. Take Rudy to his....accommodations. I think he needs some time to think about this.”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. “As you wish, sir.”

But before she could even start to drag Rudy away, the boy wriggled himself forward. He yanked harder and harder at random intervals. Then, when he had done this enough times, he managed to break free. He pushed back against Ms. Saffron before rushing at where Mr. Cosmo was.

“Where is my friend, you...” Rudy started to say before something large and heavy rammed up against him. He let out a pained grunt as he was forced into the ground by something large and heavy. He glared up at Draow as the beast put his head close to him, teeth bared.

“At ease, Draow.” Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up as he approached, coming down from his ascended desk. Draow snorted once before lifting his head a bit away from Rudy. But his foot remained on the teen’s body, using his weight to hold him down. Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy intently. “Now, what did you hope to accomplish with that little stunt, Rudy?”

“Shut up! Unless you’re going to tell me where Snap is...” Rudy started to say.

Mr. Cosmo shook his head slowly. “You really are making this harder than it has to be, Rudy. I’ve already told you everything that you need to know.” He made a few small gestures with his hand, most of the time with the palm facing up. “You cannot keep going on like this, Rudy. You are only going to wind up hurt in the end. Even your closest creations can and will turn on you one day...unless you do something about it ahead of time.”

Rudy could feel his body’s trembling returning. He grabbed onto Draow’s leg and started to push back against it. The only response that he got was his arm constantly failing him and Draow’s toes and talons flexing and curling more firmly against him. He realized how grateful he should be that Draow wasn’t driving his claws into him....yet. If Mr. Cosmo ordered it...

By this point, Mr. Cosmo was standing near him, as well as Ms. Saffron. Rudy hadn’t realized that the two were coming towards him. Ms. Saffron hung back mostly, her expression seeming like it was yielding a little bit of sympathy for him. But she still did nothing to help him. And as for Mr. Cosmo, he was just standing there with his arms folded back behind him, his eyes showing little else besides disappointment and a bit of curiosity.

“The zoners have you brainwashed. It’s such a shame that it’s working for so long. You must have been in ChalkZone recently, haven’t you?” Mr. Cosmo asked. When Rudy didn’t respond, he sighed and nodded his head. “That’s what I thought. I do fear that the best course of action for you is solitary confinement. Perhaps being alone for a while will help those poisonous thoughts leave you and then you will be more...receptive of us.”

Rudy continued to struggle and wriggle on the ground, baring his teeth, showing no signs of backing down. But no matter what he tried, it wasn’t enough to get Draow to get off of him. He eventually stopped squirming long enough to shoot a glare at the man. “Tell me where Snap is now, you good-for-nothing....” Rudy only stopped when Draow pushed down on his chest harder, nearly stopping his breathing.

Mr. Cosmo stared at him for a few long moments. He looked over at Ms. Saffron before glancing back down at Rudy. “You need to stop caring about that little lowly creature.”

Rudy could feel his blood reaching its boiling point at that statement.


	15. A Prisoner Of Blue

Despite the woman being stronger than him, Rudy still tried to free himself. He wasn’t ready to just give up yet. He attempted to find a way to slip free from the woman’s grasp and...

Nothing he did worked. It was just failure after failure, just like before. He eventually just had to come to the realization that there was no escaping for him from this. He stuck here, and that was something that he was just going to have to accept. At least until he could figure out another plan.

He could feel his feet tripping and slipping underneath him, nearly causing him to sprain his other foot. He was surprised he was able to rush at Mr. Cosmo like that earlier. Perhaps the adrenaline numbed the pain long enough for something like that to happen. But now that adrenaline was gone and he could feel the pain in his ankle full force. It made walking down the hallway while being dragged a lot more....uncomfortable.

But this paled to what he had learned about Mr. Cosmo and his plans. He hadn’t been prepared for that sort of callous behavior, those horrendous beliefs, him trying to get him to see things the way he did. That man tried to convince him that Skrawl deserved to be locked up how he was and that Snap wasn’t worth his time. He tried to convince Rudy that all zoners were dangerous and that he was a fool to trust any one of them.

All because of the black chalk..

Even though he knew so little about it and only just heard of it from Mr. Cosmo, Rudy could already feel his blood freezing at the mere thought of that chalk. Just how was it able to convince Mr. Cosmo of all of that? What did it have to do to make him see things that way? What did...

Rudy’s train of thought was interrupted when Ms. Saffron suddenly grabbed him from a different angle and tossed him forward. Rudy was only vaguely aware of flying past between the straight walls where a door would be before crashing into the ground painfully. He groaned and grunted as he got himself off of his feet and turned to glare at Ms. Saffron. By this time, the door had been locked.

Rudy’s immediate instinctual reaction was to rush towards the door and try to pound on it. He rammed himself against it, slammed it with his fist, kicked at it with his good foot, whatever he could to try to break it down. He repeated this a few times, over and over again. But nothing would budge this thick, heavy door, and his foot and hand and shoulder started to ache from his repeated attempts at escape.

He didn’t bother trying to scream at Ms. Saffron to try to make her let him go. It was useless. By this point, Ms. Saffron had already turned around to leave. He could hear her footsteps moving away, disappearing into the distance. This quickly left him in this room alone.

Rudy eventually stopped pounding and struggling against the door and took a few steps back. As his body echoed with the pain of his efforts, his mind forced itself to rethink of what happened and what his current situation was.

There was no getting out of here....at least not like this. If he waited for Mr. Cosmo, it would be a while. The man had ordered him to be locked up until further notice. The man hadn’t given up on him and he fully intended on getting Rudy to agree with him, even if it was by force. Locking him up alone like this, away from his friends, was an ingenius idea, as much as Rudy hated to admit it. He would try to resist, but he wasn’t sure how long he could last on his own. And that was assuming that Mr. Cosmo didn’t plan for anything else.

Rudy’s arm still ached from his recent attempt at escaping. He had tried to punch Ms. Saffron, hoping that would make her let him go. But it turned out to be a huge mistake and now his joint had some small bruisings around it. He reached down and gently caressed that area before tears started to form in his eyes, the reality of his situation crashing down upon him.

Rudy tried to control himself, but he couldn’t stop his legs from shaking and growing weak to the point of just collapsing down. He banged his knees against the hard, unforgiving ground, his hands keeping him from falling down completely. He held himself like that for several long moments, breathing in and out heavily, as the tears refused to stop flowing down. The sound of his sobs wracked throughout the small room he had been placed in. And he began to ask himself the same question over and over again.

Just why did this happen...?

sss

Ms. Saffron rubbed her hands against her arms a few times, trying to literally ‘scrape off’ the guilt that she was feeling right now. Even reminding herself over and over again that it was the right thing to do didn’t help her that much. She gritted her teeth tightly as she forced herself to continue down the hallway. Mr. Cosmo would be waiting for her. She didn’t want to leave him high and dry.

But as she went to meet with him, her mind still floated back to that child. She was still reminded of what had happened, which was just recently too, and she couldn’t fully shake off the feelings that she was getting from it. She licked her lips slowly and did her best not to allow herself to get eaten up by her guilt for too long. It wasn’t like they were going to hurt the child. They just wanted him to understand.

Ms. Saffron herself had a difficult time understanding. She sort of understood Rudy’s situation, as hers wasn’t too far off. Except that she hadn’t been brainwashed like Rudy had been. She had been fortunate to have run into Mr. Cosmo long before that happened. She felt sorry for the child and she wished that he would be more open to speaking with Mr. Cosmo. She wanted him to understand that this man wasn’t his enemy.

But you know what they say. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Rudy would have to come on his own free will. She just hoped that it happened sooner rather than later.

Up ahead, she could see a familiar man standing there, waiting for her to get closer. She didn’t hesitate to speed herself up, soon coming right up to where Mr. Cosmo was.

“So you’re finally here.” Said Mr. Cosmo. Despite the word choice, he wasn’t exactly upset. “I take it the boy is secured?”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. “He won’t be going anywhere, I assure you.”

“Good, good..” Mr. Cosmo moved in closer. He reached out and he stroked Ms. Saffron’s cheek with the back of one of his hands. “I knew I could count on you, Ms. Saffron. Talented and resourceful..”

Ms. Saffron couldn’t help but blush at this statement. She felt herself moving a little away from Mr. Cosmo, his hand soon slipping off from her face. She could feel him looking at her in confusion, clearly wondering just what was troubling her. Ms. Saffron licked her lips, trying to find some way of moving this forward, but she had a feeling that such a thing won’t be possible.

Indeed, it was Mr. Cosmo who had to speak up. “I like how you react, Ms. Saffron. It’s so....adorable.”

Ms. Saffron finally found her voice. “S-S-Sir...” Well at least for a few moments.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t attempt to move in closer this time. He just stared at her, his eyes moving up and down her body as though admiring it. Ms. Saffron shifted at this, feeling slightly uncomfortable being examined like this. She was thankful that it was only swift and the man returned to talking about other more important manners.

“Now I have another task I would like you to perform. Though I’m sure you’re already aware of what that is.” Mr. Cosmo said with a knowing smile on his face.

That smile alone was enough for Ms. Saffron to realize exactly what he meant. “Oh no, you don’t mean...”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head. “You know that these filthy, evil creatures still need to eat. They won’t be of any use to us if we let them starve to death. Don’t act like it’s a big deal.” He shrugged his shoulders at his side slightly. “They might be drawings, but they still require nutrients. And you know that dead bodies aren’t good for anything, especially chalk ones. Those are especially worthless as you can’t use them for anything. Not even food.”

Ms. Saffron felt her teeth grinding against each other. She couldn’t really argue with Mr. Cosmo on that. She knew that he was right. This was a necessity and if it were skipped, those zoners would be unable to benefit society. Though she wondered why it was that important if more could just be drawn. But she won’t try to question Mr. Cosmo on that. He did make it clear that he would rather not kill any of the zoners if it didn’t have to come to it and she didn’t want to oppose him.

But she still didn’t feel all that comfortable around the zoners. She didn’t feel all that safe with them. The zoners were all locked up in their own rooms and there was nothing restraining any of them. The only one that was more tightly secured was that Skrawl fellow. Mr. Cosmo wanted to try something out on him and he promised that, if it worked, it would make her trips into the rooms a lot safer. But for now, she had to endure going into the rooms, armed with only a spray bottle, in order to give chalk food and chalk water to the zoners to keep them from starving and dehydrating to death.

“Do you understand me, Ms. Saffron...?”

The blonde woman instantly shook herself out of her thoughts as she looked back at Mr. Cosmo. She didn’t realize that she had started to drift away. She rubbed the back of her head nervously, but she tried to sound as though she had heard everything.

“Y-Yes, sir. I’ll get right to it.” With that, she turned and she began to head down the hallway. She didn’t hear Mr. Cosmo trying to call out to her or try to stop her. This must be what he wanted her to do. She swallowed hard. She just hoped that she would be able to handle it.

Wait, why wouldn’t she be able to handle it? It’s not like she hasn’t done this before. It’s been, what, the fourth time now she was assigned? She should be used to it by now.

Well whatever. Time to feed those creatures. She continued to head down the hallway, soon making a turn and disappearing from Mr. Cosmo’s sights.

sss

He would never get used to this place. Day in and day out, it was always the same. He would wake up, freeze in horror, and realize he was trapped somewhere. He would try briefly to escape, only to find that this place had been fortified to make sure that he could not get out. Then he would get lose in his own emotions and his mind would spin before he would collapse. Rinse and repeat.

Snap hissed softly as he leaned up against the soft pillow, one of the only forms of comfort in this room, as he thought about his situation. He looked straight up at the ceiling and then around the room. It was very small. He would say that it was probably a third of the size of Rudy’s bedroom. There was a bed in here, a small mirror on the wall, and just a little bit of walking space before the door was reached.

The door itself looked thick and heavy and it had a lock placed on it. This thing locked from the outside of course. He had already tried moving the handle but it won’t budge. He imagined that there were other locks on the door that he could not see as well, ensuring that the door remained shut.

Normally this wouldn’t be an issue. But someone clearly didn’t want him to leave. This room not only had no ventilation system that he could try sneaking through, but the door’s bottom itself had been rigged. Snap looked down at his hand and flinched when he saw the deep cuts he had given himself. They did stop bleeding at least, especially after they had been treated. It still served as a reminder that he shouldn’t try to go underneath the door. Someone had put something sharp there that made it impossible for him to move out that way.

At least it was the only injury that he sustained that involved blood. Surprisingly, that beastly creature that caught him, despite how terrifying that situation was, actually didn’t hurt him that badly aside from a few bruises and small scrapes. That didn’t make the memory any better, however, and Snap shuddered as he recalled the terrifying details.

His friends trying to save him...

The beast grabbing onto him...

Being taken away from his friends...

Snap could feel a few tears moving down his face as he thought about his friends. He wasn’t sure how Rudy and Penny were fairing. He had feared the worst when he became aware of more zoners being taken. He had heard their voices and he knew what was going on. He didn’t know if Rudy and Penny would also become victims as well. He hoped that they escaped and found a way to stop all of this.

He felt himself being jerked from his thoughts when he heard the door opening up. He moved himself in his bed, enough to make his legs dangle over the edge of it. He stared intently at the person before him, immediately recognizing her.

“You....” Snap said as he clenched his teeth tightly. He moved himself forward, letting himself stand in front of the bed. He made no effort to run forward. He wasn’t stupid. He could see the water bottle the blonde woman was holding. “What do you want?”

The woman looked a little bit uncomfortable at this. In response, Snap purposely did whatever he could to make himself look more intitmidating to the woman. He normally wouldn’t do this to someone who might be scared of him, but in this case, he knew there wasn’t much of a choice. He had to make sure that she didn’t try to get the best of him.

“The same as usual.” The woman eventually said. “It’s feeding time.”

Snap growled at this, his body arching. “I’ve told you before. I’m not some kind of dog...”

“Of course you’re not. You’re something else entirely.” The woman said, her voice soft and low. “But still, you need food just like me. Wouldn’t want you to starve, now do we?”

Snap could feel his stomach rumbling a little. He hadn’t eaten in a while. In fact, this woman only sees him once a day. That’s the only time he’s ever given anything in these past few days he was trapped there. Once a day and that’s it. It left him constantly feeling starved. It was as though these people only wanted to give him the most minimum nourishment possible to keep him alive.

Just what did they want him for, anyway? What were their plans? This woman would never divulge anything. He only knew that he was being locked up in this place and these people obviously want him alive and healthy...to an extent. Underfeeding him wasn’t exactly the healthiest thing to do, but they did still treat his hand injury somewhat. So they obviously don’t want him sick or too weak. But that still didn’t answer his question on what these creepazoids wanted to do with him.

However, he had long given up on trying to get information out of this woman. She hadn’t even told him her name yet. What would convince her to tell him anything else? His only option was to just take the food, sit down, eat it, and be alone again.

But how long could he take that. The solitary confinement may not have affected him too much so far, but being a social zoner, it was starting to get to him. He could feel something crawling from his feet and hands and upward, giving him a chilling sensation. He knew that this was only going to continue getting worse.

“Aren’t you going to take your food?” The woman asked, finally breaking the silence. “If you don’t want any food today, I can toss this out and you can eat tomorrow.”

Snap felt a rush of chilliness at this. He shook his head and immediately moved forward. He didn’t say a word as he grabbed onto the sandwich and glass of water that the woman was handing to him. He noticed how the woman quickly moved back from him, as though she thought he was going to bite her or something. He said nothing about this, choosing to focus on the food and drink rather than questioning the woman on why she was so antsy with him.

It didn’t take him long to eat his first bite of the sandwich. The feeling of food moving through him and entering his stomach felt good and immediately settled down his rumbling stomach. He licked his lips before he took another bite, continuing to soothe his rumbling stomach.

After he took a sip of water, he looked over and happened to notice the woman still standing there. Of course, she was waiting for him to finish so she could take the plate and move on. Snap could feel himself smirking to himself as he decided to have a little fun with the woman and he began to eat at a more painfully slow rate. The effect was almost immediate.

“Hurry up, you little blue idiot.” The woman hissed through clenched teeth. “You aren’t the only one who hasn’t eaten yet today.”

Snap sneered at her. “And just how are you going to make me speed up?”

Snap immediately froze when the woman pointed her water bottle at him, her eyes narrowing into slits. She didn’t say a word. The intent was rather clear. Snap didn’t know if she would actually hurt him or not. But he knew that he couldn’t take that chance. He eyed the water bottle carefully before he started to resume eating, this time moving faster than he had been before.

He tried to settle his racing heart, but he found it difficult to do so. He remembered the other times he had been touched by water and how much that hurt. To have this woman threaten to spray him...

Snap hurried up to finish the food that he had been given. It did settle down his stomach for the time being at least. It was better than nothing. At least he won’t go hungry for a while.

But he was still curious as to why he was brought here at all. He hadn’t been told anything. He didn’t think that it was anything good, but considering that he was a prisoner here, did he not deserve to at least know why he was here? They were going to go through all this effort to do something with him. The least that they could do was just tell him what the fuck was going on.

But would this woman even tell him? Would she bother giving out any sort of information? The only real way to find out was to just....ask her. But that seemed like a far stretch. The woman already looked like she was ready to leave. If Snap were to get any sort of answer out of here, he would need to act now.

“Hey....” Snap asked. He kept his voice calm and quiet, not wanting to accidentally upset the woman. His voice was devoid of the snark that he had before. “What exactly is....going on here?” Snap paused for a moment to grit his teeth. “It’s obvious that I was brought here for a reason.” His eyes narrowed slightly. “Care to spare me the details?”

The woman stared at him for a few long moments. The silence started to get to Snap as he felt rapidly uncomfortable. He shifted a little on the bed, his eyes unable to leave hers. Eventually the woman responded with, “That isn’t any of your business.”

Snap’s eyes widened at that response. Then they narrowed again. “What do you mean by that? I’m a prisoner here, in case you hadn’t noticed!” Snap resisted the urge to rush towards the woman, the spray bottle being his main deterrent. “You go out of your way to kidnap me and you don’t have the decency to tell me why?!”

The woman was hardly fazed by what Snap had said. “It’s not really of your concern. Nothing’s going to happen right now anyway, so you can just...”

“Nothing now? What about later?” Snap asked. “At what point do I ‘earn the right’ to know?”

“....that is not something I can disclose to you right now. I’m sorry.” The woman finally said.

Snap growled at this. Of course the woman was going to be so difficult. He wasn’t really surprised by these answers. She was doing all that she could to evade the questions and make it seem like he didn’t need to know. Like fuck he didn’t need to know.... This woman obviously knew something and he was going to find out what it was.

“Listen here, I was dragged away from my friends by your large beast thing. I was thrown in here with no explanation. I spent days in here, cooped up, with only you to look forward to, and one meal a day. Meanwhile, my friends are worried for me and I fear for them. I deserve to know exactly what you have planned and I deserve to know exactly what is going on. So tell me now, or I’ll....”

Snap stopped when the woman raised the spray bottle at him once more. The woman’s eyes narrowed a little further, glinting with warning. “Or you’ll what?”

Snap didn’t want to, but he had no choice but to back down. He leaned away from the woman, his head lowering down a little in submission. This gesture was enough to make the blonde female human move the spray bottle away from him.

“That’s a good little zoner. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more of you zoner creatures to feed.”

Snap knew that he wasn’t going to get any of the information that he wanted from her. But there was still something that he could ask that might not warrant as much resistance. “What’s your name?”

The woman paused as she was halfway out of the door. She remained there for several long moments. She soon looked over her shoulder and stared over at Snap with one eye. Snap thought he could see some sort of shift in her expression, although he couldn’t tell exactly what that was.

In a soft, almost hissy kind of voice, the woman responded. “....My name is Ms. Saffron...”

Snap nodded his head very slowly, deliberately, as he processed that name. Though it wouldn’t mean much to the female human, he still said, “I’m Snap.” He paused, and then said, “Or Snap White. Both will work just fine.”

“Hmm....” Ms. Saffron hummed before she turned and started to move out of the room, leaving Snap alone.

The blue and white zoner stared at where the woman had left, processing what had gone on. He didn’t really learn much from that, now did he? He had hoped that he would have at least learned something. But he guessed that you can’t always get what you want. All he could do right now was just lay down and try to keep himself calm. All by himself, that was the only thing that he could do to keep himself from going crazy.

As he sat there in the bed, curling himself up with his knees pressed up against his chest and chin resting on it, he started to think about his friends. Especially Rudy and Penny. The last that he had seen of them, they had been knocked to the ground by the big winged beast. He had no idea if they were okay or not. He sincerely hoped that they were.

And he hoped that they would be able to find him before these people did...who knows what to him.

But was that all just wishful thinking...?


	16. Worry And Determination

Penny kept looking over her shoulder to see if her friend was about to ring the doorbell. She listened intently, only for nothing to happen. She gritted her teeth and slowly turned her head away. She let out a small sigh, her mind growing weary as each second ticked by.

Just where was Rudy? He’s been gone for a while now. Several hours. The sun was already starting to set. She hadn’t gone into ChalkZone yet because she was waiting for him. She had been hoping that they could explore ChalkZone more and try to find their friends. The fact that it was getting dark and she heard nothing began to worry her.

She had mentioned something to her mom a little while ago. Her mom did try to call the Tabooties, but there was no answer. Penny tried not to worry about that as it probably means that they were still out there. Maybe things were taking longer at Mr. Cosmo’s place and....

She shuddered as she thought about what she and Rudy had discussed about Mr. Cosmo. She had wanted to believe that everything was going to be all right and that nothing was going on with Mr. Cosmo. But her suspicions never died down. And with Rudy seemingly missing, she couldn’t help but feel as though Mr. Cosmo played a role in this. Those test questions, they focused way too much on art and wasn’t as balanced as most tests would have been. Something about that didn’t add up.

But what was she going to do? It wasn’t like she could just get up and walk over there to find out what’s going on. She didn’t know how she would get there and she doubted that her mom would agree to take her. She was aware that her mother had a lot of work to do today. In fact, this was quite often the case. Her mom can’t just leave her small vet office in order to go visit Mr. Cosmo’s place. Especially if it turns out it was all for naught.

But she also couldn’t just sit in her bed, doing nothing but think about what’s going on. Even if Mr. Cosmo was not to blame, something still happened to her friend. It might not be that bad. It might just be something that delayed him. But she still needed to find out. She needed to know what was going on with Rudy. And she wasn’t going to just ‘let this go’.

She realized quickly that her mom was going to be busy with her current clients today for a while. So that gave her time to head into ChalkZone to try to figure things out. She would just need to be quick.

Drawing a portal, Penny headed through and into ChalkZone. After ensuring the portal was erased just in case, she began to walk forward. She nearly tripped over a few times on the jumbles of letters, numbers, and symbols that were being erased. It reminded Penny that eventually, she was going to need to clean this place up again, unless she didn’t mind the pile that was crawling up from the ground as a result of her work.

She shook that thought out of her mind for now as she continued to head on down, getting closer to the city. It was going to take a while for her to get used to the sound of a silent city, the sight of an emptied out series of buildings. Well almost empty, that is. The zoners were still there; they were just remaining hidden, unwilling to come out for fear of Draow. In fact, Penny didn’t actually want to bother them, but she felt as though there wasn’t much of another choice. They might have seen something that would help.

Penny walked down the main street of ChalkZone City. She felt her blood chilling as she continued to hear absolutely nothing. She felt the tension growing around her, coming in closer and threatening to break her. She huddled herself in closer, rubbing her hands together as she struggled to figure out just what she was going to do.

After a few minutes and hearing nothing, she stopped walking and looked around left and right. Usually by now, at least one zoner would be brave enough to go out and talk to her. Perhaps it was time for her to go in and talk to them? Or would she end up panicking the zoners, making them think that she was Draow? Or worse, what if Draow watched her talk to them and figure out where the zoners were hiding?

Seeing how there were still no zoners showing up, Penny started to think that she should knock on one of the doors. She wasn’t going to leave without some sort of information. She could never bring herself to do that.

But she never got a chance to knock on one of the doors. She was about to. She had gotten pretty close to it and her hand was raised up, fingers pressed down, knuckles ready. However, this was as far as she had went before she heard someone calling out to her.

“Penny!” A voice shouted in her direction.

Looking over her shoulder, she could see a zoner approaching her. Not a zoner that she could recognize, at least by name. They were one of the many stick figure zoners that inhabited this place. One of many that were identical. She did feel bad for not knowing the zoner’s name, but right now, more pressing matters invaded her mind.

Penny did not hesitate with her questioning. “Hey, did anymore zoners happen to...” Her voice trailed off softly as she tapped her fingers together nervously. “Well, you know...”

The stick figure zoner frowned at this. “No... But we don’t know where they’ve been taken.”

Penny felt some sense of relief that no more zoners had disappeared. But that was of little comfort to her. There was no telling how long it would be before another vanishes. And the fact that they don’t know where the zoners had been taken made her worry even more. Until they can find out where they were and rescue them, even if Draow didn’t return, there would be no peace here.

“I sure hope that Rudy can find them. A lot of zoners are counting on him.” Said the zoner.

Penny felt a little jilted that the zoner seemed to be hinting that none of them were looking to her for help. But it was probably just this one zoner, anyway. She pushed those feelings aside as she took a step forward, staring intently at the zoner. She hated to have to tell them this, but they were going to find out eventually when Rudy continued failing to return. “I think Rudy’s in trouble.”

The stick figure’s eyes widened in horror at this. “Oh no.... Not him too...” The zoner whispered, their voice barely audible.

“I think I might know where he is.... But first...” Penny had a feeling that she knew what the answer was going to be. But she had to make sure. “Have you seen him anywhere? Did you happen to take notice of him coming into ChalkZone?”

The stick figure immediately shrugged and shook their head. “I’m sorry, but the last time I saw him, he was with you.”

“I see....” Penny sighed in disappointment. She had hoped that this zoner would have known something. But she was still grateful for the information and she nodded her head to the zoner. “Thank you.”

With that, she turned around and started to walk away. She could have tried asking more zoners instead of stopping at just the one. But it didn’t seem like it would be of any good. It was unlikely any of the zoners had seen anything. She had only been fooling herself. She should have known something like this was going to happen. She should have just left without asking that question.

She quickly realized that she didn’t have too much of an option at this point. She would need to begin to formulate some kind of plan to figure out where Rudy was. The first place to check was Mr. Cosmo’s building. She knew where it was. That wouldn’t be a problem. But at the same time, she still wasn’t sure how she should approach this. Simply walking over into that building was not working to work.

And even if Rudy was there, she still needed to figure out how she was going to go about helping him. She didn’t even know if he needed help. And yet it didn’t feel right to just...

She heard the sound of tiny flapping coming her way. She could hear what sounded like a tiny voice panting. She hardly got a chance to turn her head before she could see a familiar sight before her. Penny nearly jumped back in shock when she saw this zoner going nearly right up to her face.

“S-S-Spy Fly?!” Penny called out. “You scared me!”

“I’m sorry, comrade. But I overheard your dilemma there.” Spy Fly explained. She held her hand up in gesture. “And I think I can help.”

sss

Rudy lifted up a hand to wipe his face. It was bone dry, even his still stinging cheeks. He had stopped crying a while ago. Not because he wanted to. But because he literally had no more tears left to cry. He tried and he tried, but all he could manage was just a burning sensation and a small hiss. He swallowed hard as he turned his head, feeling himself pressed up against the pillow.

This tiny room’s walls were rapidly closing in all around him. He felt like he was going to get suffocated any moment and that there was absolutely no escape. He struggled to breathe, struggled to keep his spinning mind under control, yet he couldn’t completely stop the sensation of being spun around as though on some kind of platter. Rudy curled himself inward and started to shudder.

He still couldn’t believe that this was happening. He couldn’t believe that he had been taken here against his will. He couldn’t believe that he was trapped in such a horrible place. But most of all, he couldn’t believe just what Mr. Cosmo had planned for ChalkZone. It was just....too horrible to imagine.

Just what did that man think he would accomplish from that? What did he think he could succeed in if he...

Rudy was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard the sound of the door opening up slowly. He could see a shadow moving along the wall. He didn’t need to see much else for him to figure out who the shadow belonged to. Rudy growled softly, gritting his teeth. He said not a word as that horrible, evil man walked into the room.

“I had a feeling you were going to be moping around.” Mr. Cosmo stated calmly as he shut the door behind him. Rudy hardly reacted to the somewhat loud clanging, his eyes remaining focused on the man. “Are you going to keep laying there all day or did you do a little thinking?”

Rudy growled lowly, resisting the temptation to tear the man a new one. But knowing that wouldn’t really fall into his favor, he instead chose to just turn his head away from him. “If you’ve come here to try to comvince me to join you, I’m afraid you won’t find much success.” Grumbled Rudy. “I’m not going to fall for it. You already know my stance.”

“I didn’t really expect you to change this fast. I know it would take more time and more...encouragement. I was just...hoping that you’ve at least thought about it.” Mr. Cosmo tapped his fingertips together. “I really don’t want to keep you in here. But I also can’t trust you. Please.... Do something to prove to me that I can trust you.”

Rudy couldn’t help but scoff at this request. He nearly laughed, wondering just how in the world this man thought that he was going to respond to that. Did he really think that he was going to convince him to join just because he asked? Did he really think that he was going to make him agree with his actions just because he said so? Rudy tried not to shake his head, despite the temptations. Even Skrawl wasn’t this much of an idiot.

Rudy could feel himself narrowing his eyes further as he looked back at Mr. Cosmo. Emotions began to rise up as his mind wandered, remembering what this man had told him before, remembering all that he had done. Rudy took in a few deep breaths, the back of his mouth burning as he slowly became dehydrated. Yet he hid this fact from Mr. Cosmo. He wanted to keep himself from being coaxed to his side that easily. He didn’t want Mr. Cosmo to be able to force him to join by simply denying him water and food.

He could hear Mr. Cosmo clearing his throat as he prepared for another speech. Rudy simply turned his head away and kept it there, showing no interest in wanting to see the man’s face. He didn’t want to hear him talk, either. But he had a feeling that this was inescapable. He turned out to be right.

“I wish you would really think about what you’re doing, Rudy Tabootie. You’re missing out on an opportunity here.” Mr. Cosmo said. His voice sounded almost...pleading. “I’m asking you to help me with a project that will better mankind. I thought you were all for that.”

Rudy couldn’t stop himself from serving his head to glare at the man, his teeth bared. “I never agreed to join your mission to slaughter ChalkZone!” The words left his mouth before he had a chance to stop himself.

“Slaughter Cha... Oh my, boy, you must be exaggerating. That isn’t what I want at all.” Mr. Cosmo took a step forward. He stopped when he heard Rudy growling at him. That didn’t stop him from starting to speak. “Look, I don’t want that world destroyed anymore than you do. I’ve told you before, or did you forget?” He motioned his hand up in gesture. “I want to keep that world alive, Rudy. It has too much potential to just destroy it. Think of all that it can do for us.”

Rudy just kept glaring at the man. “Yeah, for humans....” He moved his head away, staring into nothingness. “You don’t care about the zoners.”

Mr. Cosmo rolled his eyes. “You’re still falling for the ‘zoners are innocent’ crap, aren’t you?” Rudy didn’t answer. Mr. Cosmo’s expression hardened slightly, but still somehow had a soft edge to it. “I see... I guess the zoners got to you more completely than I thought. But if you are so worried about them, then why do you care about this?” He motioned to himself with both hands, the tips slightly touching his chest. “I’m not going to kill anymore zoners, Rudy. That was a mistake on my part in the past and I don’t plan on repeating it.”

“You’ll kill more if you let people into that world. People are going to use and abuse that world. You would be responsible for more deaths, even if you didn’t lay a hand directly.” Rudy felt his body tremble. “And on top of all that, humans could be hurt as well. Do you think that no one is going to try to create a superweapon?”

Mr. Cosmo appeared to freeze at this, as though he were finally listening. But that moment was short-lived as he just smiled at Rudy, releasing a few low chuckles. “You don’t think I don’t have plans for that? I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and I’ve been thinking of all of the angles. Despite what you might think, Rudy, things won’t fall apart under my ruling. Just how that is possible, you’ll only find out if you join me.”

Rudy scoffed at this and turned his head away. “What makes you think I want to be any part of it?”

“You just love making things difficult, don’t you?”

“You wouldn’t have to deal with me if you’d just let me go.”

“....Touche, little boy.”

The next few moments was filled with silence. Despite it weighing down on Rudy, he almost welcomed this. It was better than being forced to listen to this man constantly talking, flapping his gums. Rudy resisted the temptation to say anything or to look at the man. A part of him wondered if, so long as he kept ignoring him, he’d go away.

But he could feel the man’s presence behind him. He could see the shadow upon the wall. It was clear that this man was not going to go anywhere. It didn’t matter what he said or did. Nothing was going to stop the man from doing this, from trying to get what he wanted. Rudy licked his dry lips once and sighed. He tried to think of what else he could do to make the man leave. But nothing would come to mind.

This was what most of the meeting was going to be like, wasn’t it? More of this man trying to convince him of how evil the zoners were and trying to make him ‘wise up’ and join him. But Rudy wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Mr. Cosmo was going to have to try really hard before he could succeed in doing something like that. Rudy wasn’t as stupid or gullible as this man might think.

“Come now, Rudy... Even you must know that zoners are another species... And since they’re another species, they don’t think like us. And if they don’t think like us, then they need to be controlled. It’s the only way to make sure that they don’t attack us.”

Rudy felt his blood boiling inside of him. He ground his teeth together and struggled to try to control himself. He could feel his blood sizzling and starting to burn his internal blood vessels. He could feel his breathing hanging in his mouth, feeling as though something was starting to block it. His head hurt and he felt his world become spinny.

And yet he still kept himself from answering. He knew what kind of response he’d get and he wasn’t interested in listening to more of this man’s rubbish. It was only going to be a gigantic waste of time. He had no interest in being a part of that. He shifted himself away from the man, hugging his arms to himself, and stared off at the wall.

Mr. Cosmo sighed at this response. “You really can’t see how dangerous they truly are, can you, kid?” When Rudy still didn’t respond, the man continued, “Well of course you can’t. You aren’t letting yourself see the reality for what it is. You still want to foolishly hold onto these childish beliefs. You want to see a friend when you should be seeing an enemy.”

Rudy tried not to let the man’s words get to him. But it was getting incredibly difficult. He felt his breath slowly morphing into steam the longer he was forced to listen.

Mr. Cosmo continued, “ChalkZone is a dangeorus world where anything can happen. You should know this. You’re supposed to be its guardian, right?” The man paused, giving Rudy a chance to respond. All Rudy did was huff loudly. “You’re so worried about what could happen if that world is exposed. But so long as those zoners run free, our world will never be safe. So long as this place is kept a secret, that increases the odds of someone using it to create this ‘superweapon’ that you speak of. It’s only through revealing this world and then controlling it....will we ensure safety for everyone.”

Rudy felt his lip curling up into a snarl. He couldn’t resist hissing the words, “You’re wrong...”

“Am I? Why would you even try to say that, after the way that this Skrawl fellow you defended earlier tried to hurt you?” Mr. Cosmo stated. “My friend told me all about it.”

Rudy tried his best not to snap at Mr. Cosmo, knowing full well what the consequences would have been. But he still turned to glare at the man. It was too difficult to ignore him. Especially with all the stuff that he was spitting out of his mouth. “Why do you keep trying to convince me?”

Mr. Cosmo’s expression softened up slightly. “Because I believe in you, Rudy. I trust that you do want to help out everyone. And I trust that you will eventually find it in your heart to give me a chance.” He moved in even closer. Rudy could see his hand lowering to him. Rudy growled but did nothing when Mr. Cosmo gently patted him on the head. “I don’t want to hurt you. Just...think about it, okay?”

The male teenager could feel the man’s fingers gently playing with his hair a little. He would take this as a sign of affection from a family member or friend. But coming from Mr. Cosmo, it was just really creepy. He jerked himself away from Mr. Cosmo’s hand and hissed, “I don’t care what Draow told you. I still wouldn’t want Skrawl to be hurt over this!”

Mr. Cosmo’s stare seemed to bore right through Rudy’s soul. The boy could feel himself shudder, feeling a cold chill. But he still kept up his glare, growling lowly as he stared at the man. He wasn’t going to let himself falter, regardless of what the man was going to attempt to tell him.

But when the man did speak up again, Rudy was frozen in shock.

“Do you really think that Draow was whom I was referring to...?”

Rudy couldn’t bring himself to look away from the man, his eyes blinking as he struggled to comprehend what he was just told. If Draow wasn’t the ‘friend’ that Mr. Cosmo was referring to that had told him this information then....who was?


	17. A Nail On The Head

“I’ll give you some time to think about this, Rudy. I do hope that you do reconsider your position. Otherwise, I’ll be forced to use a new...incentive. And I don’t want to do that.” Mr. Cosmo told Rudy.

“What? What are you....” The door was closed. Rudy shouted loudly, pounding on the door. “Wait! What are you talking about?!”

Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh as he shook his head. He didn’t answer Rudy’s calls and instead just started to walk backwards a while. He listened to Rudy constantly trying to call out to him , trying to get him to answer. But Mr. Cosmo had no intention on telling Rudy anything more. It was clear that he still wasn’t going to listen to reason. So it was best to just leave for now. He could always come back later to see if he was more willing to listen.

Mr. Cosmo eventually began to walk away. It was getting tiresome and irritating to listen to this kid keep yelling at him like this. It was getting on his nerves and he just... He didn’t want to end up having to strike the child. He would much rather avoid that. For the kid’s sake, he began to walk away.

So now what was he going to do? He had hoped that Rudy would be more cooperative now. But perhps an hour or two wasn’t long enough to get someone to listen. And he was aware enough about Rudy to know that he was a pretty stubborn little fellow. It was going to require something else for him. Longer isolation and more efforts to really dig into his beliefs. Rudy needed to be weened from those incorrect beliefs as soon as possible. But in the end, it may take some time.

A part of Mr. Cosmo felt bad for Rudy. He could understand where he was coming from. After all, he himself used to share some similar beliefs as him. He used to see at least some zoners as friends and he used to think that zoners were like people. He was grateful that the black chalk got him out of here before things got any worse. If only Rudy would just let himself be that open...

No matter. Sooner or later, Rudy will concede to him. He would rather have him come over willingly. But if Rudy continued to be trouble, he may end up needing to force him to see things his way. He didn’t want to play dirty like that, but then again, kidnapping Rudy and knocking out his parents was already playing dirty, wasn’t it?

He headed down the hallway. It wasn’t just Rudy that he wanted to speak to today. There was someone else that was deserving of his attention and time.

After some time of walking, he stopped in front of a large door. He looked at it up and down, making sure that it was still sealed up nice and tight. He put his ear against the door and listened intently, trying to figure out if someone was still in there. Once he determined that it was still occupied, he got out his keys and began to undo the several locks on the door. He pushed the door open and entered the room.

There, sitting in the bed in this tiny space, was his incentive that he mentioned to Rudy before.

That little blue zoner that Rudy had apparently named Snap.

Mr. Cosmo smiled as the zoner glared at him. Mr. Cosmo was aware of how attached Rudy still was to this thing. Despite what he told Rudy earlier, he did kind of hope that the child still remained attached to this creature, at least for a little while. After all, the incentive wasn’t going to work that well if Rudy did not care.

“Hello, Snap. I take it you’ve eaten?” Mr. Cosmo took note of the crumbs on the ground. He chortled once as he spoke, keeping his gaze to the ground. “I see. Well that answers my question.” He lifted his head up and looked towards Snap. “Other than that, how are you feeling?”

Snap’s body was rigid and tense, although he hadn’t tried making a move against him. “I don’t know who you are, but if you try to...”

“Oh I see you haven’t been told yet. I thought Ms. Saffron would have told you. I’m Mr. Cosmo.” The man said as he motioned to himself.

Snap’s eyes widened at this. “You’re Mr. Cosmo?”

The red-haired man nodded his head once. “That is correct.” He moved in closer, kicking the door shut behind him. Snap stared at him intently. He could sense the fear in the creature’s eyes. Good, he should be afraid of him. “And I take it you want to know what’s going on? Ms. Saffron told me that you keep asking her every time she visits you.”

“Well duh.” Snap folded his arms. Despite any fear that was showing, the little zoner was clearly trying to be brave. “Don’t you think I deserve to know? You kidnapped me, I didn’t come to you!”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head slowly. “Indeed, you didn’t. Well then..” He leaned in, cocking his head to one side. “Do you want to know a little more? Since you’ll be our...guest for a while.”

Snap narrowed his eyes slowly. “We’ll see about that.” He then raised his hand up and flicked it in the direction of the man. “But sure, go ahead and tell me this ‘brillaint plan’ of yours.”

“Oh I don’t plan on telling you everything. But since you haven’t caused us too much trouble...yet, I suppose you do deserve to know a little bit.” Mr. Cosmo eyed the zoner carefully, ensuring that he didn’t have a chance to surprise him. The zoner didn’t seem like he was going to try anything, but you could never be too sure with a zoner. “And since I can see you getting worried....” It wasn’t difficult to tell that tension was rising with the zoner. “I promise I will not touch you during this brief meeting.”

Snap didn’t appear to trust him. His body hardly relaxed. It would seem that the zoner was more perceptive than he gave him credit for. Mr. Cosmo gave Snap a few more seconds to process this information before he attempted to speak again.

“You’re a very important piece, Snap. I don’t know if I could feel secure in going about this without you.” Mr. Cosmo moved in a little closer. He was tempted to grab the zoner, but resisted that temptation, instead opting to just stare intently into the zoner’s eyes, causing him to lean back away from him. “If Rudy doesn’t listen to me, then maybe he will listen to you.”

Snap’s solid white eyes went big like saucers at that comment. His body trembled and he leaned in towards the larger being. Mr. Cosmo was surprised when he grabbed onto him the way that he had, trying to pull him in closer. “What do you plan on doing with Rudy?!”

Mr. Cosmo jerked himself away, freeing himself from the zoner without having to touch him. He watched the zoner fall flat onto the ground and he gave off a small snort. “You don’t need to know the details of that yet. Just know that I have something big planned for you and your little world, and I want Rudy’s help on that.”

Snap pushed himself up onto one hand and wiped his hand over his mouth. “He would never help the likes of you...”

Mr. Cosmo just sneered at the blue and white zoner. “You don’t think that he wouldn’t try helping me if it means helping a friend.. Like you..?”

Snap whispered, “What...?”

sss

When Ms. Saffron spotted Mr. Cosmo heading down the hallway, away from where she knew the zoners were imprisoned, she immediately started to rush towards him. She was tempted to ask him just what he thought he was doing there and what he wanted with whatever zoner he had visited.

But even before she reached the man, her mand backtracked. Would it really be a good idea to mention anything to his man regarding his actions? Would it be safer and better to just keep her mouth shut and pretend that she knew nothing? She didn’t want to upset her boss. And honestly, was it really any of her business, anyway?

She slowed her pacing down. She couldn’t try to turn around leave at this point. Her boss had already seen her. She would need to think of something else to talk about. Thankfully, it wasn’t hard to think of something.

“Oh, Ms. Saffron. You look like you’re in a hurry.” Mr. Cosmo commented. He still sounded pretty pleasant. She guessed that the meeting with...whoever, had ended well. Though she still didn’t understand why he had.... “Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?”

Ms. Saffron felt her teeth pressing into her lip. Even though she already had an idea of what she wanted to talk about, a part of her still felt unsure if she should bring it up at all. It’s not as likely to upset the man as her asking about why he was talking to the zoners. But it still related to what they were doing. She had been keeping quiet about it, but she realized that she couldn’t just keep holding back at this rate. She needed to say something.

“It’s about...Rudy....” She finally said, forcing herself to talk.

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head to one side. “Oh? What about him?”

Ms. Saffron fumbled with her fingers. She had never felt this nervous to talk to her boss before. She shifted her eyes left and right. She swallowed hard before she forced herself to keep speaking. “Is it really...right to do all of this...?” She winced a little when she noticed Mr. Cosmo’s expression. “I mean...taking him against his will and locking him up in here? Isn’t that going to look suspicious?”

“....not if no one finds out.”

Ms. Saffron widened her eyes a little at this. So her boss was aware of what he was doing and how risky it was. And yet he was willing to do this all for...what, exactly? Hoping that the boy would join him?

Ms. Saffron couldn’t keep quiet on the issue. “But sir... What if someone reports him missing?” She motioned her hand up in gesture. “Surely some friends will notice, if not family members. What if they try searching here?”

Mr. Cosmo waved his hand to one side. “It’s not a problem. Everyone in this company has agreed to keep quiet on it. They won’t squeal.”

“But what about Rudy? What if he pretends to agree, only to bail out and report you afterwards?” Ms. Saffron pointed out. “Did you think of what you are going to do for that?”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head slowly. “You don’t need to worry about that.” He tilted his head upwards a little, a smile spreading along his face. “Rudy won’t be able to report to anyone. I’ll make sure that, if he tries to do that, he will regret it.”

Ms. Saffron recalled the words she had said to Rudy. Similar to what Mr. Cosmo just said here. She did tell Rudy that he would regret it if he did anything too severe. She was aware that Mr. Cosmo could be....pushy. Although she didn’t really know what tricks he had up his sleeve. And despite being in on making him stay, there was still a part of her that just...wasn’t sure how well it would work out.

She understood that Mr. Cosmo really wanted Rudy to work for him. She was willing to help him accomplish that goal. But a part of her still feared backlash. Mr. Cosmo was too caught up in trying to succeed that he wasn’t attempting to look at this from a logical stand point. How would they guarantee that Rudy wouldn’t try to tell someone what had happened? If he succeeded, then their hard work would be for not.

She wanted to believe that Mr. Cosmo knew what he was doing and that he truly did have it all figured out. But another part of her was still fearful. So much could go wrong. She didn’t want to watch her boss fail after he had struggled so hard.

She nearly jolted when she felt the man caressing her cheek. She looked up at him and met his eyes. There was something about those eyes that told her that he knew what she was going through. She remained silent as she felt the hand continue to caress her face and she bit her lip. She tried to fight against the confusing feelings surging up inside of her. But she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep it up.

Why was the man doing this with her? Why was he treating her this way? She felt uncomfortable and yet she could not move away. She felt herself cringing slightly. This didn’t seem to bother the man, and honestly, a part of her was liking this as well.

And then came the lips to her own. Firm and gentle, she did little to fight back when Mr. Cosmo kissed her again, like he had before. The seemingly simple action left her in a state of shock and she couldn’t move, could barely breathe. She took in a few deep breaths as she stared intently at the man, many questions forming in her eyes, unable to speak them herself.

“It’s going to be fine. I promise you, Ms. Saffron.” Mr. Cosmo said, clearly trying to reassure the woman. “Rudy is not going to do anything to ruin this company. You don’t need to be afraid.”

Ms. Saffron opened up her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it. She gritted her teeth as she let out a small sigh, turning her head away. A part of her wanted to believe Mr. Cosmo. She wanted to think that she was just being paranoid and this whole thing would run smoothly.

But she couldn’t shake off the worry that something could go wrong. She had seen the look in Rudy’s eyes. She knew that he was going to be a rather determined child. She knew that he wasn’t going to give up so easily. She could only hope that Mr. Cosmo was prepared for that.

sss

Penny couldn’t help but blink in confusion as she stared at what was before her. She turned to face Spy Fly before looking back, trying to come to terms with what she was seeing. She licked her lips slowly and swallowed before she once again turned back to Spy Fly. She must look like a broken record right about now, right? She tried not to blush.

“How did you...” Penny’s voice faded away quickly, becoming dry. She could not bring herself to finish.

Spy Fly put her hands on her hips and straightened herself up in pride. “What, with all my flying around and gathering information, you don’t think I wouldn’t notice a thing or two?”

Penny didn’t know how to respond to that. Nonetheless, she was still grateful for Spy Fly’s help. If it weren’t for her, she never would have found this small portal that led into Mr. Cosmo’s building. She knew that this was the case because she had seen Mr. Cosmo walking by, apparently not noticing the open portal. Penny now had a way in, and a way to try to help her fried.

But she still couldn’t just rush in there. She couldn’t just ram herself through the portal and expect everything to work out. She needed to prepare herself just in case. She couldn’t slip up and let Rudy down.

She still wasn’t really sure how she was going to go about this, however. It was still going to be pretty tricky in figuring out everything that needed to be done. Getting in there is probably going to be the easiest part. But after traveling through, what else was she going to do? If she couldn’t figure out how she was going to go about this...

“Why do you hesitate, comrade?” Spy Fly’s voice came, practically buzzing in Penny’s ear. “I thought you would be going through by now.”

Penny looked over at the small insect zoner sadly. “I’d love to. I can’t tell you how much I am grateful for this, and how much I really do want to go and help my friend. It’s just...” She lowered her head a little. She could feel Spy Fly’s eyes staring intently at her, waiting for her to speak up. “I don’t want to screw this up. I really don’t...” She exhaled shakenly, her mind whirling. “What if I make things worse for Rudy? I-I couldn’t...”

“Hmm, I see....” Spy Fly tapped a finger against her chin thoughtfully. “That is a problem.”

“I don’t want to stay out here the entire time. That would be wasteful. But...” Penny looked away from Spy Fly, her teeth becoming clenched. “I just... I don’t know what to do. The longer I wait, who knows what Mr. Cosmo is doing with Rudy...”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. You don’t want to hurt your brain, comrade.” Spy Fly noticed Penny’s expression and she was quick to move a dismissing hand to one side. “I don’t mean it in that way, comrade. I’m just saying...” She slowly shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t think Mr. Cosmo intends on hurting Rudy. If what you told me about him is true, then he’ll likely not lay a hand on him.”

Penny sighed and looked to one side. “I hope you are right.”

Spy Fly stared at Penny for several moments before asking carefully, “Do you....want me to come with you? I could try to help you.”

Penny looked over at Spy Fly and thought about this for several long moments. She wasn’t sure if she really wanted to risk Spy Fly getting into trouble. But if she could help her in some way, then.... Well, perhaps it was worth at least a try, anyway. What was the worst that could happen? She was such a tiny zoner, she could easily get herself out of whatever situation she got herself caught into.

And perhaps with Spy Fly’s help, she could find her friend faster. Spy Fly could explore this place swiftly, look through every nook and cranny, and find a way to figure out just where Rudy was being held, if he really was kidnapped by Mr. Cosmo. She still wanted to hold out for the possibility of this just being a misunderstanding. But at the same time, what if it wasn’t? What if something really did happen? The longer that she waited, the worse it was going to get.

Eventually, upon realizing that Spy Fly was still looking at her in confusion, Penny nodded her head slowly. “S-Sure... Okay. You can help.” She looked over at the small powerful. She sucked on her lip. “What do you think the first step should be?”

Spy Fly thought for a few moments before saying, “Maybe I should scout the area. I can make sure that there is no one coming, and then I can call you out.”

“That sounds like a good idea.” Penny said. “I will wait for you.”

“All right. Be right back, comrade!” With that, Spy Fly headed through the small portal.

As Spy Fly headed in slowly to scout out the area, a part of Penny wondered how this portal went undiscovered. She guessed that it was only recently set up. This might be where the missing zoners were taken. Although it was not located where Draow took the others, so perhaps not. Or maybe not all the zoners were taken there. Maybe Mr. Cosmo himself played a role in all of this. Or maybe she was just overworking her mind with such silly nonsense and she was taking things too far.

Penny gritted her teeth as she tried to think of what she was going to do. She couldn’t just.... She shook the thought out of her head, realizing that she was repeating herself again. She shook her head until she knew the thought had exited her mind, and then she turned to look at where Spy Fly had gotten off to. She took in a few deep breaths as she struggled to keep herself calm. This was going to work out just fine, she would see. Spy Fly would figure things out.

But there was still Mr. Cosmo. If he really was behind Rudy’s disappearance, as well as the disappearance of the other zoners, how was she going to handle that? What should she do or say to Mr. Cosmo to make sure that he couldn’t catch her or trick her? She was aware that Mr. Cosmo would try whatever he could to bend things into his favor, if Biclops’s story was of any indication.

She let out a small sigh. Their best bet would be to hope that Rudy was near a portal and have him draw something to let him get away. But that was provided that Mr. Cosmo didn’t already think of a solution to that. He might have figured out a way to make sure that Rudy couldn’t get in contact with a chalkboard, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to escape. For all she knew, they were all locked up and...

Penny blinked a few times when she thought she saw a small dot coming in her direction. It took a few long moments before she realized that it was Spy Fly coming back towards her. Penny moved back a little as the small zoner came towards her a little too quickly. Penny remained silent as Spy Fly gave her report.

“I think I found something that can help.” Spy Fly stated. “Come with me. I’ll try to lead you the best that I can.”

Penny looked towards the portal with a sense of caution. She knew that Mr. Cosmo had a lot of employees and she was aware that one slip up was all that it would take to end things. She looked back at Spy Fly, her eyes furrowing slowly. “Are you sure that it’s safe?”

“Comrade, do you doubt me?” Spy Fly folded her arms lightly, cocking a small eyebrow. “I’ve checked the hallways and I know the safest routes.”

“I know, I know.... I’m just making sure.” Penny said as she nodded her head slowly. She didn’t mean to come off as rude. She was just....uncertain about all of this. She could feel her heart skipping a few beats as she thought about Rudy’s possible position, as well as other horrific thoughts. Trying to knock away that thought was not going to be easy. “Well anyway...” She looked otwards the portal once more. She had been delaying it for too long now. “Perhaps now is the time to head in there and.... Well, do whatever we need to.” Penny said softly.

“Right you are. I did not see Rudy, but I thought I could hear him letting out a shout.” Spy Fly’s face reflected a lot of emotion. The most prominent one was fear, accompanied by her putting her hand towards her mouth, scratching it lightly. “I think he was calling out for you.”

Penny could feel her heart breaking at this, stinging hard. She didn’t want Rudy to feel as though she had failed him. She already dealt with those emotions and it was rather painful. She didn’t want to imagine what it would do to poor Rudy. She licked her lips and swallowed hard before turning to Spy Fly once more. She gave an affirmative nod and said, “Okay then, time to get going, Spy Fly. Show me the way.”

Spy Fly nodded her head once and proceeded to move back towards the portal. Penny followed close behind, not wanting to lose sight of her. She still ended up pausing at the portal itself, still a little hesitant to go on through. Though Spy Fly having looked ahead for her did give her some reassurance, she still couldn’t help but feel as though she was going to make a mistake that was going to get her caught. The very idea of letting Rudy down, it....

Penny shook the thought out of her head the best as she faced the portal. Up close and personal like this, she immediately realized that it wasn’t the same kind of portal that she and Rudy were more used to. Something about it felt a little off, a little different. It took her a little while to realize just what that was.

The edge didn’t sparkle or glow in the same way as it did with the portals she and Rudy creates. Instead, it had a darker tinge around it and while it did glow, it wasn’t as bright or as noticeable as it should have been. This alone was enough to make the portal feel almost ominous to her. She couldn’t fathom why it was so....dim.

She pushed herself through the portal regardless, however. She couldn’t let that slow her down. Not when Rudy could be locked up in here against his will, in danger. She gave one quick shudder as she went through before proceeding to head down slowly, making her way through this place as she headed straight towards where Spy Fly was taking her.

The first impression that Penny got when she looked around was how big this place looked and how it felt like it cost far more money than most normal buildings would have. The room she was in had a few dusty items, the portal being one of them, and seemed more like a junk room. Though for what, Penny couldn’t tell.

The hallways, however, looked a lot cleaner and more brightly lit. Penny was aware of the fluorescent lighting above her, clustered in rows, practically burning at the back of her head. She tried her best to shake off the feeling as she forced herself to continue down further, keeping herself close to Spy Fly. Her eyes constantly zipped left and right as she took in the sights around her.

She hadn’t expected Mr. Cosmo’s place to look like this. The walls all around had a more metallic feel to it. Slightly shiny and almost disorienting in areas where the light shined directly on it. Was this how the outside was? Oddly the room she was in didn’t sport this. Instead, it had a pale beige coloring with a slight tinge of grey. Was this how the other rooms were? Why did Mr. Cosmo have most of the building be made out of this metal material?

While Penny pondered the meaning of all of this, she almost missed when Spy Fly bolted to the right, going down a different hallway. Penny rushed to keep up with her, nearly forgetting that she was supposed to keep silent. She could see Spy Fly further down, having stopped in order to wait for her to catch up. Penny pushed herself to go fast while keeping quiet and soon she joined up with Spy Fly.

The small insectoid zoner moved her hand out and her tiny little fingers pointed at the end of the hallway, where Penny noticed there was some kind of a door. There was some kind of sign next to it, although from here, she could not make it out.

“That place looks suspicious.” Spy Fly stated. “Do you think we should look there?”

“You didn’t look yourself?” Penny asked, blinking in confusion.

Spy Fly shrugged. “I saw the door, but I couldn’t open it and I’m not small enough to go underneath it.” She looked down the hallway, frowning in the direction of the door. “But I’m sure that something behind there could help us out.”

Penny tilted her head slightly. “What makes you think that? I mean, you didn’t even look....”

“And what better way to find out than to open it up?” Inquired Spy Fly.

“...you do have a point.” Penny admitted.

“Come on, let’s take a look.” Spy Fly immediately moved towards the door. Penny hesitated for a few moments, and then she began to follow Spy Fly in further.

Penny stared intently at the door that they were approaching, wondering why Spy Fly was so determined to look in it. Just what about it had stood out to her? Was it the sign? It didn’t seem like it had a lot written on it. Had she heard something from beyond the door? Was it just the first door she happened to see and wanted Penny to look at it?

Although her mind was becoming a little crowded with questions like that, Penny still approached the door. Regardless of Spy Fly’s reasonings, this door was still the closest thing she had to finding Rudy at the moment. She might find something in there that could help her out. Maybe it was the control room and she could use the cameras to find Rudy. She imagined this place had some kind of surveillance, right?

When Penny arrived at the door, she put her hand on it and leaned in towards the plate. She stared at it intently, looking at it up and down, trying to see if there was anything written on it that coud help.

A blank...? That was strange. Why would the plaque here be blank? Had they just put this in? Were they trying to think of something that they could do with it? Well, that did seem to make some sense and...

Penny immediately stopped, her head spinning. She could feel her hand coming up to her head, rubbing it slowly as thoughts began to creep in her mind. She couldn’t stop the onslaught of emotion that began to emerge.

If there was surveillance room, then when she had come in, why didn’t Spy Fly mention anything about being careful? Why did they immediately start exploring around here. Spy Fly could hide more easily, but Penny... There was a chance that there wasn’t, but it did seem a little odd that Spy Fly didn’t mention to her about potentially being watched and finding a way to, say, disable the security if there was one in place. Penny didn’t see any cameras, but that didn’t mean that there was nothing there.

On top of that, what of that strange portal she had seen? It was nothing like any portal she had ever seen before. It was like it was drawn with a different piece of chalk. It could not have been Rudy who made that portal. His all looked the same. He wouldn’t have used another type of chalk, not after what happened with the red chalk. Spy Fly didn’t seem to express any caution about that, nor did she find it strange the portal was darker and duller than Rudy’s normal portals.

So, why would Spy Fly not express any concerns about that? She was supposed to be a reporter, wasn’t she? Someone who was in tune with details and would point out certain things that are missed by others. She was an very observant zoner. There was a reason why Snap liked to call upon her for help for his television programming, specifically for newscasting.

All in all, Spy Fly thrived on the details, thrived on finding out what she could and relaying that information. Given that fact, why would she suddenly not at least....warn her about possible surveillance or express confusion or caution about the dark portal they had passed through earlier? Why would Spy Fly not...

Suddenly, Penny could feel a cold rush moving through her blood, making her swallow bitter bile. Her eyes became wide like saucers and her breath caught in her mouth.

“...sorry, comrade...”

That was the last thing Penny heard before the door suddenly swung open.

sss

Everything was dark. Nothing but blackness everywhere. Things felt like they were spinning. A pounding headache spread throughout. Things swayed from side to side, showing no signs of ending.

What was going on here? Just where was he? What had happened? Why was...

A low sound came rumbling through the area. It took a few moments before he realized that it was himself and he forced himself to relax. But that didn’t change the fact that he could not see anything here and he felt his teeth clenching tightly against one another, his heart racing in his chest. Why was the world so dark?

Slowly, he forced his eyes open, blinking several times as the light suddenly shot in. He hissed in pain, gritting his teeth, before pulling himself back. He tried to twist himself in one direction, only to hit the back of his hand against something hard. He felt his mouth open and a yelp coming out of it. He continued to try to force his eyes open, fighting against the bright light.

Eventually, it seemed to work. His vision was still incredibly blurred and everything looked as though the contrast was turned all the way up. But at least he could see something. He growled softly as his lip curled up, one eye struggling to remain at least partially open, as he looked around carefully.

Everything in here was so bright. The lights were all turned on and the white light bounced off what looked to be metal walls and floor. An odd choice, though maybe it wasn’t really metal floors but was still as reflective as metal. Whatever the case may be, the whole room felt like it was glowing. Even with his eye only partially open, he could feel a dull headache pounding in it, threatening to break it open.

As he continued to struggle with the eye pain, he became aware that there was some sort of sign in front of him. He didn’t want to do it, but he had little choice other than to look again, fighting against his eye pain, in order to read it.

‘Recovery Room. Occupied?: Yes.’

And when he refocused his eyes elsewhere, he could see part of his own reflection. The same green, three-limbed body that he’s always had, those same antenna that he was forced to live with, the same mismatched eyes that made him even more identifiable.

Who would treat Skrawl in this manner?

Skrawl let out a low growl as he turned his head away, the light slowly becoming too much for him. He shook his head a few times and raised his hand up. Why was his head pounding so hard? Why did it feel like something was crawling inside of him, eating away at his skull?

He hissed when he felt some sort of large bump on the side of his head. How could this have happened? Did something hit him? He didn’t remember anything like that happening. He could only imagine he was in a fight, since he and Rudy do battle each other pretty often. But he didn’t recall a time when a fight with Rudy would cause something like this.

That was when he could see a shadow forming along the ground and he could hear the sound of footsteps. Someone was approaching. Skrawl narrowed his eyes into slits. Whoever this happened to be, they were going to tell him what was going on. He would make them tell him.

But as he was waiting, he happened to slowly turn his head to one side. And that was when he caught a glimpse of something. He had to shake his head once and try to look again to see if he did see things right.

Another zoner?

It took him a few seconds to recognize who this particular zoner was. Peering a little more closely, it was clear that this was Rapsheeba. She appeared to be unconscious and unmoving. Skrawl immediately noticed a small trail of redness and instinctively, he moved his eyes up to follow it.

He immediately noticed what appeared to be a nail in her forehead, sticking out partially. Blood dribbled down constantly, making him realize that it was pushed deep into her skull. This realization caused him to intake a sharp breath, his mind spinning. He was trapped just like her, and there was someone approaching and with him being here, trapped like this... Was he next?

Oh gawd no...


	18. Like A Knife Through Butter

Rudy ignored the pain in his ankle as he kept ramming himself against the door. He kept on going again and again. He felt himself yelp a few times when he accidentally applied too much pressure. But regardless, he kept going. But a thought kept coming to his mind while he did this.

Why was he even trying to still get out of here? He had already tried multiple times. It each ended in failure. Just because he was trying a fifth time didn’t mean that he was suddenly going to make it.

But that wasn’t going to stop Rudy from still trying. There had to be a way out of this room. There had to be a way that he could squeeze through and escape. He refused to believe that it was completely inescapable. But how was he going to leave this place if he couldn’t even get the door down?

And what of Mr. Cosmo? Did he have any surveillance cameras up? Did he have anyone patrolling the hallway? This and other questions filled up his head and....

He shook those thoughts out of his head. Regardless, he had to keep trying. He couldn’t give up. This evil man had his friend somewhere in this building. He needed to break out of here so he could rescue Snap. He didn’t know what Mr. Cosmo had planned for his friend. But he knew it couldn’t be anything good. If he couldn’t manage to get him out in time, he’d never forgive himself.

But when he pounded his fist for what felt like the twentieth time with no change, just more pounding pain in his fist and a small seething coming out of his mouth, he realized that there was going to be a bit of a problem. No, a big problem. He was going to break his hand before he got this door down.

Would moving his fingers underneath the door help? Probably not, but who knows? Maybe there was something hidden underneath the door that would...

“Yeowch!”

Rudy pulled his hand back immediately as he looked at his fingers. His middle one, the longest, had a slice on it now, bleeding and dripping rapidly. He seethed, his teeth clenched, before he put the finger in his mouth to suck on it instinctively. He trembled when he looked down at the floor where the door’s bottom was. Mr. Cosmo must have put something sharp there to keep someone like him from escaping.

...no, it wasn’t him that this was meant for. With his heart freezing up tightly, he quickly realized that it must have been put there to stop zoners from getting out. Zoners in the Real World had their ability to flatten like paper and move through cracks. Of course Mr. Cosmo would want to prevent this from happening. Which means that...

Oh no, Snap...

Rudy could feel the alarms sounding off in his head as his eyes widened. He realized instantly what this meant and he sucked in another sharp breath, nearly expanding his lungs beyond their limitations. Had Snap tried to get out, only to have his hand sliced like that? The thought made his heart freeze into ice as he tried not to think about it too much.

His blood began to boil as he thought of Mr. Cosmo being so cruel as to do something like that. It certainly fit his style, considering all else that had happened. Rudy tried to control his spinning mind, keeping his feet firml planted and his body leaning up against the door. He looked left and right rapidly as he took in breath after breath.

He needed to find a way out of here soon. Even if Snap did get on without sticking his hand underneath the door, this simple act from Mr. Cosmo was more than enough proof to Rudy that the man would easily go further. Snap was here alone with him, without anyone to protect him. How on earth could he believe that Mr. Cosmo wouldn’t try another thing...?

So many other thoughts swam in his head. So many fears began to climb up. There was no slowing down, nothing to stop him from going insane just thinking about it. He gripped his head and he tried to fight against a big wave of dizziness that suddenly came over him. He wobbled a little and, after a few seconds, he fell down, unable to keep his weight up any longer. Trying to get up yielded no results; his ankle was shot at this point.

As he curled up on the ground, his mind continued to go towards Snap and Mr. Cosmo. He could feel his mouth starting to taste incredibly bitter as his heart continued to clench tightly. He could feel his vision blurring slightly as he looked left and right rapidly. He opened his mouth wider and breathed heavier, struggling to control his mind. His body trembled in emotion. He felt increasingly helpless and in the end, he had only one thought.

He hoped that Mr. Cosmo would leave Snap alone.

sss

Penny couldn’t believe what was happening. She never thought that things would go down like this. She never thought that she would be placed in this kind of situation. Her mind replayed everything over and over again and nothing made any sense to her. As she continued to think, her head only got spinnier and she felt her blood temperature drop down several points.

Her hand was held tightly by Ms. Saffron. The hand’s fingers were curled around her, practically pressing up against her skin. Ms. Saffron was keeping her grip good and tight and showed no signs of letting her go. Penny squirmed and struggled, but she was not able to break free. It was as though the woman was many times stronger than her, which was certainly the case.

But it wasn’t the woman’s tight grip on her that hurt the most. Although she couldn’t see her anymore, Penny could still see Spy Fly in her mind. She could still see that look that the tiny zoner gave her. It was the look that made Penny realize how much she had been duped. Not just her, but everyone.

Oh gawd, why didn’t they take a hint from her name...? Come on, Spy Fly...? It was practically spelled out for them, and yet still they...

Penny was going to keep kicking herself over this, she knew. There was no way she was going to be able to forgive herself for not realizing this sooner. She could feel her head hurting and her gut twisting almost to the point of nausea as she thought of what had transpired and what it had all meant.

Spy Fly had been a creation of Mr. Cosmo’s from the very start. Penny wasn’t sure how long ago she was created, but she apparently had been working for him secretly. That was why she had been so eager in getting into news stories and reporting. It was her way of getting information without suspicion and then delivering it to Mr. Cosmo. That was how that man got the information that he needed.

But it still didn’t explain why Mr. Cosmo needed to find the correct school... She guessed that Spy Fly ‘wanted some fun’ and withheld some information. Not for her or Rudy’s sake, but just because she probably liked watching her creator squirm a little for that information. Pretending to never see the humans in ChalkZone was probably some game to Spy Fly.

None of this really made Penny feel any better. If anything, it just made things a lot worse. Spy Fly was not the zoner she thought that she was, and it was clear that she did get some enjoyment out of others’ suffering. Probably not to the extent of watching them die. Penny doubted she was that extreme. More like, Spy Fly just liked watching others being confused or upset. Penny never thought she would associate those traits with Spy Fly, but here she was.

Penny tried to cast aside her shocked feelings regarding Spy Fly for the time being. As upset as she was at the zoner for lying to her and her friends for so long, being angry at her was not going to help her present situation. At least now she knew to be cautious of Spy Fly....although new feelings of horror began to emerge when she realized that Spy Fly could be anywhere and she would never knew until it was too late.

Penny was cut off from her thoughts for the time being when she felt the woman yanking her forward. Penny felt her feet beneath her tripping and she nearly stepped on them, nearly breaking her ankle in the process. She seethed, hissing softly, as Ms. Saffron continued to drag her down the hallway.

She was thankful when Ms. Saffron finally stopped dragging her. But this was only because they had reached some kind of room. Penny barely had time to get her bearings before she was pulled in and moved towards one of the chairs. Penny, knowing that she couldn’t attempt to leave, immediately moved towards one of the nearby chairs. She lowered herself in, trying to ignore the chilliness that grew all around her, glaring in the direction of Ms. Saffron.

The woman took position behind the desk in front of her. The woman then stared intently at Penny, her lips pursed a little, leaning in a little forward. Their eyes met and Penny could feel the woman trying to drill right into her mind. Ms. Saffron adjusted herself and drew in a deep breath. “What are you doing here?”

Penny gritted her teeth, trying not to scoff. Really? This woman was going to up and ask her something like that? She should know why she was here. But if she was going to ask like that, then she would humor her a little. “Where is Rudy...?”

Ms. Saffron’s eyes appeared to widen a little. It would seem that it finally dawned on her what was going on. But rather than try to argue with Penny or fight back, Ms. Saffron simply glared back at the girl and said, “You shouldn’t be here. Don’t worry about your little friend. I’m sure he’s fine. He....”

“Then where is he? Why isn’t he home yet? It’s getting dark out.” Penny pointed out, motioning her head to one side. “Why hasn’t he been let go? What do you hope to do with him? What are you...”

“Enough!” Ms. Saffron stated, raising her hand up, silencing Penny. “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but if you insist on this..” She motioned her hand forward towards Penny and said, “Just...pack your things or whatever and leave. There isn’t anything to see here. I assure you that your friend isn’t...”

Penny growled deeply. “Bullshit...” She raised her head up slightly, showing an aura of confidence. “I’m not stupid. I know Rudy’s come here and I know he hasn’t returned yet.” She lowered her head once more, glaring intently at the woman. “Either you tell me the truth and show me where my friend is, or....I think you know what I’d do.”

Penny realized too late that this was a stupid move. She might as well toss up all hope of finding her friend. It was just...her own anger was clouding her judgment, making it difficult for her to think or do anything. All that she could do was find ways to spill out her anger, even if it was unlikely to make a difference.

But how could Ms. Saffron think that little lie was going to work on her? Did she really think that it would be enough to...

Ms. Saffron blinked a few times before her eyes narrowed dangerously. Penny could feel a sharpness going through her heart as the woman responded, “I guess we have to do things the hard way, then...”

Penny watched, unable to speak or say anything, as Ms. Saffron reached into her pocket. It took Penny only a few seconds to realize that it was some kind of cellphone. It looked a bit different than what she was normally used to, but it was still a cellphone regardless. Penny bit her lip as Ms. Saffron dialed a number and put the phone to her ear.

There was no turning back now.

Penny felt her heart pounding inside of her chest as she waited for the inevitable. There was no doubt in her mind that Ms. Saffron was contacting Mr. Cosmo. Whatever that man was going to do with her... At the very least, she was going to get fined, and her mother was....

Penny flinched when she thought about her mom. Had she noticed that she was gone by now? What was she going to do when she realized that she was missing? Penny wanted to kick herself for not being careful enough. If only she hadn’t listened to Spy Fly, she would have been able to return home faster and her mom wouldn’t need to worry about her. Oh gawd, why did she...

She was interrupted when she heard Ms. Saffron let out a small, frustrated grunt. At first, she thought it was something she herself had done. But she quickly realized that this was not the case. Looking over, she could see that Ms. Saffron was looking at her phone, a frown upon her face.

“Of course, of all the times for him not to pick up...” Ms. Saffron grumbled.

The female teenager couldn’t help but let out a small sigh of relief. Looked like there was still a chance yet to get out of here.

sss

The red-haired man glared down at his phone after it finally stopped rumbling. His lip was curled up into a snarl as he let out a small hiss. Of all the times for Ms. Saffron to be calling him... Didn’t she realize that he didn’t want to be disturbed? He was certain that he had told her earlier about that and....

Well, no matter. At least the rumbling stopped and he could finally focus on what he wanted to do. He turned his attention back towards the door in front of him. He would have preferred to wait to do this, especially given his...general nervousness around these creatures. But he did understand that the sooner he had done this, the easier it was going to be for him afterward. Might as well at this started.

Mr. Cosmo reached towards the door and began to slowly unlock it. He could hear shuffling from the other side. The creature must be aware of him approaching. Well no duh, he was opening this all up. He brushed the thought aside as he continued working on opening this door up, and soon it swung open, causing him to come face to face to a certain blue and white zoner.

“What are you doing here? Am I getting another bite to eat?” Snap’s voice was an odd mixture of sarcasm and seriousness. The zoner had of course already eaten. But Mr. Cosmo was aware that this particular zoner really liked to eat. So of course he would be hungry again already, even if it was just a tiny bit. “But seriously, why did you come? Are you going to brag to me about something?”

Mr. Cosmo could feel a small rush of coldness going through his body as he forced himself to get closer. He reminded himself he had done this over and over again before, so there was no reason why he couldn’t do this now. He sighed mentally as he proceeded to get closer.

When he had taken a few steps, he forced himself to smile. It was slightly shaky, but it would seem that the zoner didn’t even notice this. He was too busy glaring at him to really care. That was good. Mr. Cosmo was not interested in having this zoner take full advantage of any possible thing. At least the man only needed to worry about this for a short time before he would finally take care of something really important. And after that, he wouldn’t need to worry about Snap retaliating.

Snap was saved for last. It might not have been the best move, but he knew that this zoner was special. He was connected to Rudy, after all, and he wanted to see more of how he was like without the.... Well, anyway, he had determined enough that he, too, should have this procedure done. While his employees had worked on the other zoners, he wanted to do this with Snap personally. After all, he was the ticket in getting Rudy to agree to come to him willingly.

Mr. Cosmo turned his head to one side, his arms folded behind his back. “It is a nice day out.” He paused for a moment before he turned to look at Snap. “What do you think?”

Snap grumbled at this, “I would answer if I could go outside...”

“Oh that’s right... My bad.” Mr. Cosmo nodded his head slowly. “Well I take it you are at least enjoying your stay. You’ve got your own room, your meals are brought to you personally....”

“...I’m treated like I’m a fucking prisoner...” Snap growled at him.

Mr. Cosmo just smiled at this, forcing out a few quick chortles. “Well now, that’s taking it a little too far.” He held his hand up slowly. “We’re just keeping you here because...you are oh so important.”

Snap didn’t appear to buy this. He scoffed again before looking away from him, his arms folded to his chest. “Whatever. Just let me out of here.” His voice was a little weakened, as though he understood that just telling him this wasn’t going to change anything.

And indeed, it did not. “You know I can’t do that.”

Snap looked back at him. “And why not? How long do you think this is going to work? How long do you think you’ll be able to do this before Rudy comes and kicks your ass?” A sly smile spread along the zoner’s face. “I bet he’s finding a way to get to you now and you’ll see...” He motioned his hand towards the man. “You will regret what you have done.”

Mr. Cosmo felt himself freeze at that statement. His mind started to flashback, images of white interlacing with memories coming back to the surface. He had heard this statement before. He could feel it echoing in the back of his head.

“You will regret what you have done.”

Mr. Cosmo shook his head once, regaining his composure, before smirking down at Snap. “Oh you really think so? Well then, perhaps I should get going..” Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up once more, his eyes shut for a few moments. “After all, I can’t compete with your intellect. You’re right, I should just let you go.”

Snap blinked a few times at this. “I...” His voice trailed off. He struggled to speak, but it was clear that the man’s response was not what he had expected. He was unable to think of a response.

“What’s the matter? I thought you wanted me to let you go.” Mr. Cosmo began to approach Snap slowly. He got close enough that he could lean in towards Snap. The zoner moved back from him, arching himself backwards. “Did you change your mind already?”

“N-No..! I just...” Snap stammered.

“And what did you do to your hand?” Mr. Cosmo glanced down at Snap’s hand, noting the bloody marks on it. “Did you get bored and decided to hurt yourself for fun?”

Snap clenched his teeth and hissed. “You should know what happened...” He motioned his hand towards the man. “You’re the reason that this happened!”

Mr. Cosmo just blinked a few times before he said, “Oh... So you decided to try to escape. Typical zoners...” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You can’t just hold still in one place. You have to keep trying to escape. Why can’t you be good little animals?”

At this, Snap looked like he was ready to launch at the man. Mr. Cosmo saw that Snap had jumped up onto the bed and adopted a more aggressive stance. His fists were formed tightly and he looked ready to attack. Mr. Cosmo tried to hide any discomfort by raising his eyebrow and staring at Snap as though he had gone crazy.

“Come over here and say that to my face!” Snap shouted as he motioned his hand towards the man. He looked like he was struggling to hide his own pain. “I’ll show you how much of an ‘animal’ I am!”

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him for several moments. Then he allowed a broad smile to form along his facial features. “I see.... Well then, perhaps I should take you up on your offer. Perhaps you really can show me how ‘wrong’ I am.”

Snap bared his teeth. He didn’t attempt to speak.

Mr. Cosmo continued to smile. He stared at Snap for even longer. He could see how Snap was growing a little nervous, even if he was trying his best not to look that way. He kept his stare on the zoner for what felt like a few more minutes before he took any sort of action.

“In that case, perhaps I should....”

Mr. Cosmo did not hesitate to shoot out his arm, his fingers immediately wrapping around the zoner’s neck. Snap reacted instantly, letting out a pained grunt and starting to squirm and struggle in the man’s grasp. Mr. Cosmo hoisted the zoner up and held him out away from him. He let the zoner kick his legs and pull at his hands desperately. When the zoner refused to stop, however, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Literally.

Without hesitation, Mr. Cosmo struck Snap up against the wall. He heard Snap released a loud yelp of pain. But the blue and white zoner still continued to struggle. Mr. Cosmo hit Snap against the wall again and again, each time a little harder than the last. Eventually, Snap began to ease up, his growls becoming reduced to partial whimpers as he forced himself to stop.

Mr. Cosmo sneered down at him. “Good boy. Now hold still. This is going to take a little while. I promise I will be quick about it.”

Snap didn’t answer. He just kept glaring at him, trying to look as brave as possible. But Mr. Cosmo could see right through it. He should know what it looks like to hide fear. He had done it himself.

Without another thought, he proceeded to take Snap down the hallway. He was a little annoyed that Snap was housed a bit further away from that one room than the others. But it was his decision. So he had no one to blame but himself. Regardless, it shouldn’t take that long to get there. Then he can finally be rid of this zoner’s potential dangers.

It felt like he had only been walking for a minute when he noticed the staircase ahead of him. He let himself smile a little more broadly as he headed on over, quickening up his pace. He soon arrived. He paused for a moment to look at how the stairs seemed to spiral down into darkness. He then looked over at Snap and kept smiling at him. The zoner was growing increasingly nervous and swallowed hard. Yet still he tried to make it look like he was brave.

Oh this poor, naive little zoner...

Mr. Cosmo raised the zoner up slightly as he leaned in to whisper to him, “We’re almost there. Don’t worry. We just need to go down these steps. Then it’ll be over before you know it.” Snap just growled at this, but he said nothing as the pair of them headed down the steps slowly.

sss

Snap struggled and squirmed on the table as Mr. Cosmo held him down. Snap glared up at him, gritting his teeth, hoping to try to scare Mr. Cosmo into letting him go. This was why he was trying to bite at him. His teeth clanged against each other and almost seemed to echo each time. He tried this several times before he finally gave up and pulled his head back. But he still kept his teeth as exposed as possible.

Mr. Cosmo was still holding onto his neck. The man had brought him into a large, white room that almost reminded Snap of an operating room. This alone was enough to give him some chills, but Snap pushed those feelings away as he focused on trying to make Mr. Cosmo let go of him. Yet the fact of what was happening for the recent several minutes hadn’t changed: he was still being pressed up against a long, white platform.

But despite that, Snap wasn’t yet ready to give up. He wasn’t ready to allow this human to get the better of him. Even if he couldn’t keep on struggling, having exhausted a lot of his energy, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t try to go after him verbally. Who knows? Maybe he could say something shocking enough to make the man let go of him.

“What do you think you’ll accomplish from this?” Snap asked. He forced himself to smile, chuckling a little. “Do you think that keeping me in here is going to make Rudy side with you? It doesn’t matter what you do to me. Rudy will never listen to you!”

“Oh I have to disagree....” The man commented. Snap frowned at this. “Everyone has a breaking point.” He leaned in a little closer to Snap. “This includes you, too.”

Snap pulled his head back at this, turning it to one side as he partially gritted his teeth. He forced his head to shake, trying to get those thoughts out of his head, before he returned to glare at the man, breathing in and out heavily. “Just what are you going to do? And how do you think it’s going to help you?”

Of course the man didn’t answer him. Of course the man would act as though he wasn’t even there. Snap tried not to growl again as the man had shifted his attention elsewhere. He could hear him rummaging for something on the nearby table. He could hear a bit of metal clanging against metal, which lasted for a few seconds before the man had apparently lifted something up.

Snap continued to try to show contentment towards the man, showing him that he wasn’t going to bow down to him that easily. Although he could not yet see the item in question, Snap still turned his head to one side, showing his teeth in a sly smile. “Oh come on, do you think that’s going to be enough to...”

His voice trailed off when he saw what the man was holding. It looked to be a long, sharply tapored nail, thick at the top with a groove in it meant to be twisted around. Snap stared at the nail in silence as Mr. Cosmo adjusted himself. His hand now gripped Snap’s arm while the man’s body pushed up against Snap, preventing him from trying to squirm about too much. The nail was pressed up against Snap’s palm. Snap immediately realized what was going to happen and he tried to struggle and hit his free fist against the man’s back.

But he couldn’t stop what was about to happen.

Snap immediately screamed in agony as the man pushed the nail into his hand. The man worked the nail around a little, which caused even more pain, and continued to ease the nail down further until it touched something that locked it in place. The crazy human used a tool to twist the nail some more, tightening things up even more until they were how the human had wanted them to be.

The result was a shockwave of pain running through Snap’s body, going from his hand all the way up his arm. Waves of cold, burning pain dominated him and his mind started to spin. He couldn’t even try to speak at this point; anything that came out of his open mouth was another scream of pain.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t stop there. Snap could feel his tears turn burning as they gushed forth, a direct result of the human putting a nail into his other hand. The same thing happened here, with the nail pushed in further into the flesh before it was twisted around with that same tool for maximum security. The fact that Mr. Cosmo merely used metal cuffs to hold his feet in place, the cold metal pressing up against his ankles, was of little comfort to him while both of his hands were exploding in burning pain.

As Snap cried in pain, he could barely hear Mr. Cosmo offhandedly mention, “There, this should keep you from escaping, even if you flatten yourself. See your hands? If you dare try to get away, you’ll have to ruin both of them. And I don’t think you’d want to do that, now do you?”

Snap didn’t answer. Pain wracked through his body, stealing his voice and making him breathe shakingly and funnily. He could feel tears running down his face. Opening his eyes only blurred his vision more, forcing him to keep himself in the darkness. A darkness that was filled head to toe in agony.

Many questions zipped through his head as Mr. Cosmo appeared to be looking through more stuff. Just why was Mr. Cosmo doing this? What did he have to gain? What was his plan exactly? The questions he had asked before with a tinge of courage could no longer be asked now. Not while he was fighting back his tears, all ounce of bravery gone from his body. Right now, his screaming mind was just wanting desperately for the pain to end.

Snap forced an eye open as he looked over to see what the man had in store for him. He could see what appeared to be an eyedropper, a scalpel, and another nail. The sight of this third nail, along with the scalpel, made him whine loudly. Just what was this nail going to be used for? He looked up at Mr. Cosmo, silently begging him not to go any further.

But Mr. Cosmo ignored his gaze completely, clearly focused instead on just getting whatever ‘work’ this was done. All Snap could do was just endure it and hope that it would be over soon.

Oh how wrong he was...

Snap could feel the man grabbing onto his head to hold it in place. Then he could feel the sharp tip of the scalpel cutting down into his flesh. Snap let out a series of loud yelps and whines, squirming about on the table as more stinging pain invaded his mind. Mr. Cosmo ignored his screams as he set down the scalpel to bring in something else.

“Aaaahhh...!” Snap’s screams increased in volume as what was clearly a drop of Real World water began to cut into his head, deepening the gash given to him, drilling into it like he were a mountain to be explored. He couldn’t keep silent any more and he stared to yell at the man in desperation. “P-Please stop this! H-H-Hurts too much...! Please.. I-I’ll do anything! Just let me go...!”

Snap couldn’t say anything else. He could feel one of Mr. Cosmo’s hands covering his mouth tightly. Snap didn’t have the courage to try to bite him. Instead, he just looked up at the man with his shimmering, pained eyes.

“Shhh...! Just shut up! Be quiet! This will be over soon.” Mr. Cosmo hissed at him. “It’s not even that bad. Stop whining, you little brat!”

Snap’s mind continued to be invaded by pain and agony. His body trembled from the pain, unable to stop. Tears refused to end and he could feel his tears staining his cheeks a light red color. He closed his eyes tightly and continued to whimper softly as the water droplet continued to slice into him, getting closer and closer to...

Then Mr. Cosmo shoved something in there. Something soft and fuzzy, and he twisted his finger around. Snap tried to scream at this, but the man’s hand was still on his mouth, keeping him mostly muffled. Thankfully, this discomfort didn’t last for too long and the droplet of water appears to have been removed. But his moment of relief was only brief.

Mr. Cosmo placed the nail against his forehead. Snap couldn’t even begin to prepare for it when the man suddenly pushed down against his forehead, using his weight to push the nail in deep into his head. The action caused a sudden wave of pain to strike through him, his body starting to convulse from it. He let out a scream against Mr. Cosmo’s hand, unable to stop.

Then, without warning, his body fell limp. The pain that came in from all sides rapidly overloaded his brain. Snap became less and less aware of the agony and more aware of a dizziness and fuzziness crawling into his head. A few seconds later, his whole world went dark and silent.


	19. From The Dark Into Pain

The red-haired man didn’t hesitate to toss the little zoner back into his cell as soon as the procedure was done. He showed no remorse for how painfully the zoner landed. It wasn’t like he could feel it right now, anyway. He watched as the zoner crumbled downward, a smile spreading along his face.

Well that was a job well done. It went better than he had expected. So that was what it felt like to actually put those things in directly himself... Perhaps he should consider doing that more often.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t dwell on those matters for too long. He finished up with Snap and it was time to move on. He stared at the zoner for a few moments before he shut the door, leaving Snap in there alone. He wondered how he was going to react when he woke up. He had a feeling that it was going to be quite the show. But as much fun as that was going to be to watch, he had other things he needed to take care of. For instance, how was he going to go about making Rudy join him? He had to be careful with his choices, or else...

“Mr. Cosmo!” A feminine voice suddenly shouted at him.

Mr. Cosmo jerked once before swiveling his head to see Ms. Saffron coming towards him. He growled softly in her direction. “Dammit, woman, can’t you give me more of a warning next time?”

“How about next time, you answer your gawd damn phone.” Hissed Ms. Saffron.

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes. “You knew I was busy and couldn’t take any calls. Besides....” He folded his arms against his chest. “...what could have been so important that you had to interrupt my work?”

Ms. Saffron didn’t hesitate to yank her arm forward. In an instant, Mr. Cosmo could see that the blonde woman hadn’t been alone. There, standing before him, was another student of Mr. Wilter’s. Penny, he believed her name was. He blinked a few times as he stared at her, wondering just what in the world she thought she was doing here.

Ms. Saffron said, “She is demanding to see Rudy.” She glared at Penny before turning back to Mr. Cosmo. “She is being persistent and I don’t know what to do with her.” Penny was struggling to free herself. Ms. Saffron looked like she was having trouble keeping up. “I wanted to ask you what I should do.”

Mr. Cosmo kept his eyes on Penny. His mind’s gears started to turn as he started to formulate thoughts and ideas inside of his head. If he remembered right, wasn’t Penny a friend of Rudy’s? Well she had to be for her to be demanding to see him. At least, that would be his guess. And she had come all the way here to try to get him out, and the look in her eyes suggested that she understood the urgency of the situation and....

The man shook his head mentally to keep himself from getting too lost into his train of thought. He stared at Penny before he gave a small smile, releasing a few small chuckles. Oh this was just so very....interesting...

“You’re a cute little thing, aren’t you?” Mr. Cosmo cooed lightly. He took a step closer, reaching out to lightly scratch her chin. “Thinking you could come in here without getting caught, demanding such frivilous things...”

Penny jerked her head away and hissed. When Mr. Cosmo tried to reach out to her again, Penny opened her jaws wide and snapped them shut. Mr. Cosmo quickly moved his hand away and looked at his fingers, making sure that they were still there. He looked back at Penny with a slightly blankened expression.

“How did you find her?” Mr. Cosmo asked, his eyes never leaving Penny. He could see the way she snarled, growled, and twisted herself about as he listened to Ms. Saffron give her answer.

“Spy Fly had told me about what had happened. She helped me lure Penny into a trap so that she couldn’t escape.”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes sparked at this. “Ah, I knew drawing that tiny insect was going to be a good idea.” This wasn’t the first time that Spy Fly had performed well. But he couldn’t help but feel especially impressed about this. She wasn’t ordered to help capture anyone; only gather information. The fact that she knew what to do despite never having done anything like this before.... Really impressive.

“Y-You won’t get away with this!” Penny shouted. Mr. Cosmo noticed a bit of tears in her eyes. “I-I’ll make you pay!”

Mr. Cosmo quickly deduced that it wasn’t just Rudy’s situation that had Penny upset. Surely there were others, like the situation with Spy Fly. Given that, he also realized, quite fast, that Penny has to be connected to ChalkZone as well. He could feel his head starting to rumble internally as he tried to think of what he should do with her.

Having both children work for him would be a plus. He was aware of how smart Penny was and what she could bring to the team. Rudy’s creative streak would be useful. That was one of the things that drew him to the boy. And of course, the most pragmatic reason to bring in both of them is the fact that, well, they stood in his way, and if he removed both of them, he would have more freedom to do what he wanted. His plans couldn’t move forward so long as they opposed him.

But then he started to think about what Ms. Saffron had said earlier. Would it be wise to try to recruit both of them? Ms. Saffron did point out how hard it would be to make sure that Rudy doesn’t betray him. How much more difficult would that be if he involved two teenagers? Not to mention Penny’s intellect would be a great asset to herself in manipulating him and....

He frowned slightly. There wasn’t much of another choice. He didn’t want to have to do this, but... He had to think of his plans, you know?

He started to give Ms. Saffron her next set of orders.

“Have someone escort her to...”

sss

Snap struggled to force his eyes open, despite how stiff they were. He looked around, seeing how blurry everything was. He blinked a few times, letting drops of tears come down his face. He closed his eyes again for a few moments before he struggled to push himself up.

Everything hurt. He felt as though he had been slammed into the ground a few times. He felt like every muscle was exploding and every bone was cracked. He knew, even in his dazed state, that this probably wasn’t the case. But that did little to help him feel better as he got up slowly. He realized that he had moved too quickly as dizziness struck against him, forcing him to sit back down. He then sat there for several moments.

He tried to remember what had happened recently. He could barely put the pieces together. Something about being taken somewhere, a large white room... But he could not think of much else beyond that. Everything else was a dull, humming blur, rumbling in the back of his mind. It taunted him, keeping itself just out of reach. He tried so hard to reach for it, but it was always out of range. He eventually stopped, his headache getting worse, before he just...collapsed back to the ground.

He could feel a dull itch spreading along his forehead. He had tried to ignore it, feeling too much pain right now to want to bother with it. But it continued to grow and fester in his head and it wouldn’t leave him alone. His breathing became more and more shuddered the longer the tried to ignore it. Finally, he could take it no longer and he reached up to scratch it.

He immediately regretted it.

As soon as he put his hand against that spot, he exploded in pain and agony. Just a small scratch around the area caused a sharp pain to dig into his head and make him scream. His mind spun in circles as he squirmed and kicked along the ground, fighting back against the feeling. He could feel hot tears pouring down his face as he struggled to fight against it. This lasted for several moments before the pain started to subside slightly. His screaming eventually reduced to whimpering.

Snap laid there for several moments, horrified by this turn of events. Why was his head hurting so badly? What had happened to him? Why it did it feel like something was trying to crawl into his brain and strike at it? He thought he remembered seeing a mirror before, but the pain had him in too tight of a grip to even try to look.

The small blue and white zoner could only just lay there upon the ground, shaking and whimpering, as the pain continued to wrack through his trembling body. Confusion added to the pain, making it difficult for him to comprehend just what was going on. He tried to keep his breathing steady, but this grew increasingly difficult as he struggled to fight against the agony that whatever was in his forehead was causing.

In his suffering confusion, he didn’t realize that the floors were echoing with the approach of someone. He was unaware of a voice from beyond the door. It was only when he heard the jingling of the door being unlocked that he lifted his head up to see what was going on. He hissed when the door was opened up and light spilled into the room. He forced his head way for a few seconds before trying to look back over again.

He could see someone tall walking towards him, and he thought he could see blonde hair. His vision was still too blurred from pain for his mind to make an accurate image. But he did gather enough to know that this was not Mr. Cosmo.

“...looks like you finally got one, too...”

....which immediately didn’t help him feel better. This person, whoever she was, must be working for Mr. Cosmo. A part of him wondered if he should even recognize her at all, but his pained state made it hard for him to connect the dots.

So instead of trying to say anything, Snap immediately went on the defensive. He struggled against his pain as he arched himself a little, almost like a cat, and growled at the newcomer. He wasn’t going to let her touch him, regardless of what she tried to tell him. This posture caused adrenaline to rush through him which in turn caused a bit of numbing. He was almost tempted to lunge at the woman, but if he tried that....

The woman tilted her head to one side. It was difficult to tell just what she was thinking, since he couldn’t make out her facial expressions that well. But Snap still kept himself tense, trying to ready himself for whatever the woman was going to try.

“You sure do act like you’re in pain... Though Mr. Cosmo said that it doesn’t hurt zoners as much as their reactions seem to indicate. I’m sure you will be fine soon.”

Snap didn’t try to respond. He instead tried to cringe himself away from the woman, wanting to put distance between her and himself. Doing so caused him to agitate himself a little too much and he yelped a few times. But when the woman reached out towards him, he scrambled to get away, eventually hitting himself up against the bed behind him.

“You need to be careful. It might not be that serious, but you’re going to make it worse if you continue to struggle like that.” The woman told him firmly. “Let me take a look to make sure you....”

When the woman reached out towards him again, Snap hissed and struck out with his hand. He could feel it smacking up against something solid and he realized that he had struck her. The woman moved her hand away and he thought he could see a look of shock upon her face. Snap just growled at her, his body trembling, as the two stared off at one another.

“Hey.... It’s going to be fine...” The woman started to coo to him gently. She started to reach out towards him yet again. “You don’t need to be like this. Please just...”

Snap struck at her again, feeling himself release a loud, feral hiss out of desperation. “D-Don’t fucking touch me...!”

The two just continued to gaze into each other’s eyes, an awkward silence spreading around them.

sss

“Let me go! Release me now or I’ll....!”

“Shut up, you stupid girl, and come along!”

“Yeah, this is what you get for sticking your nose where it don’t belong.”

Penny growled at the two men that were dragging her down the hallway. She tried once more to struggle and wriggle herself free, but it was no use. There was no way that she could get away from them this easily. They were just too strong for her. She eventually had to stop and she just....dragged her feet literally as the two men carried her to her destination.

She had no idea where she was going to be taken. She didn’t know what Mr. Cosmo had planned for her. But despite not knowing, she kept gritting her teeth tightly, showing that she wasn’t going to give up that easily. She knew that Mr. Cosmo’s plans couldn’t be that good. No matter what happened, she wasn’t going to back down.

She was unnerved by the fact that these men knew what Mr. Cosmo was planning. They didn’t outright say it of course, but it made perfect sense. She wasn’t stupid. She could see exactly what was going on around here. She could tell from the tone of her voice, from the choices of words, and from their mannerisms that they all knew exactly what Mr. Cosmo was trying to do.

And they were all in on it...

Penny realized rapidly that she was in a place with no allies that could help her. The only ones that would try to aid her were locked up somewhere. They probably didn’t even know that she was there at all. The thought horrified her, causing her blood to chill. What if something was done to her so that she couldn’t.... And they couldn’t....

She shook the thought out of her head, growling deeply, as she tried to keep herself from getting too lost in despair. It was going to be hard, she knew. But she just...had to try to hold onto any ounce of hope and determination that she had. It was all that she could do to make sure that she remained focused. She couldn’t...

Her thoughts were cut off when she felt herself suddenly being yanked forward. She could hear the men grunting behind her as they used her full strength to throw her forward, through what she realized was an open door. She crashed into the ground painfully, biting her tongue and yelping. She lifted her head up and looked behind her. At this point, the men had already shut the door, leaving her in there alone. She narrowed her eyes as she watched them leave. What in the world did they tihnk they were doing? Did they really think that this was....

The door had been shut. It was quick, faster than she could blink. Automatic door, perhaps? Whatever it was, it caused her to suddenly freeze up and any smirk that she had was gone. Well, those guys weren’t as dumb as she thought they were. She began to look at her surroundings, wondering where she had been dropped off at.

The room seemed really huge, larger than most other rooms she had seen before. Which wasn’t much. The ceiling was much taller than in most of what she had seen. It almost looked like it would spread on for a while, making it almost look like it was neverending, which she knew wasn’t the case.

Situated on the ground, she noticed what appeared to be a large bowl of water, like for a dog, and a few small toys. It was then that she noticed that this place did smell as though it belonged to some large animal. What kind of animal could...

Her thoughts trailed off, her heart freezing in cold ice, when she heard a low rumbling behind her. A deep guttural growl that threatened to make her heart explode from fear. She remained still for several moments before forcing herself to look behind to see where the growling was coming from. A huge shadow was looming over her, the teal eyes glowing on what little light there was.

“D-D-Draow....” Penny felt herself whispering hoarsely. She realized in that moment exactly what Mr. Cosmo had in mind for her.

As if on cue, the winged beast twitched once to one side before he pulled his lips back into a snarl. He raised his wings up a little, his fur raising on end, before he charged towards Penny, his feet pounding the ground.

“Rawwwr!”

Penny remained frozen like a deer in headlights for a few seconds before she tried to turn around. Draow, however, came in faster than she had anticipated. Draow raised his wing up and struck down. The tip of the sickle claw easily sliced through her shoulder.

“Aaargh!”

Pain seered through her body as she screamed and fell to the ground. Her hand clutched at her shoulder, feeling her warm blood dripping down. She looked up at Draow with wide, fearful eyes. She could feel her heart nearly stop beating as she remembered a terrifying truth:

She had been locked in this room. Alone. With Draow.


	20. Incentive

It did feel strange seeing Mr. Cosmo again after all of this time. A part of him wondered why the man had approached him at all. They hadn’t exactly left on the best terms. He was surprised that he even wanted to talk to him at all. What could have motivated that man to come over and see him?

Mr. Wilter had been pondering this ever since he let that man come into his classroom and bring in that test that he had claimed would help his students. He had never fully explained how this would be the case, though. And Mr. Wilter did take a peak at the tests sometime after the man had left. He didn’t see anything on the tests that were particularly useful. It focused why too much on art.

Then again, he wasn’t too surprised. Mr. Cosmo did enjoy art himself. But unlike Rudy, he managed to find a profession that didn’t solely rely on how to draw something. He wished that Rudy could do something like this. He was hoping that Mr. Cosmo could help Rudy accomplish this task.

But that didn’t seem to be the case. He hadn’t heard anything back from Mr. Cosmo in days. He wasn’t sure if Mr. Cosmo had even got in touch with any of his students. He did try asking the class, in some rather subtle ways that is, about the test. None of them could provide any sort of answer. Either Mr. Cosmo didn’t contact them or the students didn’t want to talk about it. He was leaning towards the former.

But why would Mr. Cosmo go through all of this just to...

Mr. Wilter rubbed his forehead as he leaned himself against the back of his bed. He was feeling tired earlier, but now he couldn’t even concentrate on sleep. He was too focused with Mr. Cosmo, his mind coming alive with many thoughts, as he pondered just what that man was truly up to. There had to be a reason for these tests. He just....couldn’t figure out what that could be.

There was something that had crossed his mind, but he wanted to shake it off. It was so long ago, there was little reason to suspect that was the case. Sure, Mr. Cosmo might remember it, but it was unlikely that he would keep at it after all of this time. What did he have to gain? It was over and done with. Mr. Cosmo didn’t have anything left to...

But what if he did...?

Mr. Wilter tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. Mr. Cosmo couldn’t be capable of doing that. He didn’t have the knowledge to do so. He might be able to... with him... But it’s been too many years and...

There was just no way that Mr. Cosmo could do what he thought that he could. He was just being paranoid. Mr. Cosmo had already explained to him what the tests were for. It wasn’t Mr. Cosmo’s fault if he himself had grown a little paranoid just because he hadn’t heard back from him yet. It hasn’t been that long, anyway. He just needed to give the man a little more time.

sss

Ms. Saffron had no idea what to do with the trembling zoner. She wanted to try to comfort him and get him to stop making so much noise. She knew that Mr. Cosmo would not appreciate it and would have ordered her to do something to shut him up if he were there.

But the zoner.... Snap she believed his name was... He wasn’t responding to anything she was attempting. She couldn’t even try to stroke him or pat him on the head. Snap would just swipe at her or cringe away or cry louder. Whatever came first. This made it damn near impossible for her to try to console him. Snap was making things really difficult and the thought of it made her grit her teeth in frustration.

She tried not to release her frustrations upon him, however. It wasn’t really his fault that he was like this. He was in obvious pain, much more so than Mr. Cosmo said that he would be. There was no way that these shivers and kicks and thrashes of pain were fake. She bit her lip, feeling her throat going dry. Her ear practically exploded with the pained cries of this one small zoner.

Why did Mr. Cosmo tell her that it shouldn’t hurt the zoners too much and yet this happened...? She immediately wrote it off as a misunderstanding. Mr. Cosmo probably only believed that the zoners wouldn’t get hurt too much, considering that they are just drawings. And Mr. Cosmo didn’t do most of the zoners, so it may have been the staff that was exaggerating things.

But then again, Mr. Cosmo claimed that he had interacted with zoners before. So if that were the case, if he truly did go into this world of chalk when he was a kid or whatever age he said that he was, shouldn’t he have been aware of what pain threshold the zoners had? Or did he just not remember? Or perhaps it was something that was never really addressed? Questions like this throbbed inside of her head, making it ache.

She shook her head once, clearing her head of these thoughts, as she turned tow watch Snap continue to thrash and squirm. She couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him. It almost made her want to remove the nail. The only thing that prevented her from doing this was the fact that she knew it would be a horrible idea. Mr. Cosmo warned her of that, and he had reassured her that this was the best way to keep ‘wild zoners under control’.

But still, was this really necessary? She was starting to wonder if...

She nearly jolted when she heard her phone rumble. She was thankful that she did not have the phone off of silent. She opened up her phone and looked at whatever message was waiting for her.

“Ms. Saffron, I have a task for you. Please come meet me in my office.”

Ms. Saffron let out a sigh as she closed her phone and looked over at Snap. Although he wasn’t looking at her at this point, she still raised her hand up and waved to him slowly. “Bye.... I.... hope you feel better.” She whispered, not that the zoner cared. She then got up and walked away.

sss

There was little reason why he couldn’t have done this task himself. He could have just went over and given the orders directly himself and that would have saved a bit of time. But Mr. Cosmo had wanted to make sure everything panned out exactly right. And he knew he could entrust Ms. Saffron in giving out the proper orders. So he sent her off to deal with that while he went over to pay Snap a little visit.

Or rather, not so much a visit as it was taking him to where he needed to go. Snap did still play an important role in his plans. He hadn’t quite forgotten that, now how could he? A smile spread along his face, feeling a sense of pride in what he was about to accomplish. If everything played out right, he was about to remove one of the biggest obstacles that he had to ChalkZone.

Snap should be alone in his cell right about now. He had sent Ms. Saffron away, which would leave Snap being the only one left in that room. He preferred it this way. He would rather Ms. Saffron not see what he was about to do. She would surely start questioning things and he couldn’t risk letting that happen. He needed to...keep her under wraps, so to speak.

He soon arrived at the door. He paused for a moment as he peered at it, his mind running through several thoughts. Just how was he going to go about this? He needed to plan this just right, to make sure that things go accordingly. He would rather not do anything to screw this up, so....what should he do....?

He quickly shook his head and decided that the best plan was to just be straight forward. Snap would still be in pain from the nail in his head, and likely frightened of him after what he had put him through. This would make it easier for him to grab Snap and transport him easily. He had little to fear from this. So without much more hesitation, he grabbed the door and pushed it open.

Inside, he could see a familiar small form shivering upon the ground. Snap’s body was curled inward a little and he trembled hard, looking as though he thought anything and everything was going to attack him. And when the zoner’s eyes laid upon him, the man immediately heard the zoner’s whimpering increase.

“Oh I know you haven’t had much rest. I know you’re probably still a little....” Mr. Cosmo cocked his head to one side slightly. His voice was soft as usual, sounding as least threatening as possible. “But sadly, I need to take you with me now.” He stopped and raised his head up slightly. “I don’t have much time right now to....”

Snap shook his head rapidly. “P-P-Please.. I-I don’t want to....” He cringed back and looked away, staring up at the man fearfully. “D-D-Don’t touch me... I don’t want anymore pain.”

Mr. Cosmo cocked an eyebrow up. Then he released a quick chortle. “Oh my, is that what you think I’m going to do?” Snap nodded his head rapidly. “Oh dear me, no... Not anymore. I’ve already did the hard part.” He pointed his finger towards the zoner, aiming right at where the nail was. “That needed to go in there sooner or later. Don’t worry. You will get used to it.” He took another step closer. When the zoner didn’t answer, he said, “I just....need you for something.”

Snap gritted his teeth. “How do I know that you won’t hurt me again?”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at this a few times and he stopped to ponder what he could respond with. He tapped his finger against his chin, his eyes and head shifting upwards slightly. Then he sighed and raised his hand up in gesture and said, “Well I suppose you can’t know. Honestly...” He shut his eyes lightly. “It...all depends. I would rather not have to hurt you again and I am hoping things will lean in that direction. However...” He motioned his hand so that it rested underneath his chin. He gave Snap something of a glinting stare. “...that depends on your little friend.”

Snap stared at him in confusion before his eyes widened in horror. “R-R-Rudy..?” He swallowed hard as he pulled his head back, turning it to the side to watch him with a wary-filled eye. “Y-You have him...?”

“You’re a smart little zoner, aren’t you?” Mr. Cosmo chuckled. “I like that you can deduce that quickly. Maybe you’ll continue to have a use after this. Now then...” Mr. Cosmo moved in closer, raising up his hand slowly and motioning it towards Snap. “Let’s get going. Wouldn’t want to keep your friend waiting, now do we...?”

Snap cringed back away, growling softly. The little zoner hardly put up much of a fight though, the pain having weakened him both physically and mentally. There was nothing stopping Mr. Cosmo from grabbing Snap by the back of his cape and lifting him up like he was a little cat or dog. Then he proceeded to carry Snap with him.

sss

When Rudy heard the sound of the door opening up, he was fully expecting it to be Mr. Cosmo coming in to try to speak with him again. That mean seemed determined to get what he wanted out of him and he wouldn’t have been surprised by another visit from him.

What he got instead was little short of shocking. He hadn’t expected this to happen. When it did, he wondered if he was in some kind of twilight zone or something.

It was Lars...

Rudy blinked a few times as he stared at the open door. He rubbed his eyes a few times and looked back, wondering if he was seeing things right. He licked his lips slowly and swallowed. No matter how many times that he did this, the image remained the same. There was no denying it. He really was seeing Lars right there. There was no mistaking this polar bear zoner.

Rudy’s first emotions that rushed through him was relief and excitement. Here Lars was, one of the missing zoners, alive and well and not looking like anything terrible happened to him. No signs of obvious damage. Then those feelings intermixed with bitter negative ones. He still had no idea what happened to Lars. Surely Mr. Cosmo did something horrible to him.

Then confusion settled in. Why was Lars wandering around here like this? Was he free? Did they not notice him escaping? Was it something more? This and other questions surged in his head, making it difficult to concentrate. Rudy was so focused on his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that the zoner was getting closer to him.

“H-Hi, Lars.” Rudy managed to say as he smiled at the zoner. “H-How are you? Look pretty good. I...” Rudy realized that Lars was not responding to him at all. Rudy licked his lips nervously. “L-L-Lars...?”

He looked at the bear zoner for a few moments, trying to think of why he wasn’t responding. It didn’t look like that he was blinded and he was still obviously breathing. And yet Lars’s movements started to look like they were rigid, almost robotic, almost like he was just a toy being moved around. It was at this moment that Rudy could feel a cold sensation rushing in the back of his head. There was something wrong here. But he couldn’t...

Without warning, Lars lurched forward towards him. Rudy felt himself jump back when the bear zoner reached out towards him like that. Not in a gentle way or any indication of getting him to safety. No, this was more of a rough grab, a rough attempt at getting him to come along. Rudy dodged the first few times before he could feel Lars’s thick arms wrap around him, managing to encase him against him. Although Rudy had grown in the few years he’s known Lars, the bear was still able to subdue him pretty easily.

“Lars! What are you doing?!” Rudy called out. “Let me go! This isn’t....”

But Lars didn’t answer him. The bear zoner remained silent as he started to carry him down the hallway without much issue. Rudy’s attempts to free himself were met with a tighter squeeze. It was like a Real World bear was hugging him. Rudy had to force himself to stop just so that he could keep breathing normally.

His mind raced. What was wrong with Lars? What was he doing? This wasn’t like him. Lars was usually more mellow and not so...physical. Sure he has gotten upset before, but it was never on this scale. He wasn’t even....

That was when Rudy happened to get a good look at Lars’s forehead. Kind of; he could only see the silhouette of it. But it was enough that he saw something bulging out. His mind flashed back and he shuddered when he realized that....

Something was stuck in the bear’s head.

Was this what was making him act so strangely?

Rudy fell limp as horror struck throughout his body, lowering his body temperature. His mind stung with horrifying thoughts and realizations. He was unaware of himself being carried anywhere. He wasn’t aware of his surroundings. All that he could see was the darkness around him, like a shadow was being casted over his body.

So this is what Mr. Cosmo had been doing to the zoners.... If he did this to one zoner, he probably did it to others. Every zoner that he had captured must have been...

Oh gawd...

Rudy struggled not to throw up at this realization. He strugled not to let himself get too overwhelmed with anger as he realized just what this horrible, disgusting man had been doing to his friends. He couldn’t begin to imagine the pain that they must have gone through. He couldn’t imagine the suffering that they were forced to endure just so that the man could get his way.

A chilling thought crossed his mind. Was Lars doing this because it hurt so badly to get the object in and he wanted to avoid more pain? Or was it something far more sinister? What if this thing was...controlling him...? That would explain the robotic movements and lack of response. Lars wasn’t doing this to him. It was Mr. Cosmo.

A burning sensation settled in his stomach. Mr. Cosmo may have said that he didn’t want to kill any zoners. But this was no better. In fact, it was almost worse, as he was putting the zoners through what was surely unbearable pain and then controlling them like they were nothing more than dolls. How could the man think this was a less harsh thing to do?

Rudy’s train of thought was interrupted when he could feel Lars grunt and then toss him forward. Rudy stumbled and waved his arms wildly, preventing himself from falling down. He looked behind him just in time for Lars to shut the door. Rudy felt himself being covered in blackness and he froze. Then a few lights went on, creating a quick, sort of boomy sound as they did so.

He was immediately greeted by a familiar voice.

“Greetings, Rudy. So glad you could come here. I take it the escort worked perfectly fine...?”

Rudy turned his head to glare at Mr. Cosmo. “What the fuck did you do to Lars...?”

Mr. Cosmo cocked his head to one side and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know this Lars that you speak of. I...” He stared at Rudy and noticed his bared teeth. Mr. Cosmo then raised his head up and said, “Oh you mean the bear?” Rudy nodded his head rigidly. “Ah... You don’t need to worry about him.” He motioned his hand to the side. “He’ll be fine.”

Rudy growled deeply and he took a few steps forward. “That still doesn’t answer my question. What did you do to him?”

Mr. Cosmo stared at him and then simply said, “Do you really need to know?”

Rudy nearly charged towards the man. “Yes! That was my friend, you....!”

“At ease, lad. I didn’t do anything to him. My workers did.” Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up, motioning it forward and backward, as though Rudy was just a small toddler. Rudy felt himself burning at being treated like this. But regardless, he didn’t try to move forward again. “That thing in his head, it’s just to keep the zoners from getting...unruly. You can’t be too sure with zoners. You understand, right?”

Rudy formed a tight fist with his two hands, shaking them. He could feel his heart thumping loudly in his chest and he seethed heavily. His vision almost seemed to turn red as he continued to glare daggers at the man. He couldn’t even trust himself to respond. He might wind up tearing him apart if he let any words slip out. So he forced himself to remain silent, save for a few snarls that managed to escape his throat.

Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow at this and then shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t really know why you’re upset, boy. It’s just to keep them from doing anything...regretful.”

“By controlling them like toys?!” Rudy shouted. He leaned himself forward, his fists shooting back. “You’re such a disgusting person if you can’t see the problem with that! The zoners shouldn’t be treated this way!”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes glinted. “And yet if they aren’t, they become problematic. Something needs to be done to make sure that they can’t... I already told you this before, and you still can’t see.” Mr. Cosmo’s mouth corners spread slowly into a smile. “It is a shame that you cannot see the truth, Rudy. If only you would open up your eyes...”

Rudy’s body trembled in anger. He was trying with all of his might to make sure that he didn’t try to attack the man right then and there. He knew that it would backfire on him horribly. But still, this man...

Motioning his hand to one side, Mr. Cosmo said, “He would be a good example. He used to be a bit rough around the edges. But now look at him. Tame as a little kitten.”

Rudy growled at this before following the man’s hand. His eyes widened in horror at what he saw. “S-S-Snap...?!”

There, laying before him, was Snap. But it...hardly looked like the Snap that he remembered. The zoner that he could see more resembled what he had seen in his nightmare and...

Oh no.. Was Snap...?

When he saw the blue and white zoner shiver, he did feel some relief, realizing that Snap was still alive. But that didn’t diminish his fear for him. Rudy hardly paid attention to what Mr. Cosmo was doing or saying as he moved forward towards the fallen zoner. His eyes couldn’t dare to leave him and he bit his lip firmly. He looked over Snap’s body, trying to see if anything was done to him.

Snap had some bruises and scrapes on him. His clothes had a bit of tear to them. He noticed that his hand was covered in a bandage, indicating that he had tried what he had. Rudy felt his heart skip several beats as he realized that his fears had been realized. Snap really had cut his hand there and considering his hand was flat, he might have gotten it in further and... Rudy shuddered and he fought back his tears. Oh no... Poor Snap...

It didn’t help that Snap was placed in what appeared to be some sort of cage. But not the kind of cage he was used to seeing. Rudy was not surprised that Mr. Cosmo could be this cruel, but that didn’t stop him from gasping in horror when he realized that Snap was trapped behind bars made of water, with electricity sparkling through them. A ruthless combination obviously meant for zoner and human prisoners.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled softly when Rudy shot him a glare. “It’s just for safety reasons. Don’t be so upset.”

Rudy didn’t bother to respond. There was no point. Not like this man would listen. Rudy shifted his gaze back to Snap. His expression softened up slightly. “S-Snap...?” He whispered softly, taking a step towards his friend, his hand reaching out towards him. “A-A-Are you okay...?”

The little zoner lifted his head up and looked over at him. Rudy was taken aback by just scared Snap looked. Those white eyes of his were wider than he had ever seen them before. Snap’s lower lip was quivering and his cheeks were stained red, indicating that he had been crying.

And then there was the clencher. Rudy didn’t take long to notice it.

Snap had a nail in his head too. Just like Lars. Just like what the other zoners had. Rudy tried hard not to gag at this.

“B-B-Bucko...” Snap whispered. His voice was so coarse and scratchy... “Y-You’re here.”

Rudy tried his best to smile, tears forming in his eyes. “Y-Yes, Snap. I’m here.” He took another step forward. “Snap, I’m so sorry about all of this. I promise. I-I’ll get you out of here.”

Snap smiled, seething slightly in pain. “I-It’s fine. I-It’s not your fault.”

“Snap...” Rudy stared at his friend, watching as the little zoner writhed in pain. He was trying to paw at the nail in his head, only to freeze and move his hand back before he touched it. An instinctive response... Rudy realized that this all but confirmed that Snap really was suffering from this. And so was Lars... Rudy could feel his tears blurring his vision.

Rudy tried to think of what he was going to do. How was he going to help his friend get out of here? What did Mr. Cosmo want with him? What was the meaning of all of this? Rudy’s mind raced as he tried to think of something.

Out of the corner of his eye, he was suddenly made aware of Mr. Cosmo moving forward. Rudy turned his head and he could see the man making his way towards...

His eyes widening in horror, Rudy immediately rushed at Mr. Cosmo. The man turned his head to see the teenager coming at him. The man was quick to react. Rudy could feel a hand grabbing him by his shirt collar. He was lifted up into the air and then thrown aside. Rudy hit the ground painfully and groaned.

“Stay out of my way, boy. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

Rudy lifted his head up, spitting at the ground, before he turned to glare at Mr. Cosmo. He saw that the man was already inside of the cage, one row of bars having been disabled. This kind of technology would normally interest Rudy, but right now, his focus was on Snap and Mr. Cosmo. He had to make sure that this man didn’t dare try to harm his friend. Up on his feet, he rushed at where they were...

...only to stop when the bars suddenly it up. Rudy jumped back as a spark of electricity nearly got to him. He looked at it in horror before glaring at Mr. Cosmo, who waggled his finger at him. Rudy noticed that the man had a remote control. Of course he would come prepared.

Rudy felt his heart clench tightly as Mr. Cosmo went over to where Snap was. The zoner shuddered violently as the man got closer and closer. Snap huddled against the ground, his back slightly arched like a cat. Snap’s eyes stared at the man intently, terrified of what he was about to do. This was enough to make Rudy deduce that Mr. Cosmo had done something to Snap. Something that scarred him. Was... Was he the one who put the nail in him...?

Rudy pulled himself from his thoughts when he heard Snap let out a squeal. The zoner was swiping his hand at Mr. Cosmo as the man tried to grab him. Snap bared his teeth and growled in fear, inching himself away from the man. Eventually, Snap could go no further. He was cornered, the electric water bars within range. Despite Snap’s silent begging, Mr. Cosmo still came in towards him.

“Leave him alone!” Rudy shouted. He tried to find a way in through the bars. But there was nothing that he could find, making his heart race faster. “If you dare to touch him, I’ll....!” Rudy couldn’t complete his sentence.

“You’ll what...?” Mr. Cosmo asked calmly as he started to stroke the frightened Snap.

Rudy seethed as he watched Mr. Cosmo treating Snap like he were a dog. The man’s hand made its way from the top of Snap’s head and down along his back. The man repeated this a few times, all the while, Snap shivered in fright. Rudy’s body trembled and he found himself saying something he normally would never say. “I-I’ll kill you..!”

Mr. Cosmo seemed to go rigid at this for a second. Rudy thought he could see a flash of fear in the man’s eyes, which caused the teen some strange feelings of satisfaction. That was short-lived, however, when the man started to smile at him and chuckle softly, as though he said something really amusing. “My, my... Getting dark, are we...?”

Rudy just growled at this.

Mr. Cosmo looked down at Snap as he continued to pet him gently. “Your friend here is going to serve a very important purpose. I’m sure that we can get a more...productive meeting this way...”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. Was this man insane? What in the world made him think that he was going to be anymore convinced. It was like this man was running off of....

Then his blood turned into ice. His mind flashed back to what the man had said before. Didn’t he comment that he was going to use an incentive to make him...

Rudy’s wide eyes stared at Snap. His heart practically stopped beating when he made the connection.

Mr. Cosmo’s smile turned twisted when he saw Rudy’s expression. “So now you understand.... Good.” Mr. Cosmo sneered at him. Rudy was too stunned to even try to answer. Mr. Cosmo stared into Rudy’s fearful eyes, his hand still moving along Snap, applying some pressure and petting him more roughly now. “Honestly, I’m surprised it took you this long. But don’t worry. I’m sure things will work out in the end....provided you choose...wisely.”

Then suddenly, Mr. Cosmo grabbed Snap by his cape and lifted him up roughly.


	21. Dirty Underhanded Trick

Penny gritted her teeth as she rammed up against the door as hard as she could. She ignored the pain that this was causing her. She just rammed it again and again, hoping that it would eventually give in and break. But repeated attempts yielded no results. Her efforts wound up being in vain and all she had out of it was just a sore shoulder and pounding pain. She reached up and rubbed her arm up and down, her teeth growing clenched.

She looked over and she could see a particularly large shadow looming over her. She hissed softly. She should have realized that her trap wasn’t going to last long. There was no way that rope was going to stop Draow for very long. She turned herself around to face the massive beast coming at her.

She was such an idiot. Why the fuck did she think that this was going to work? All that she got out of it was another damaged shoulder. Her other one still throbbed and ached with pain. She clutched it a little and seethed softly, a low growl eminating from her mouth. Draow was just going to see her as easy prey because of this. She needed to figure out another way to deal with this creature. But what was she going to do?

Penny quickly moved out of the way when Draow attempted to strike at her again. The claw missed her this time, but her lurching forward so suddenly and so awkwardly didn’t do her much good. She could feel herself tripping a little and she hit up against the wall near her. She yelped in pain as her injury was aggravated. She forced herself to lift her hand up and look at her wound. She seethed from the sight of the bloody gash before looking back up at Draow.

Penny did the only thing that she could think of doing and she grabbed one of Draow’s toys. She pointed it at him, wielding it like it was some sort of weapon. Draow lifted his head up and cocked his head to one side in confusion, one of his ears twitching. Then he pulled his lips back into a snarl and started to come back towards her. Penny began to move around, keeping the toy between her and Draow. Before she knew it, the two of them were engaged in a game of circling, only this game would end in pain if she messed up.

She doubted that this toy would do her any good in the long run. It was just a stick. There was no way that she could beat a large creature such as this with a...

...but couldn’t she use it a different way...?

The idea humming in the back of her head, Penny suddenly rushed at Draow. She let out a loud yell, making sure that Draow took this as an attempt to attack. Just as she had predicted, the beast opened up his mouth to bite her. Now was her chance.

Penny ran towards Draow until she was close enough to make her move. Just as Draow was launching his head at her with dark intent, Penny moved her hand forward as quickly as she could. The stick was rammed into Draow’s mouth just as he was closing down. The result was instant.

Draow roared loudly, the roar itself slightly muffled from the stick. He had bitten down on it vertically and it was long enough to just barely fit in. This meant that it would be hard to force out. Draow’s mouth was stuck wide open as he shook is head from side to side. He lifted up his foot and tried to scratch it out with his talons. He attempted to bite down, only to stop, the slightly more pointy end of it pushing further into his mouth flesh. While Draow was struggling, Penny took this chance to try to get away.

Penny had no idea how long this was going to last. She could still hear Draow’s muffled snarls and small whines as he desperately tried to free himself. He was so focused on that, he didn’t even think to attack Penny in other ways.

But Penny couldn’t celebrate victory yet. She couldn’t forget the fact that Mr. Cosmo had tried to kill her. She needed to focus on getting out of here first. Then she could sigh in relief before immediatley setting out to find Rudy. That’s what was important right now.

But how was she going to get out? The door wasn’t going to....

She froze when she heard the sound of charging and heavy breathing. She heard something snap and break and she realized that Draow must have already gotten free. Penny looked behind her just in time to see a blur of light brown. Then she felt something impacting her against her chest and stomach. She grunted at this, before her whole body wracked in pain as it pushed up against something solid.

The act was so fast, she wound up being pushed right through something. She could hear the sound of wood splintering and breaking and she realized that she had been pushed through the door. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and she could see the pieces of wood moving in the air for several seconds. She then felt herself hitting the ground heavily and the breath was knocked out of her. She then felt something heavy smashing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Looking up, she could see Draow staring at her, his face close to hers. Penny gritted her teeth in fear, grabbing the beast’s paw and trying to force it off of her. She could see drool dripping down from Draow’s face. She could see a tiny bit of blood that she guessed was from her stick trick. And she could see the glowing hatred in his eyes. It was clear Draow didn’t like what she did.

Draow’s body shook in anger and it looked as though his eyes were glowing brightly Penny gritted her teeth as she turned her head to the side, staring up at Draow in fear, her mind racing, struggling to think of what she can do to escape this mess. Draow pulled his head back and Penny’s eyes widened in horror when she realized that he was about to strike again. His jaws stretched open and she could hear a guttural growl coming out of his jaws. Penny could only shut her eyes and turn her head away, waiting for the blow.

But it never came.

Penny forced an eye open to look up. She took immediate notice of how Draow appeared to be hesitating. Not because he didn’t want to attack; Penny saw that he was now taking notice of the mess around him. Draow moved his head left and right, his eyes shifting, slowly dawning on him on what he had done. His ears lowered a little. For a split second, Penny thought that she could see a flash of terror in his eyes, as if he realized that he was going to be in big trouble. Then he looked down at her. His jaw slacked a little before he bared his teeth again, growling at her, blaming her for what happened.

Penny could feel her heart pound pounding in her chest, threatening to break free of her ribcage. She struggled to think of something she could do fast before this creature had a chance to get at her. She looked around in desperation, adrenaline rushing through her body. Looking to one side, she happened to notice what appeared to be a small pile of splinters. She stared at them for a few moments, gritting her teeth. She didn’t want to have to do this, but Draow was not giving her any other option.

Draow lunged at her to bite. Penny grabbed a pile of splinters and tossed them at his face. The beast’s eyes shut tightly as the small pieces of wood hit him directly in the eyes. Draow jolted back, releasing his foot from her, as he shook his head and roared in pain. Penny watched him for a few seconds as he clawed at his face, tears streaming down his muzzle as he tried to expel the foreign objects.

Though she felt bad for this, considering it was such a low, dirty trick, it was still the only thing that saved her from being killed right then and there. Penny scrambled up to her feet as quickly as she could and she proceeded to run down the hallway as quickly as she could.

There was no one in the hallways right now, though that was of little comfort. She could be watched right now and she had no way of knowing. Yet she couldn’t check, either. All she could do was run, and hope and pray that she stayed far ahead of Draow long enough to escape.

Penny ran as fast as she could down the hallway. She could feel her feet pounding the ground, almost in rhythm to her racing heart and the pain that echoed throughout her body. She clutched her hand to her gashed shoulder, trying so hard to stop the bleeding. Yet it still flowed steadily and she was starting to notice a change in the way that she was running.

Despite her increased wobbliness, however, she seemed to be doing a pretty good job with staying ahead. She didn’t hear the beast coming after her again and she was certain that she put in a good amount of distance. This did not cause her to slow down, however, as it wouldn’t take that long for Draow to catch up with her if he were to decide to come after her.

Or actually, whenever he decided to come after her.

Penny kept moving down the hallways, making random turns, hoping that this would make it hard for Draow to find her. All the while, she desperately tried to find something that could help her hide. Or even escape; was there an exit around here somewhere?

She could feel herself growing a bit more weary and more energy was drained from her body. She started to slow down more, despite her valiant efforts to stop herself from collapsing. She could feel the back of her head and her eyes burning a little, a sensation that she would feel when she was really tired. Penny felt her vision blur once for a brief second. She shrugged it off the best that she could, but despite her efforts, she remained quite dizzied.

She soon found herself in a long hallway, with one off to her side stretching outward. A three point crossing. She slowly turned her head around, trying to comprehend what she should do. Continue straight or go to the side? Or head back and look elsewhere? She tried to find some labels on the wall. But even when she found one, she could not understand what was written. Was it because it was purposely written weirdly or was there something wrong with her head?

Upon thinking this, she raised her hand up and started to rub her eyes, shaking her head a little bit. She was having more and more of a difficult time keeping her eyes open. No, she couldn’t let herself fall asleep. Not right now. She had to keep moving forward. She had to try to escape. Adrenaline pumped through her body once more, and some of the pain was numbed.

But this didn’t occur quickly enough for her. In her dazed state, she failed to realize that Draow had already started to come looking for her. She didn’t realize just how fast the beast could move, nor did she realize just how quiet he could be.

Until it was too late.

Penny only realized Draow was there when she noticed his massive shadow looming over her. She froze for a bit and looked behind her. Draow stood there, mostly in darkened shadow, his teal eyes piercing through the blackness and straight into her soul. Penny saw these eyes sparkle and then Draow made what looked like a slight movement.

Penny let out a scream when she felt sharpness against her chest. She stumbled backward and soon fell down. She pressed herself against the wall, her mouth open and panting in pain as she clutched her chest. She could feel more warm wetness there. She looked down and saw that she now adorned a gash that went diagonally across her chest. Blood pooled down from it, and her shoulder’s blood intermixed with it. This made it look almost like one single wound.

Penny’s mind spun faster, the dull pain in the back of her head, that tired feeling, growing more and more intense. She hadn’t realized how much blood she was losing, and looking at the hallway that she had come from, she felt her heart twist in shock when she realized that she had been leaking blood the entire way. No wonder Draow could find her. He just needed to find the ‘red blotched road’, so to speak.

With her breathing growing ragged, Penny looked up at the beast, wondering what her fate was going to be. She had grown too weakened at this point to try to run. And Draow was too close to her and she would never be able to get away in time. She couldn’t even grab anything to toss at him this time. And considering how reddened his eyes appeared to look from the irritation, and how he was glaring at her, she realized that trying that again was going to land her some really brutal consequences.

Not that it wasn’t already going to happen, anyway.

All Penny could do was just lay there and shiver in fear as Draow came in closer. She backed up further against the wall, crawling on her hands and feet, flinching in pain a few times. Draow licked his lips slowly and opened up his jaws, ready to bite her and crush her. Penny drew in heavy breath after heavy breath as she struggled to get away from him. Her eyes widened in horror and she moved back a little faster.

And then...

Penny felt something give way underneath her. She barely had time to react before she fell backwards and was suddenly falling down into blackness. She was aware of Draow trying to bite her and she could hear his frustrated snaps and snarls, which faded away the further she dropped. Penny felt herself screaming in terror before she hit something cold, hard, and heavy.

Was that.... Could this have been some kind of a vent..? Regardless, at least she was free from Draow...for the moment, anyway. Penny pushed herself up, trying to ignore the pain and the wetness around her. She noticed a small, faint light in one direction. She trudged along in that direction.

sss

The young fifteen year old teenager could feel his heart throbbing inside of his chest. He put his hand to it, almost horrified by how loud that it was. He opened his mouth and struggled to breathe, his bulging eyes unable to tear away from the sight before him. He watched, unable to do anything to stop what was about to happen. There was nothing that was going to slow any of this down. And his only option was...

No, he couldn’t let that be.... No, he couldn’t allow himself to fall into this. He knew that it was wrong. He knew that it was going to only hurt him in the end. He couldn’t allow himself to fall down this far. He couldn’t allow himself to drop like this. He had to keep fighting back. He had to keep trying. He had to....

But what could he do? He could see what was happening. He knew what this could lead into. He could see that, if he wasn’t careful, it was all going to fall apart very fast.

And there was almost nothing that he could do to stop it.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at his undecisive behavior, sounding so gleeful. He continued to hold Snap up in one hand, easily holding Snap by his cape, as though he were holding a puppy by the ‘scruff of the neck’. Mr. Cosmo looked down at Snap and gave him a dark smile before he proceeded to slowly move towards the front of the cage. He kept his distance, of course, obviously not wanting to hurt Snap too badly. But Rudy’s heart skipped a beat when he realizd how quickly that all could change....

“I do hope that this runs more smoothly than last time. If you’re careful with your decision, Rudy, I’m sure things will work out for the two of us.” Mr. Cosmo explained. He proceeded to move his hand along the back of Snap’s head again. He peered down to smile at the shivering zoenr. “It would be regretful if something needed to happen to your little friend here.”

“L-Let him go...!” Rudy shouted. His voice was tinged with fear and it trembled in desperation. “Please! Can’t you see that he’s....”

Mr. Cosmo grabbed Snap’s jaw and forced the small zoner to look up at him. “Oh I’m aware of how frightened he is... But that can change if you make the right decision, Rudy.” He released Snap and looked back at Rudy. With his free arm, he made a partial shrug, raising his hand up slowly to motion towards Rudy. “It’s all up to you. I can let your little friend go.....if you join me...”

Rudy’s eyes widened.

Snap shook his head in desperation. “N-No, Rudy... D-D-Don’t listen to him! He’s just trying to...”

Mr. Cosmo put his hand over Snap’s mouth, muffling his words. “Shush now, little zoner.” He slowly turned his head to look at Rudy. “Let your friend decide what he wants to do.”

Rudy stared at Snap with his eyes still widened, his heart racing inside of his chest. He didn’t know what Mr. Cosmo would do if he said no. But he also realized that if he just stood there and did nothing, it wasn’t going to help either of them. His mind kept feeling like it was part of some horrifying merry-go-round and he struggled to figure out just what the best option was going to be. He couldn’t just stand here and do nothing. Snap was counting on him. His next step was crucial.

Yet it was still a very hard decision to make. If he said ‘no’, then Snap could be hurt, or worse.... He didn’t want to do that to his best friend. He couldn’t allow something like that to happen to him. But if he said ‘yes’, what would that mean? He would be forced to work for Mr. Cosmo and who knows what that man would do to ChalkZone. He claims that he didn’t want to harm it, but Rudy couldn’t honestly bring himself to believe those words.

He drew in deep breath after deep breath, pondering what his options were. He could feel both Mr. Cosmo and Snap staring at him. He could feel Snap’s worrying glare, hear his slent pleas for him not to go through with this. Even though Snap couldn’t possibly fully understand everything since he didn’t hear Biclops’s story, even he realized just what kind of person they were dealing with here. Meanwhile, Mr. Cosmo was looking at him with a smirk on his face, filled with confidence and hope that Rudy would ‘see things his way’.

The struggle to figure out an answer was maddening and Rudy felt his head hurting badly as a result. He put his hand on his forehead and moved one step back. He rubbed his head gently, shaking his head slowly left to right. He tried to speak, tried to come up with some kind of answer, but nothing would flow out of his mouth. There was almost nothing that he could say in the moment.

“I see you’re having some trouble deciding.” Came Mr. Cosmo’s cooled voice. Rudy looked over and he noticed that the red-haired man’s face had shifted a little, looking a little more dulled than usual. Rudy felt himself swalling instinctively. Had he pushed Mr. Cosmo’s buttons too much? “I thought this would be an easy choice for you. I guess you need a demonstration.”

“Demonstration? What kind of...” Rudy’s voice trailed off. “Wait, you don’t mean...”

“Oh these?” Mr. Cosmo motioned to the electric bars. “Oh no, not quite. These would work way too fast.” Rudy sighed in relief, but still remained tense. What could this man possibly mean then? “Let me bring something out. If this doesn’t get you to decide, I don’t know what will. You’re even more stubborn than....”

“What are you going to do?!” Rudy shouted, cutting the man off.

Mr. Cosmo chortled. “You’re so eager.”

Rudy took in a few shaky breaths as his mind spun around some more. He had no idea what to do or say. Yet he still felt himself moving a little closer, his hand reaching out towards Snap. “Please just let him go...” He managed to whisper, his voice shaky and a little broken.

Mr. Cosmo let out a small chuckle and shrugged his shoulders. “First, let’s see if this will change your mind.” With that, the man pressed a button.

Rudy immediately could feel some kind of rumbling in the ground. He looked down, trying to see what it was. He couldn’t see anything, yet he could feel something moving, something churning about. He moved back a few steps, his head looking left and right. Just where the heck was that noise coming from? He couldn’t...

Then he noticed something moving in front of him, from within the water-barred cage. Something was rising up from the ground. He hadn’t noticed the indentations there. He hadn’t realized that Mr. Cosmo set this thing up to rise...something from underneath. But what was he bringing out? And why did he think that this was going to make him join him?

Rudy could see what appeared to be a small cylinder object coming out. It looked almost like a missile, although he was aware that wasn’t what it could have been. It locked into place and Rudy could hear a small tumble sound as it twisted slowly to one side before stopping. Some kind of steam rose up from it, although he couldn’t tell just what that was from.

Rudy blinked a few times as he stared at this thing. Just what was it meant to do? Just what did Mr. Cosmo plan for this? What could its purpose be? These and other thoughts raced through his head as he struggled to make sense of it all.

Mr. Cosmo walked towards it slowly. He grabbed the top of the cylinder and opened it up. There was an almost immediate strong stench coming out of it. Rudy had to turn his head to the side and fan around his mouth. He still didn’t know exactly what this thing was for, but he couldn’t help but feel like this smell was very familiar. He just could not place exactly where he had smelled it before.

Mr. Cosmo paused before looking back at Rudy, his body still twisted to face towards the cylinder. “Does this look familiar to you, Rudy? Can you tell what this is?”

Rudy frowned soflty before taking a couple of steps forward. He peered carefully at the cylinder, trying to get a good look at what was inside. He straightened himself up, standing on the tips of his toes, and he eventually could see there was some kind of clear liquid inside.

Then the boy froze in horror. The clear liquid combined with the smell... A white flash struck him in the back of his head. He could see images of himself and Penny... That experiment...

“V-V-Vinegar...” Rudy managed to choke out, his blood’s temperature dropping down several degrees.

Mr. Cosmo smiled at this. “I knew you would finally get it.” He looked over at the cylinder filled with vinegar. “I’m aware of zoners’ weaknesses, too, Rudy. I have tested vinegar on another zoner in the past. I’m sure you’ve tried to put chalk in vinegar before, am I right?”

Rudy swallowed hard, unable to reply.

“I’m sure you did. It’s a simple experiment, really.” The man walked around the cylinder a little, keeping Snap held up partially over it. Snap had his feet pulled towards himself, his fearful eyes watching the liquid. “But I’m sure you’ve never tried it on a zoner before. It’s really quite the show.”

Rudy shook his head to snap out of his trance. “If you dare to...”

Mr. Cosmo motioned his hand to the side. “I can stop if you tell me a certain phrase... Otherwise...” Mr. Cosmo began to lower Snap towards the vinegar.

Snap struggled and squirmed in fright. “S-S-Stop this, please! I-I-I don’t want to be hurt a-a-again!”

Rudy felt his heart breaking in two when he saw how Snap was reacting. He was trying to crawl up the man’s arm and a few times, he even attempted to kick at the man. But none of that was good enough to stop the man from lowering him towards the vinegar batch below him. Rudy struggled to breathe as he lurched forward, stopping himself just in time before he ended up shocking himself on the electrified water bars.

“Please don’t do this! Don’t hurt him! Please!” Rudy called out, tears starting to form in his eyes.

Mr. Cosmo ignored him, aside from a glaring smile. He continued to lower Snap closer and closer to the vinegar below him. Snap continued to squirm around some more, thrashing more and more violently.

Rudy reached out once more. “You can’t do this...! He didn’t do anything to deserve this! Please.... Th-This isn’t fair!” He could feel a few tears strolling down his face. “Y-You can’t...!”

“I’m not hearing an answer...” Mr. Cosmo spoke in an almost sing-along type of voice.

Rudy’s body shuddered at this. “I-I-I’m begging you... Let him go..”

“Wrong answer.” Mr. Cosmo chimed.

And then it happened.

Snap’s feet touched the vinegar. The result was instantaneous.

“Aaaaahhhh!” Snap screamed. “It hurts! It burns! Stop it, please! Aaahh!”

“Snap!” Rudy shouted in horror as he watched the horrific scene before him.

He couldn’t see Snap’s feet in the vat. Not from where he was standing. But he could see the thick steam of blue coming out and he knew that it was coming from Snap’s feet. Snap’s face was red in agony, tears flowering down his face. He continued to give bloodcurdling screams. Yet Mr. Cosmo still kept him in there, a dark look spreading along his face.

The sight was so horrible that Rudy felt himself averting his gaze for just a moment. Then he forced himself to look back, his mouth dropping open as he struggled tos peak. He was locked in horror, frozen in terror, and his mind was too stiff to try to do anything. His retinas would forever be burned with this image.

Eventually, Rudy managed to shout, “S-S-Stop that! Stop it right now!”

Mr. Cosmo stared over at Rudy. He remained still for a few moments, looking as though he was waiting for something. But when Rudy said no more, instead just glaring at him hatefully, fear still creating an aura around him, Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh. After keeping Snap’s feet in the vinegar for about thirty seconds, he slowly rose him up out of it.

Rudy nearly gasped in horror at what he saw, his hants planting againts his mouth. Snap’s feet looked downright horrible. The vinegar bled through his shoes rapidly and had already eaten away at his feet. He could see the horrific burn covering the entirety of his feet’s soles and he could see the blood that was rapidly dripping from the foot. Rudy stared at this long and hard before large, hot tears dripped down from his eyes.

“Hrmph... Even when you have something at stake, you still chose the wrong answer.” Mr. Cosmo shook his head slowly. “I guess you really don’t care about your friend. I had him in there for quite some time, and you still didn’t save him by doing the right thing.” Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy with slightly narrowed eyes. “And you call me a monster. You’re lucky that I took him out when I did.”

Rudy felt a lightning bolt strike in the back of his mind. He recalled that Draow in his dreams had said something similiar.

“You see? You won’t even try to save your little pal here! I guess you really don’t care!”

Rudy could hear that statement echoing in his head over and over again. He shook his head rapidly before looking over at Snap, his eyes wide in horror and fear. “S-Snap... I... I didn’t mean to...! I...”

Snap didn’t answer him. He was too busy whimpering and crying and shaking to do anything. Mr. Cosmo held him up for a few seconds longer before letting the zoner drop. Snap yelped in pain and immediately curled up into a sobbing ball, his body wracked with pain.

“Snap!” Rudy called out as he reached for his friend.

Mr. Cosmo moved out of the cage swiftly, locking it up so that Rudy couldn’t try to get in. The red-haired man then started to make his way towards Rudy slowly. His eyes were darkened slightly with disappointment. Rudy’s body tensed up as he recalled the events that had just occurred. He fought back the rage and hatred that was forming in his stomach, ready to spill out of his mouth.

Mr. Cosmo stopped in front of him, his arms folded behind his back, acting as though this was some sort of normal business meeting. “I am...really disappointed in you, Rudy. Your friend could have gotten hurt worse than that. I thought that you loved him. Wasn’t he supposed to be a ‘dear friend’ of yours?”

Rudy gritted his teeth so hard that he thought they were going to break. “Y-You were the one who was hurting him!”

“But you could have stopped it.” Mr. Cosmo said, raising his hand and cutting him off. “You could have said that you will join me, and I would have let him go. Really now, Rudy...” He leaned in forward slightly, cocking his head to one side. “You can’t act like you’re guilt-free.”

Rudy wanted to say something, but he didn’t trust himself not to do anything crazy. After what Mr. Cosmo did, he might very well end up killing this man for it. He could feel his fingers tensing up as he imagined himself physically tearing the man’s throat out.

Mr. Cosmo turned himself around and motioned his hand once. Almost instantly, Rudy could feel someone grabbing him from behind. He grunted and struggled, but just like before, Lars’s grip was too tight and he could not escape, no matter how hard that he tried. “Take him back. He’s failed enough people for now.”

Rudy tried to launch himself at Mr. Cosmo. “I’ll get you for this! I swear it!” He glared at at Mr. Cosmo as Lars pulled him back towards the exit. His blazing eyes focused on the horrible man before him. “If you hurt Snap again, I’m going to....!” Then he was out and the door was shut.


	22. The Ultimatum

As soon as she could see Mr. Cosmo coming out of the room, Ms. Saffron didn’t hesitate to rush over in his direction.

“Mr. Cosmo!” She called out when she got close enough. “What the fuck is going on?!”

Mr. Cosmo froze for a moment before relaxing. He looked over at her, a smile spreading along his face. “Why, Ms. Saffron... It’s so good to...” He reached his hand over towards her, but Ms. Saffron immediately slapped it. Mr. Cosmo hissed softly and rubbed the top of his hand. “My, my.... Copping an attitude today, are we...?”

“Enough of that.” Growled Ms. Saffron. She lifted a hand and pointed a finger at the man. “What was going on in there?”

Mr. Cosmo blinked a few times. He tilted his head to one side slightly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ms. Saffron took a step forward. “Don’t play games with me!” She kept her finger pointed accusingly at the man. “I know that you were doing something in there! What in the world were you up to?”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. “I really have no idea.... Except that I was speaking with Rudy, that’s all.” He relaxed his arms at his sides, holding his hand up in gesture. “Really now, Ms. Saffron. You know that this is a lot of hard work. Why should you be so concerned about....”

“...because I didn’t know that you had intended on hurting the boy! Isn’t that counterproductive?” Ms. Saffron stopped ony when Mr. Cosmo let out a laugh. It startled her, forcing her to freeze up. But she refused to take her eyes off the man.

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up and placed it against his forehead. “Is that what you thought I did? Oh goodness, no! You can check him out if you want to. I did not hurt Rudy.”

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slowly. “Then where was that screaming coming from...?”

“Really, Ms. Saffron, there’s no cause for...”

Ms. Saffron had enough. It would seem that this man was not going to answer her question. She knew what she had heard. She knew how serious that it sounded. And she was not going to stand idly by and pretend it didn’t happen. She was going to find out what it was, regardless of what the man said or not.

Without hesitation, she rushed towards the door. She grabbed Mr. Cosmo’s shoulder and shoved him to the side. She could hear him shouting at her, telling her to stop. She ignored him as she opened up the door and headed on inside. She looked around the large, open room, sweeping the area with her eyes. If Rudy wasn’t the one screaming, then it had to have been someone else. And she bet that someone was still in here somewhere.

Indeed, they were. She halted her walking immediately when she saw a certain blue and white form on the ground.

Ms. Saffron watched with widened eyes as Snap was on the ground, curled up into a tight ball. She could see how he trembled and whimpered softly. He looked like he was still in pain from before, but this looked even worse. It was as though something else happened to them that...

That’s when she saw the bloodstained feet. Everything clicked into place and she immediately grabbed her mouth, stepping back and gasping in horror.

From behind her, Mr. Cosmo approached her slowly. “Now now, Ms. Saffron. There’s no reason to...”

Ms. Saffron whirled around to glare at Mr. Cosmo. “I thought you said they couldn’t get hurt that badly!”

Mr. Cosmo shrugged his shoulder. “They can’t.”

Ms. Saffron bared her teeth, her eyes narrowing further. “You fucking liar! I can see him in that cage over there!” She pointed her finger at where Snap was. “Look at him! Do you honestly expect me to believe that he’s faking it?!”

Ms. Saffron already had thoughts earlier about zoners having the capability of being hurt far more than Mr. Cosmo said. But back then, she just figured that Mr. Cosmo didn’t have much of an understanding, and that information was being withheld from him. She hadn’t heard any screaming from when Mr. Cosmo put the nail in and she thought this was because it didn’t hurt quite as badly initially, and that it was possible that, despite the pain, Snap was not hurt nearly as much as it would appear.

But this time around was different. Mr. Cosmo had been in this room. He could not doubt that. Mr. Cosmo had Snap in here wih him. Ms. Saffron had heard the bloodcurdling screams coming from here and the pleas to make things stop. She could see the horrible damage to his feet, perfectly matching the severity that she had been expecting.

Ms. Saffron stared at Snap for several long moments. Then, her body trembling in emotion, she looked back at Mr. Cosmo. “Th-This isn’t what I signed up for.”

Mr. Cosmo remained silent for a few moments. Then he let out a small sigh and moved in closer. “Look...I know that this is...different than what you were expecting. But in the end, he’s still a drawing. Another species. There’s no need to worry about him.”

Ms. Saffron didn’t say a word.

Mr. Cosmo continued, “He’s a zoner, Ms. Saffron. Unpredictable. A wild animal. No, worse than that. Animals make sense. Zoners... You can just never tell with them. It’s better to play it safe than sorry.” Mr. Cosmo glanced down at Snap for a few seconds. His expression slightly softened up. “Perhaps I did go a little too far.”

Ms. Saffron just kept glaring at the man. She couldn’t bring herself to say anything. At the moment, her mind was just throbbing and aching in thoughts.

“Ms. Saffron, you should get it how dangerous these things can be. And just how resilient they are. You can easily redraw a zoner. But you can’t do the same with a human life.”

....that was true, Ms. Saffron had to admit.

“I’m only doing this to make sure that we and this world stays safe. I can’t risk a zoner getting loose or having too little fear of humans, causing them attack someone.” Mr. Cosmo’s voice was low and soft, almost gentle. “I’m just being cautious, that’s all.” He paused for a moment before he added, “You...understand, right?”

Ms. Saffron glared softly at him, but soon she just couldn’t glare anymore. She released a sigh towards the ground as she closed her eyes. She lowered her head slightly. “...I understand...”

Mr. Cosmo sounded almost relieved at this. “I’m glad. Now that this is out of the way...”

Ms. Saffron gave him a sideways glance. “What...?” She muttered.

Mr. Cosmo motioned to where Snap was. “I need you to take him to get his feet treated. I admit, I.... did get a little carried away there. I thought that...” He stopped himself before holding his head and shaking it slowly. “Rudy can be so stubborn sometimes...” He looked back at Ms. Saffron and said, “Just get him treated before he... ends up worse. I don’t want to have to discard him.”

Ms. Saffron stared at him with eyes both narrowed and widened. She wasn’t completely sure just how she should take that statement. Her mind filled with confusing, conflicting thoughts about Mr. Cosmo and what his intentions really were. She wanted to stay here and question him some more.

But in the end, she realized that was a fruitless effort. Besides, Snap did need help. Despite being a drawing, she just... couldn’t leave him laying there like that. She bit her lip as she watched him still writhing in pain and crying softly. Without further hesitation, she approached him.

sss

Pain.... So much pain..

But... must keep.... going...

Don’t stop... Not even for...

Penny nearly fell forward for what was probably the sixteenth time. Or maybe the seventeeth? She wasn’t sure. She lost count a while ago. What she was certain of is that her weakness and dizziness was growling stronger. The blood still dripped from her wounds. The pain grew immensely, spreading throughout her body. Everything ached and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up.

Despite that, Penny never gave up. She continued to push her battered body forward, wobbling from side to side, unwilling to let herself collapse. She could feel her body swaying constantly, her feet nearly tripping several times. But she still somehow, miraculously, managed to keep herself balanced enough to keep moving.

She tried to look at the light ahead of her. It had grown larger now, and more bright. Or had it? She squinted a little, noticing how things seemed to be a little blurry. She shook her head once to try to knock out the confusing, fuzzy visions. But that didn’t seem to be enough. If anything, it was just making it worse. She had to wonder if she was even seeing the light at the end of the tunnel at all, or if this was just some kind of a sick joke.

Penny let out a small, grunting sigh as she felt herself fall down, her knee banging on the hard, unforgiving floor. She struggled to stop this by clawing at the walls around her. But that only slowed her down just a tad. She kept her hand on the wall for some balance as she panted a few times, her mind spinning from the fall and the extra bit of pain that came with that. Penny drew in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and exhaled before pushing herself up from the ground and forcing herself to walk forward once more.

Slowly, Penny continued to make her way towards the exit. She struggled and she grunted, and she hissed and she growled. She just needed to keep going. She just needed to go a little further. And then surely she would finally be out of this place. She just needed to force herself to keep going and not stop for anything.

Suddenly, she could feel her foot snagging on some wobbly, grooved metal...something. She could hear it echoing and clanging as she tripped forward. She hit the ground for another time, but something was different here.

She was suddenly aware of something bright shining above her.

The sun.

Penny opened up her eyes, but had to flinch and shut them for a few moments. She seethed and panted, struggling to control herself. She shuddered for a few moments before she slowly forced her eyes open. The light that came in was still bright and it seemed like it was trying to bury through her eyes. She shut her eyes repeatedly, yet still opened them up, struggling to get them to be used to the light. Though the process was slow and painful, she finally managed to get her eyes to stay open and she slowly looked around.

She was outside of the building. She was laying on the concrete floor that was the sidewalk. She was close to what were obviously dumpsters. The horrible smell didn’t get to her, however. If anything, it was a beautiful thing. She could feel herself smiling and she started to chuckle lightly.

She had made it. She was out of that place. She was free.

Then she narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t celebrate for too long, however. She was not the only one in that building. She needed to find some way to save Rudy, as well as whoever else might be trapped in there. If Draow was there, then that meant Snap must be there too, as well as the other missing zoners.

Penny felt her hand curl up into a small fist. She had no idea what they planned to do with her friends, but she wasn’t going to give them much of an option. She was going to make sure that they paid for what they had done. She wouldn’t let them get away with this. Not if she had anything to say about it.

Penny hissed softly before she forced herself to restart walking forward. It was no easier walking out here than it was inside that large ventilation shaft. She wondered what it had been for, anyway. It seemed a bit too large for the normal stuff. So what could they have....

Penny’s eyes widened as she turned her attention to one of the dumpsters. Suddenly that smell from before took on a new meaning. It no longer seemed like it was just the typical garbage smell. There was something....different about it. She suddenly gasped and she put her hands to her mouth.

Could Mr. Cosmo be....

She wanted to think that it was a misunderstanding, but knowing Mr. Cosmo’s history... She shook her head and struggled not to throw up. She tried her best not to think about it. She needed to get herself moving, anyway. The more she stood here and talked to herself like this, the more time Rudy was stuck with that horrid man. She turned her attention down towards the nearby street. She looked back at the building for a moment. If she wanted a chance to get moving before Spy Fly showed up, now was the time.

But where was she going to go? Who was she going to find that could help them? She didn’t want to risk more zoners. She feared what Mr. Cosmo might do to them. But she couldn’t do this alone. Not while she was hurt like this. There had to be something that she could...

Penny brushed the thoughts aside and just started to move forward. Regardless of what she did, the first thing she needed to do was get herself patched up. She could help no one like this.

sss

No matter how hard that he tried, he couldn’t get himself to stop shaking. Every core part of him was rippling with emotion and there wasn’t a thing that he could do about it. He breathed in and out quickly as he tried to at least lessen the pain a little. But right now, there seemed to be only one thing that he could do to lessen the anger and agony:

Getting back at Mr. Cosmo somehow...

Rudy flinched as he could feel an onslaught of dark thoughts coming over him. He didn’t want to think this way. He didn’t want to sink that low. He could just see Mr. Cosmo’s dark, hideous smile taunting him. He could just hear that man’s disgusting voice telling him just how much he was just like him.

Rudy shut his eyes and covered his head in his hands. He seethed through clenched teeth and struggled to control his thoughts. He tried to push that aside the best that he could, his heart pounding in his chest even louder now. And with each beat, it felt like he was getting set on fire. He could feel himself being pulled into a torrent of emotion.

Then he could feel tears coming down from his eyes. Despite his best efforts, he just....couldn’t contain his emotions. He couldn’t stop himself from spilling out the tears to the ground, and the frustration that he felt made it even worse. He could feel his fingers trembling as the back of his mind tried to find something to punch, something to release his anger against.

Then he could hear something. He looked over, his eyes blazing as he could see the one man that had made his and others’ lives miserable.

Why did Mr. Cosmo come back in here? Did he want to get attacked? He must be confident that he wouldn’t attack. Otherwise, why would he dare come in here, into the room of the person whose friend he had hurt? Alone at that?

Rudy took a defensive, partially offensive position. His back was arched a little and he had his teeth bared. He didn’t care if Mr. Cosmo could see his tears or not. That didn’t matter right now. All that did was that the man understood that coming here was a huge mistake. He was all but ready to charge. He was just waiting for the man to say something to trigger such a response.

“Oh don’t look at me that way.” Mr. Cosmo hissed. “It’s your fault that things had to turn out this way.”

Rudy bristled at this statement.

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes a little further. “You should be ashamed of yourself, Rudy. Because of your selfish act, your friend had to get some emergency treatment from Ms. Saffron. You’re so damn lucky that she was able to give him something to keep his injuries from getting worse.”

Rudy turned his head to the side. He stared at the man with one eye. “It’s not like you care....”

“...true... I don’t exactly love that little chalk thing...” Mr. Cosmo ignored Rudy’s deep growl. He just raised his head up and looked at Rudy like he was some kind of stupid little kid. “But regardless, I know you care for him... Or at least, I thought you did. I thought that, if you did love him, you would have helped him by joining me.” He motioned his hand to himself. “What happened to him today wasn’t my doing.” He slowly pointed at Rudy. “It was your doing.”

Rudy could feel a mixture of emotions at this statement. His body trembled and he could feel so many emotions rising up, fighting for control. He could feel every ounce of him just wanting to charge at the man and tear him apart. He wanted to make him pay for even thinking of hinting that this was somehow his fault.

And yet...

He could feel a sharp sting in his stomach. It was hard to detect given all that was going on, especially the dominating emotions of rage that were clouding his mind. But somewhere in the back, horror was settling in.

What if the man was right? What if he did play a part in all of this? Mr. Cosmo did say that he would have stopped if he had just listened to him. Had Rudy’s stubborness really prolonged Snap’s suffering? Did he make things worse by not caving in? Would that have been the right thing to do?

Rudy shook his head mentally. No, of course not. This man was just trying to confuse him. He couldn’t allow himself to be tricked by someone like this. Regardless of what he said, Rudy knew that Mr. Cosmo was the only one truly at fault here. He just needed to keep reminding himself of this fact.

“You didn’t need to hurt my friend. You could have let him go.” Rudy growled softly. “You could see how much suffering he was going through.”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head slowly, rigidly. “Yes, I could have. But I was waiting for you.” He motioned his hand towards Rudy. “If you had said ‘yes’, I would have stopped. I never wanted to hurt that creature. An injured zoner is of no use. I was forced to discard one earlier.” Rudy felt his eyes widen in horror at this blatant confession. “It was an unfortunate accident. At least your friend didn’t suffer that fate.”

Rudy could feel a cold chill racing through his body as Mr. Cosmo’s words sunk in. He had...killed one of the zoners.... Who... Who was gone now? Which one? Was it Rapsheeba? Lars? Buttered Toast Man? Blocky? Rudy felt his world start to spin a little and he clutched the sides of his head digging in his fingernails.

“H-How could you...” Rudy managed to say. “How could you have just...let that happen...?”

Mr. Cosmo shrugged. “I told you, Rudy, it was just an accident. A simple miscalculation.” He lowered his head slightly, leaning in towards Rudy. “But if Snap had died, it would have been your fault.”

Rudy whirled his head towards him. “Don’t try to play mind games with me, you asshole!”

Mr. Cosmo raised his hands up quickly, palms facing Rudy. “Such a temper... I’m just merely telling you the truth.” Mr. Cosmo smiled for the first time since he entered here. But Rudy could tell that it was still tinged with anger, showing just how upset this man was with the teenager. “Things would run much more smoothly if you just accept your mistake and...”

“Fuck off!” Rudy shouted. He felt his body shaking harder. He was on the brink of attack now.

Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy in silence. At first, it almost looked as though the man was going to give up trying to convince him. Rudy would have been glad for the man to go away for a while. He had no interest whatsoever in continuing any conversations with him.

But of course, things don’t turn out the way that he would have liked.

“You’re being ridiculous.” Mr. Cosmo’s response was short and blunt. Rudy growled softly, struggling not to say anything right back. “I don’t know why you have to act this way. I’m not trying to...”

“You’re attempting to turn me into someone that I’m not... I already told you. I will never work for you!” Rudy moved himself closer to Mr. Cosmo. He was surprised that he was holding out so well. He was certain that, at any moment, he was going to charge him and try to tear into him. But instead, he remained where he stood, albeit trembling. “I will never help you enslave ChalkZone.”

“I’m not ‘enslaving’ it, Rudy. I’m just trying to make it better. A world safe for humans.” Mr. Cosmo lowered his head slightly. His glinting eyes looked upwards at Rudy. “And to keep our own world safe. Isn’t that something worth fighting for? I thought you would have cared about something like that.”

“Not if it involves hurting zoners!” Rudy snapped at him. “You’re talking about trying to control an entire species! Th-That’s just sick and wrong! They’re sentient people, you asshole! How could you do something like that?!”

Mr. Cosmo’s smile spread a little bit, cocked to one side. “I can see where you’re coming from. You are thinking from the wrong angle, Rudy. Try shifting your mind a little more. Perhaps you will see where I’m getting at.”

Rudy didn’t reply to this. He was too filled up with emotion to even think of doing that. He was too focused on the fact that this man really did think that he could make him join him that easily. Despite what he had told him, he was still trying. Not that he was surprised. But it was getting tiresome and he was exhausting himself at this point. He wasn’t sure how much more of this that he could take before he would just...snap.

But despite all of that, he did keep himself from going after Mr. Cosmo. He was able to prevent himself from outright attacking the man. He did feel some sense of pride at this. He was proving that he wasn’t like him, that he wasn’t going to stoop to his level. So long as he managed to keep this up...

Of course, the man wasn’t yet ready to leave. Even with all of his resistance, even with him telling the man to ‘fuck off’, that wasn’t enough to make him leave. Mr. Cosmo had apparently come here with a mission and he wasn’t going to leave until he had it fulfilled. Rudy had no choice but to endure whatever it is that this man wanted him to do. So he forced himself to exhale slowly and he waited to hear what else this man wanted to say to him.

Mr. Cosmo raised his head up, his hands folded behind his back. “I was hoping that you would think about your decision, Rudy. I had told you that you ought to choose wisely. But it seems that even with fair warning, you still fail to deliver. You are pushing me to the edge, boy, and you don’t want to know what I’m capable of when you....”

Rudy growled, “I could say the same thing....”

“Oh my my... Such a temper...” Mr. Cosmo said, his voice gaining a brief taunting edge. He even waggled his finger a little just to put the icing on the cake. “I don’t get why you are so resistant in joining me... In trying to use the black chalk.... It’s really not as bad as you might think it is.”

“If the black chalk is responsible for how you think now...” Rudy moved back a little. “I want no part of it.”

“Oh really now? That’s such a shame.” Mr. Cosmo stared intently at Rudy. Something black seemed to flicker in his eyes, although Rudy couldn’t tell if he had actually seen it or not. “Rejecting the black chalk’s gift... Feh, I should have known that you would have been this selfish.”

“What makes you think that I would want to turn against my friends?” Rudy asked in a chilled voice. “What in the world would make you believe that I would ever turn my back on those that I fight for? I’m their protector. I will never stand aside and let you hurt them, like how you’re hurting my friends. How you k-killed....”

“I told you, it was just an accident. It won’t happen again. And Rudy... if you really do care about Snap like you claim, then you’re better off joining me. With me, you can guarantee your friend’s safety.” Mr. Cosmo walked closer towards Rudy, looking as though he was taking his time. Rudy tried to move back but he felt as though he was frozen stiff. “ChalkZone will not stay hidden forever, Rudy. Which would you rather have happen? Someone finding out about that place, freaking out, and killing your friend? Or join me and have the confidence that your friend will be safe.”

Rudy wasn’t sure how to answer that. He just kept his eyes narrowed at Mr. Cosmo, feeling his body shaking. He forced himself to take a step back after several moments of silence. He released a small hiss, showing Mr. Cosmo that he was still not going to join him.

Rudy did not believe this man for a second. He knew that he just wanted to find a way to control ChalkZone, to toy with it however he pleased. He knew that this man didn’t really care what happened to the zoners. He was just trying to figure out how he could trick him into joining him. There wasn’t a single thing that this man could possibly say that would make him even remotely consider joining him. Of course he knew that Mr. Cosmo was going to keep trying and he had to brace himself.

But he had to wonder how much longer he could keep up this tough exterior. He could feel a part of him weakening a little bit. Not because he believed the man’s words, but out of fear for his friends. Mr. Cosmo sounded so desperate to make him join that he might put his friends’ lives on the line. He had almost done that with Snap. What would stop him from going all the way...?

But still, he did have to at least try to keep this up. The longer he prevented Mr. Cosmo from going forward with his plans, the better. At least the zoners not captured would be safe. At least, so long as Draow didn’t manage to find them and...

“I do hope that you aren’t seriously going to let your friend die, Rudy.” Mr. Cosmo spoke in a warning tone of voice.

Rudy felt himself freeze at this statement. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing would come out. He felt his chest and stomach burning with ice and he felt his teeth clenching tightly. How dare that man try to...

Then his thoughts stopped when another voice echoed throughout the room.

“Comrade!”

Rudy looked over, his eyes blinking a few times. Was that...

Spy Fly? What was she doing here? How in the world did she get in here? What was she trying to do? Didn’t she realize that it was dangerous in here? She should be trying to fly away to safety, not sneak into the Real World to...

Wait, what was she doing? Rudy had expected her to come flying towards him when she sounded that alarm. But instead, she was going right for Mr. Cosmo. Was she nuts? Was she going to try to fight him? That didn’t seem like a very good plan and he couldn’t imagine Spy Fly being dumb enough to think that it was a good plan.

Spy Fly....didn’t attack Mr. Cosmo. While this was a relief to Rudy, that was completely sunken by what he saw her actually do.

Land on his finger and giving him a quick bow.

Everything clicked into place. Rudy did not need to hear anything else. His heart practically stopped beating as the horrible truth washed over him.

Spy Fly was the ‘friend’ that Mr. Cosmo had spoke about before.

As Mr. Cosmo and Spy Fly appeared to be talking about something, Rudy felt his mind go into lockdown, unable to comprehend what he was seeing. It felt as though walls were coming in all around him, starting to crush him. He struggled to control his breathing and his heart rate. He could feel bitter tears starting to form, thicker and hotter than before, and his hands formed into tight fists.

That... That little... How could she have done this to them? How could she be working for this...this monster? How long had this been a thing? Was any of it ever real? Was she ever actually their friend?

Rudy felt his stomach twisting up inside, yanking and making him feel as though he was going to throw up. After all of this time, Spy Fly was... He couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence.

He lifted his head up, staring at the man and that little fucking traitor. When he got his hands on her...

Mr. Cosmo and Spy Fly both stared at Rudy. The red-haired man’s expression was a little blank, but with a tinge of curiosity and....perhaps concern? Though about what, Rudy couldn’t tell. As for Spy Fly, she just looked at him, looking as though she was shifting uncomfortably. But overall, she held her ground and didn’t look like she was ashamed of what she had done. Mr. Cosmo nodded at her, letting her fly away, before he turned his attention to Rudy.

“It seems that we had a little trouble with your....other friend.” Mr. Cosmo said.

Rudy’s eyes widened slowly. “Penny? What was...?”

Mr. Cosmo lifted his head up. “That doesn’t matter right now. What is....is this.” He lowered his head and stared intently at Rudy. “Listen to what I say...”

Rudy felt himself tensing up as the man started to speak. It all began with one simple statement.

“If you do not help me.... Then I think there is a good chance that it isn’t just Snap who will suffer the consequences of your actions. In fact.... I imagine your dear friend Penny won’t see the light of day if you choose to resist me...”

Rudy felt his heart stop. “Wh-What...?”

Mr. Cosmo closed his eyes. “Your friend was injured by Draow. Quite badly, I say. Draow’s claws do extensive damage. I don’t think a regular hospital could help her in time.” He reopened his eyes. “But I can help her. If you agree to join me, then I will have Penny located and have her treated. But choose quickly, Rudy. She doesn’t have that much time left.”

Rudy felt as though his world had stopped.


	23. He Knows More

Mr. Cosmo barely looked at Rudy for much longer before he decided to leave. Rather than make him answer right then and there, he decided to give the child some time to think. Not that the other times worked that well, but Mr. Cosmo didn’t really want to deal with Rudy for much longer. He was getting a little frustrated with the boy, and he could feel himself growing desperate. He wanted to fight back against this desperation; he knew what could happen if he fell into that.

Getting out of that room, shutting the door in the teen’s face, did feel surprisingly good. Of course, he would have to deal with him again later, but maybe he will be a little more cooperative....hopefully, anyway. It was hard to say at this point. Having one friend in danger did not seem to budge him. But maybe two’s the charm?

Well whatever.... Mr. Cosmo had some time to figure things out with Rudy. He had no plans on letting him go anytime soon. He’s already gotten something worked out so that his folks don’t come back here. Not only will they not remember coming here today, but they will be led to believe that Rudy needed to stay somewhere a few days for testing. If they didn’t fall for that, he could just convince them that he was kidnapped. Which was more or less the truth, but they wouldn’t know that he himself was involved.

Perhaps it was best to wait until tomorrow... It was getting really late, after all. He could tell that Rudy, even if he fought against it, was already feeling the effects of being really tired. He was a bit slurred in his previous talking. A night’s rest may help things out. Then he could continue this tomorrow.

But there was the issue with Penny...

He brushed that aside. He wasn’t overly worried. He had sent Spy Fly to follow her and make sure that she didn’t try to cause any trouble. He also had informed her to make sure that Penny didn’t actually die or get further hurt. Penny might be treatable at a hospital. He had partially lied to Rudy about that in order to pressure him more. But he wasn’t actually lying on the severity. If worse came to worse, he had permitted Spy Fly to lure in a paramedic.

In the meantime, he decided to see how Snap was doing. He recalled just how brutal those burns were. He was fully aware that it would happen that way. He didn’t really tell Ms. Saffron and a few other workers just how badly zoners could actually be hurt. They were a little newer and in Ms. Saffron’s case, he knew that she would be upset if she found out.

And he was right on that. The moment she realized how much Snap was hurting, she was furious. Perhaps he should have been a little more honest with that.... but oh well, it was too late now. He could have avoided that whole mess if it weren’t for Rudy, anyway. If that little brat had just agreed to join him, he would have stopped before it got that bad.

Granted, he didn’t care if Snap actually died or not, but he did care about Rudy’s reaction. He realized that Rudy would not be very receptive to joining if Snap wound up dead, regardless of whose fault that it was. So he needed to make sure that Snap could recover from this, or else he may face problems with Rudy.

He made his way into the white room. It was the same place where he had the mind control nail put into Snap. It was amazing how a few small changes can alter the entire context of what was going on. Snap laid on the table but was not nailed down in anyway. No sharp tools were being used right now, and instead there were a lot more cloths and medical supplies. Chalk-based ones of course. Otherwise, Snap would melt like he was the Wicked Witch Of The West or something.

Mr. Cosmo stood beside the table, staring down at Snap. The zoner, for the time being, was unconscious, his head turned to the side. He was breathing a little slowly. He could see his small chest moving up and down slowly. He took note of the partially done bandaging job. They were looped around a little, but were obviously not yet done. He noticed that much of them were covered in red. And this redness spread to the table around him. Mr. Cosmo guessed that Ms. Saffron had a hard time stopping the bleeding.

Speaking of which, he could see Ms. Saffron returning with more medicine. She didn’t look up to stare at him or acknowledge him. She was more focused on treating the little blue and white zoner. Mr. Cosmo said nothing at first as he watched her apply more ointment before lifting Snap to continue bandaging him.

After she was about halfway done, Mr. Cosmo spoke up. “How is he doing?”

Ms. Saffron stopped in mid-wrap before she slowly continued. “...he’s doing fine for now...”

Mr. Cosmo took notice of his tone of voice. “You don’t sound happy with that.”

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “Of course not. Because this shouldn’t have happened.” She lifted her head to glare at Mr. Cosmo. “You were the one who burned his feet. Because of you, it took me several minutes to stop the bleeding.” She looked down and sighed before continuing. “He’s not going to be able to walk for a while.”

The red-haired man furrowed his eyes at this. He glanced back down at the zoner. If he lost Snap, then he lost his main bargaining chip. He could try taking him into ChalkZone to treat him better and faster, but that would run the risk of getting spotted. He couldn’t allow the zoners to figure out what was going on. Not yet, anyway.

The best thing to do right now was to just continue treating him and hoping that he will recover enough to live for a while, at the very least. He did sincerely hope that Snap managed to pull through long enough. It won’t be an issue once he got Rudy using the black chalk. Or at least, he hoped so. But in the meantime, he had to be careful with the zoners. He certainly couldn’t let another one die like before. But at least it was only one zoner.

A thought crossed his mind. He could probably take advantage of Snap’s situation to.... Yeah, it might be going overboard a little. But he needed to make sure that Snap was ‘ready’ for the next attempt. Snap was already terrified before, but that was clearly not enough. Mr. Cosmo would have to go further.

But he wouldn’t target his body again. Not after what happened. No, he had something different in mind.

He pushed those thoughts aside for now as he looked back at Ms. Saffron. “I think now would be a good time for some rest. I’ll be heading out.” Mr. Cosmo stated. He stared at Ms. Saffron carefully, looking at her up and down. “Make sure you lock up before you leave, and come in early.”

Ms. Saffron replied in a soft voice, “Sure, fine.”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes slightly at her. But he didn’t want to waste too much more time. He needed to alert the other workers here, as well as a few other people, before he headed off to bed. He needed to make sure the proper preparations were made, and he needed to make sure that Draow knew what to do for guard duty. He couldn’t let anyone try to escape.

He grumbled softly to himself as he started to walk out of the room. He had hoped that it wouldn’t have come to this. But Rudy was more stubborn that he thought that he would be, and now this was being extended a little bit more than he originally hoped. Perhaps he should have taken Snap’s word a little more seriously.

But oh well. He was not going to make that same mistake again.

sss

Rudy struggled to think of what he was going to do. He could feel his head hurting, about to burst open. The fact that he was given more time, ‘permitted’ to sleep as he was told, that did not relax him all that much. If anything, prolonging this made it much worse.

He couldn’t see what was going on. He couldn’t see that his friends were okay. He couldn’t be completely certain that Mr. Cosmo was not going to hurt any of the zoners further or try to conduct any further experiments. There was just absolutely no guarantee, and that caused him to shift uncomfortably. He licked his lips slowly as he turned his head towards the door, half expecting Mr. Cosmo to come in to say something.

Rudy looked towards the ground, inhaling deeply, then exhaling. He could feel his body shivering constantly in short bursts. He couldn’t stop it no matter what he tried. The emotion was just getting stronger. If only he could figure out something, he....

But what could he do? He had been given an ultimatum. A choice that he didn’t have much choice in, ironically. It was unwinnable. Rudy could not figure out a single way that this could work in his favor.

He thought that he could have done something. He thought about Mr. Cosmo’s words and what he had meant by them. He thought about the options he was given, and he had believed for a while that there was a way to shift things into his favor. Obviously saying ‘no’ to working for him, ‘no’ to the black chalk, these both would have been obvious choices. He did not want to become like Mr. Cosmo and he did not want to find out how the black chalk had transformed him, if it had played a role at all.

It should have been possible, hard but not impossible, for him to figure out something to help him get out of this mess. He needed a way to reject Mr. Cosmo’s offer, escape from here, and save his two friends. He would usually figure out something in the past. He had always been able to find at least some way of making sure things turned out good for him in the end.

But now that may not be possible. He couldn’t think of how this could work in his favor at all. In fact, as he realized with a bone-chilling effect spreading throughout his limbs and spine, Mr. Cosmo may very well ‘win’ no matter what he tried. The thought horrified him, but he couldn’t think of how it could possibly go either way. It was a scary realization that sent goosebumps rippling through his skin, threatening to tear it apart.

Rudy could say ‘yes’ and provide a bit of safety for a while, but just how long would that have lasted? If he were...changed somehow, then could he even guarantee his friends’ safety? What if he started to hurt them, too? Just like Mr. Cosmo? And what of ChalkZone? What in the world would he do to it? What would Mr. Cosmo have him do?

But there wasn’t much improvement the other way, either. Saying ‘no’ would just make Mr. Cosmo increasingly frustrated, increasingly desperate. He could tell how on edge the man was by looking at his eyes. Something was pushing him to do this. Just what that was, Rudy did not care. All that he cared about was how this desperation was going to cause the man to try more and more things, and in the end, he might even go as far as kill. Not like the man hadn’t done that before.

Rudy swallowed hard, feeling his throat going dry. It didn’t seem like he had any options that didn’t result in the man getting something out of it, nothing that would help Rudy gain some kind of a victory. It was a deadlocked road and he couldn’t see any way out of it. He didn’t want to believe that there was nothing that he could do. But things seemed to be shifting in that direction.

He could feel the spread of goosebumps as he recalled how Mr. Cosmo tried to blame him for what happened to Snap. A part of him was still angry, of course. But a part of him couldn’t help but wonder the legitimacy of his statement. Had the man been truthful? Had he misjudged?

Rudy wasn’t sure why he was letting himself get drawn into this again. He reminded himself over and over again that Mr. Cosmo was just trying to fool him. So why was he getting himself draggd into this? Why was he feeling guilt when he knew that there should be none pointed at him? Mr. Cosmo was the one who was doing all of this. Why should he feel bad about himself when someone else pulled the strings?

....perhaps it was that nightmare. He could never forget that gosh darn nightmare and what had happened in it. He could not forget how he had seen Draow taunt him, how he had gotten Snap to believe that he didn’t care, how he had killed Snap while the little zoner truly believed that Rudy hated him...

While it did seem ridiculous, while he knew that Snap would never have blamed him for what happened, he just... Rudy gritted his teeth tightly. That stupid man.... Even when he was here, his grip on him was strong.

Rudy growled softly and forced himself to exhale. There wasn’t much that he could do right now, and he wasn’t going to get anything out of just standing here, staring at nothingness. The only way that he could even begin to help his friends is by getting a good night’s rest.

But he couldn’t just sleep so easily. His mind continued to wander and he couldn’t help but wonder just what his parents were up to. Had they even noticed that he was gone? Did they have the capability of doing that? He hated to think like this, but the fact of the matter was, Mr. Cosmo did do something to their drinks to knock them out. Who knows what that stuff did to them....?

He tried to push that thought to the back of his mind for the time being. He would try what to do whatever he could tomorrow, after he got some rest. Maybe his dreams will be more forgiving to him this time and he could figure out something. For the time being, he needed to rest. His head was feeling heavy and he wasn’t going to solve anything trying to brainstorm while he was getting sleepy.

Rudy, reluctantly, climbed onto the bed and curled up a little. He looked over at the door one more time before eyeing the sealing. Then, with a small exhale, he closed his eyes and he went to sleep. Tomorrow was another day.

sss

How long had she been walking like this? How far down the street did she get? How much longer was she going to be able to do this before she just...

Penny felt her legs weakening and wobbling. She felt as though at any moment, she was going to fall down. She felt herself swaying and nearly falling forward. She struggled the best that she could to keep herself standing up, but she was not sure how much longer she could take it before she just...

Penny shook her head. That was a big mistake. It caused everything around her to spin. She could see how everything was becoming a literal swirl and she eventually lost her balance. It felt like she was taking a great big plunge all of a sudden. As gravity pulled her against itself, she grabbed onto the wall. She pressed her fingers against the grooves of the blocks that were stacked together. If it weren’t for this lucky move, she’d probably be face planted on the ground right about now.

She forced herself back up to her feet. It was dark out now. She had to keep moving. She needed to find someone.... anyone... that could help her. She just needed to keep moving. Surely someone would be able to do something. Perhaps she should have went another way. Maybe there would have been people there. Maybe there would have been someone who could have helped her.

Or which way did she go? She could no longer remember. Did she go onto a small patch of forested area or something, or through alleyways, and she just forgot? She shook her head a few times, trying to fight off the dizziness and the onslaught of tiredness that was overcoming her. Her vision became increasingly blurred and right now, everything looked dark with some specks of light grey. Just where the hell was she now?

Penny fought against both her shaky mind and her pain to keep on going. The gashes on her body throbbed even harder and she wasn’t sure just how much blood she had lost at this point. She had a feeling that a trail of it was leading up right to her, just like before. But she couldn’t focus on that now when she had friends that needed saving. She just needed to hold on a little while longer.

But eventually, she just could not keep up any longer. She could feel herself collapsing forward, her body landing in a heap. Her pain began to fizzle lightly before it began to fade. This was accompanied by an increasingly diminished sense of reality, numbness replacing pain. She welcomed it.

She didn’t notice the set of small, tiny eyes watching her, nor did she see a small form rushing off in one direction.

sss

Oh this stupid little girl... Didn’t she realize what she was.... Ugh, and of course, she was sent to do the babysitting. She had more important things to do. She didn’t have time for something like this.

But here she was. She had her orders. She had no choice but to follow them. Releasing a sigh, she started to look around, trying to figure out what she could do for the human.

It did feel good to finally be able to act more....she guessed normally around the humans. Spy Fly shuddered as she recalled how she had to act before. A little too chummy for her liking... She would have loved to act like how she normally would around them before. But she had to keep up with the disguise. She had to keep making them believe she was one way. At least she felt as though she did a good job on that.

Spy Fly didn’t waste too much time watching Penny. The girl was obviously not going to get up. Draow’s injuries had caused her too much blood loss. She felt herself fuming on the inside. Just what the heck was Draow thinking?

....then again, wasn’t this ordered by Mr. Cosmo?

Indeed, it was. Her report wasn’t that Penny was hurt, but that she got away. Mr. Cosmo had hoped that she would have been killed. Then he would have found a way to frame a zoner for what happened, in order to make Rudy shift more into his perspective. But that plan fell apart...at least for a little while. Now Mr. Cosmo is hoping to push things more towards his favor by attempting to use Penny as another bargaining chip. With two friends on the line, maybe that will make Rudy crack.

But bargaining chips were only good when alive. If Penny wound up dying here, then Mr. Cosmo couldn’t use her for that anymore. And Rudy would might not as easily fall for the ‘a zoner friend did it’ when Mr. Cosmo said it was Draow. She shook her head. Mr. Cosmo should have picked a better way of going about this.

Spy Fly turned her head to one side. She frowned a little when she saw someone approaching. She released a few low buzzes of annoyance when she saw who it was. Of course it had to be him... She would have loved to just turn and fly away right now and find someone else. She would rather not deal with that asshole.

...but if Penny were to live....

Spy Fly grumbled. There wasn’t much of a choice. Well, it’s not like she had to interact with him. She just needed to make sure that she followed him to where Penny was. She swallowed once before she forced herself to head towards the man. She just wanted to get this over with.

sss

Penny groaned softly as she blinked a few times. She opened and shut her eyes, trying to keep them open. Everything around her was blurry and swirly and she couldn’t find her sense of balance. She put her hand to her chest and she seethed softly. She slowly pushed herself up, feeling her body wobbling a little.

But then she fell back down. She could feel herself hitting against something solid. She let out a small yelp at this and then just laid there. She took in a few slow breaths before she forced her eyes open and she took a look around once more. Still nothing but blurriness, but things seemed to be a little sharper now. She once more tried to sit up...only to feel something pressing against her.

“No, don’t move. You’re in bad shape.”

Penny let out a confused groan at this. Who was that speaking to her? She thought she recognized the voice, but it was too distorted for her to tell for sure who it could be. She looked up at the person talking. She could see some kind of dark shadow, but she could make out no more details. She lowered her head and she gritted her teeth before she pressed her forehead against something firm and soft.

Just what had happened to her? She felt like she had been dropped into a big barrel of bricks and shook around in it. Every part of her was aching. But most of the stinging and sharpness of the pain was located on her shoulder and chest. It was like someone was taking a sharp knife and constantly slicing into that area. The sensation was enough to make her nearly throw up.

It took what felt like several moments before Penny could keep her eyes open. She was suddenly aware of being on her back, despite feeling different a few moments ago. She was looking up towards the ceiling, which seemed white or beige in color with little details. She could feel her hand dangling on the side of something, which she guessed might be a couch or bed. No, definitely a couch; she could feel her other arm pressing up against something tell, poofy, and soft. The cushions of a couch.

Penny tried once more to look at whoever this person was. She started to realize at least a few features. They appeared to be male at least, or was she just thinking that? They were tall though, and a little scrawny in some places. It appeared as though they were balding and that they had lost a lot of hair so far. She wet her lips and tried once more to push herself up.

The person, however, would not allow it. She was once more pushed back against the couch. She flinched from the pain of the man’s touch before looking up at him once more. She squinted her eyes more, trying to sharpen her image. She stayed like that for several moments, trying so hard to see anything that stood out about this man. But the only thing that she could see was a large nose and....

Wait... a large pointed nose...?

Penny felt a wave of realization striking her. She stared at the man more intently, smacking her dry lips. She spent several moments just staring at the man, her vision slowly piecing together the parts until she was certain it really was whom she thought.

She managed to choke out, “M-M-Mr. Wilter...” She let out a small cough, her voice weak and barely audible. “What’s going on here? Why am I l-l-laying here like I...”

“Shhh.... Don’t move too much.” Mr. Wilter said. After he leaned in closer, Penny could tell it really was him. “You were hurt pretty badly. Try to keep still. I don’t want you getting yourself hurt more.”

Penny’s mind flickered a little. She started to remember what happened, and her eyes widened slowly. She was being chased down the hallway. Something big was... A big wolf? No, Draow... That name immediately rung inside of her head. She struggled to remember more, but the rest of the details were too fuzzy and too far out there for her to fetch. She grabbed her head and rubbed it slowly. Despite not recalling anything else besides those few details, it was more than enough for her to piece together an idea of what happened. It was enough for her to realize how she must have been hurt.

But how did Mr. Wilter find her? He seemed to have come out of nowhere. Had she traveled that far? Or was he just lucky? This and other questions consumed her head and she found herself wracked for answers. Though that might need to wait a little while. Her whole head still spun and the more she thought about this, the more she felt uneven with herself. She forced out a soft sigh as she tried to relax against the couch underneath her.

That was when she noticed something soft and firm against her shoulder and chest. She managed to turn her head downward but only for a brief moment. She was suddenly struck with a wave of dizziness and she had to look back up. But at least she was able to see that she was bandaged up.

“I did the best that I could.” She could hear Mr. Wilter say softly. He sounded regretful, as though he thought that he should have done a better job. “Penny, I’m so sorry that this has happened to you. I...I don’t know how this had...” His voice trailed off. Penny coud just imagine the look of guilt upon his face, even though this wasn’t really his fault. How could he have known? “Who attacked you?”

Penny held her tongue. She tried to think of how she should respond to this. Should she be honest and tell him flat out all that’s happened? Should she tell him about some big fuzzy dog with wings that came barreling towards her? Even though she was certain that’s what happened, Mr. Wilter was not going to buy that. He would think she was just delirious from the blood loss.

But would being silent really help anything? She didn’t know when she was going to remember more things. But she was also aware that nothing she could remember was something that Mr. Wilter could know about. She gritted her teeth tightly at this frustrating realization. Any effort to make herself remember was only going to give her a headache.

Ultimately, she could only think of one answer.

“I don’t remember.”

She noticed the look in Mr. Wilter’s eyes. It was hard to tell if he was truly believing her or not. Penny hoped that it would at least be convincing. She didn’t like having to lie to the man, but she also couldn’t risk giving out anything resembling ChalkZone. Even though she thought Mr. Wilter would laugh it off, she still feared that, if he did believe her, would he think ChalkZone would be best destroyed?

Penny couldn’t get herself to keep thinking that way. It was weighing down heavily on her mind and she felt her energy starting to go out, her head practically exploding at this point. She had put too much pressure upon herself. She felt her head lopping to one side and her eyes shut softly. Her breathing was rapid before it finally began to slow down a little, returning to something of a normal speed.

Time ticked by slowly. Every second she was still in that bed, it felt as though time was crawling away, like hours had gone by already. She could feel the buzzing silence all around her, stopped only when she could hear the man take what sounded like a drink, or when he coughed or she grunted in pain. It remained this way for who knows how long and she didn’t want to imagine the actual time.

She then rapidly realized how her senses were starting to die down. In her dazed situation, she panicked a little. She started to squirm on the couch, trying to fight back this increasing feeling of weakness, her head moving from side to side. She only not fell down from the couch when Mr. Wilter grabbed onto her to make sure that she didn’t hurt herself. Even then, she still weakly thrashed.

But eventually, she did stop, the panic slowly leaving her. Yet some of the fear still remained. Just what had happened to her?

“It’s just an effect of the blood loss. You probably overexerted yourself. I do apologize about that.” Mr. Wilter looked at her sympathetically. “I should have waited until you were better before attempting to get you to talk. Why don’t you get some rest? It’s late and your body needs some time to recover.”

Penny could feel the man pulling something thick and warm over her body. She felt a sudden wave of warmth that warded off any lingering feeling of fear that she had. Instead, serenity started to crawl into her head, slowly replacing her more panicked state.

Mr. Wilter bent over her, supporting himself with one hand against the couch. “I’ll check on you in the morning, all right?” He reached down and stroked her forehead gently. “Goodnight, Penny. Try to rest well.”

Penny didn’t know what else happened after that. As soon as those words left the man’s lips, she shut her eyes and everything went dark. And she liked it.

sss

Mr. Wilter stared down at Penny, watching her rest in silence. He drew in a deep breath as he tried to piece together in his head what had been going on. There were so many questions that he wanted to ask her. There was so much that he needed to know in order to figure this all out. But he couldn’t ask her now. He would be forced to wait.

At least Penny was safe for now. He probably should have taken her to a hospital, though. That might have been the better choice. But after seeing those injuries, his mind seemed to flicker. There was...something about this that he felt was better off discussed in private. He had already stopped the bleeding anyway and applied what he could to help treat any infection. It will not be perfect, however, and Penny will still have some problems. But at least he could keep her from dying.

He was hoping to find out more answers tomorrow. Maybe he could figure out exactly what happened and what he should do about it, if his action was required at all. Though he might just end up getting very little information from the girl. She was really out of it and he doubted a full night’s rest was going to garner too much improvement. But here’s to hoping, anyway.

It was still lucky that he managed to find her at all. Things could have gone very badly for Penny if he hadn’t found her. He had been on his way home after some grocery shopping, walking of course as he lived close enough for that, when he heard some kind of buzzing sound. He tried to ignore it and continue on. It only got increasingly worse the more that he tried to brush it aside and eventually he started to chase after it.

While he couldn’t really believe some fly was trying to help Penny, it was still such a coincidence that he found Penny like this. He remembered just how horrified that he was, seeing her on the ground like that, whimpering in pain even while she was mostly out of it. She was locked in some kind of state where she was unresponsive to him but still reacting to the pain of her injuries.

Upon seeing the wounds, he did feel a bolt of something flashing in the back of his mind. There was something familiar about those marks, but he tried to brush it aside. There was no way that it was possible. He was just imagining things. He tried to play it off as something else entirely, like Penny being attacked by some idiot who decided that she would make for good target practice or something. He would much rather accept that then...

Mr. Wilter shook his head once and tried to brush this all off. He couldn’t let himself get dragged too far down right now. He needed some sleep as well. Tomorrow, he would try to figure out what was going on with Penny. And of course, he would make sure that her mother knew where she was.

But as he turned and started to head towards his bedroom, he froze, a thought crossing his mind.

Did something happen to Rudy as well?

sss

The blonde-haired woman let herself release another sigh for the tenth time in such a short time span. She couldn’t help lit. She was struggling, fighting with herself on what to think about this whole thing. Her mind was at constant war with itself and she didn’t think that there was much that she could do to change this fact. It was like every ounce of her was screaming, telling her different things, confusing what she should do, what she should believe.

Her gut feeling was telling her that the zoners were indeed fully sentient and full alive and fully capable of feeling pain. She had seen proof of that time and time again. Her heart, her emotions, were telling her that zoners were indeed real and that hurting them was wrong.

This mirrored her feelings when Snap was hurt, and when she was treating him. He was acting like any injured person would. He was afraid. He was shaky. He was trying to get away from the pain. He was doing all of this stuff that she could imagine any normal person doing.

And yet Mr. Cosmo’s words still weighed upon her...

Ms. Saffron had been with Mr. Cosmo a long time. Maybe not as long as everyone else here. But still long enough. He seemed to be pretty attached to her, as proven earlier. She remembered how he kissed her, and it induced some conflicting feelings inside of her. She couldn’t help but wonder just what she should do, how she should feel and how she should react.

She still felt like she owed him, even after all of this time. The man had helped her with her career and she felt like she would be nowhere without him. He had always been honest with her. Straightforward, blunt, and to the point.

But now she was starting to question that. This situation with the zoners was...confusing, to say the least. She was not ignorant to what they were. Mr. Cosmo told her about them, and of ChalkZone. She was aware of how they required a human to create them and all of that. But it was still shocking seeing a portal for the first time, and being up close and personal with a zoner was different than just being described the characeristics of. It was a whole new experirence.

Up until then, she had taken the man’s word, believed in what he said. She had trusted that he was being truthful with her about zoners, about this world. She wanted to believe that he had all the best intentions.

But was that really the case anymore? Could she really still bring herself to believe the man after what happened? Her mind might still try to tell her that Mr. Cosmo was right, but her heart still stung, still struggled against this, still dragged her down into an emotional pit. Snap’s screams still echoed inside of her head and no amount of shaking her head would make it go away.

But was she overreacting? Was Mr. Cosmo right? Was she taking things too far? In the end, they really were just drawings and they could be recreated. Snap may not never die; he could just be redrawn. Same with the other zoners. Ms. Saffron had tried so hard to believe that this were the case. There wasn’t really anything else that made logical sense. How could creatures drawn with chalk possibly have any sort of....soul or whatever?

And then she would get a surge of emotion and be reminded of what she had experienced.

Ms. Saffron couldn’t deny how very real Snap’s emotions looked and sounded. She had already been willing to accept that they were real, but now she was trying to back pedal. Was she just being desperate? Was she just trying to protect her mind from the reality before her? Or was she really just trying to get more out than what really existed? She had never felt this confused before.

Well it was time to go home, anyway. She could feel her eyes growing heavy and burning and she just wanted to go to sleep. All of this thinking was giving her a headache and she wanted some rest. Maybe tomorrow, she will feel a little better. Maybe tomorrow, she could figure out what needed to be done and she could try to accept that Snap was just a...

Her train of thought stopped as she got about halfway down the hallway. There was some kind of a...sound echoing throughout the hallway. The sound bounced off the walls, becoming distorted, making it hard to tell just kind of sound that it was. She remained frozen for several moments, listening intently. She put her hand around her ear and leaned in a little, struggling so hard to listen.

Then she heard it.

A scream. Loud and echoing.

Ms. Saffron immediately rushed down the hallway, breathing heavily, her feet pedaling against the ground. She turned down one corner and she could see a door that was partially open. She bit her lip firmly and she moved in closer towards it. She leaned in and she peered inside. She felt herself draw in a sharp gasp of shock, unable to believe what she was seeing. Was that...?

sss

Even after a good night’s rest, Penny still felt a little wobbly, a little shaky, and her eyes were still burning from tiredness. She felt like she could go back to sleep at any given moment and just rest like that for several more hours. It was really tempting to do something like that. She could feel the urge to do that crawling up inside of her.

But Mr. Wilter was making sure that she didn’t go back to sleep. He reminded her that she needed to be awake so that they could discuss things with each other. He was still interested in what was going on and he was hoping that she would have an easier time trying to speak to him now.

Well, she had to admit, she felt a little better. Still a little confused and her tiredness was going to get in the way. But overall, she was a bit more alert and a bit more aware of what was going on. She recalled a bit more information in her head after she rested a bit. She could still feel sharp pain in her chest and shoulder, but this was something she was just going to have to endure for a while.

She looked back at Mr. Wilter, who was sitting across from her on a chair. He was holding something that looked steaming. Coffee? Either that or hot tea. But despite not having eaten for several hours, Penny didn’t really feel all that hungry at all. It was pretty surprising, really. She thought that she would have had at least a bit of a craving. But instead, it was just... emptiness. It was like her stomach had recently gotten food in it and it just didn’t want anymore. But she knew that wasn’t the case. Was her mind playing tricks on her?

Penny was glad that she could sit up. She still needed to brace herself as dizziness still invaded her head. But other than that, she was mostly okay. It was a bit more comfortable to sit up for a while instead of just laying down like she had been. She exhaled slowly as she moved her arm to rest it on the armrest of the couch, leaning towards it a little.

“I take it you rested well?” Mr. Wilter asked, breaking the silence.

Penny nodded her head slowly. “Yeah. Though I still feel off...”

“Of course you do.” Mr. Wilter acknowledged, nodding his head slowly. “You were dealt some serious blows. You’ve lost considerable blood. It’ll take a while before you’re back in tip top shape.”

Penny flinched at this. She realized that it meant that she couldn’t jump in quickly to help Rudy. She remembered that he was still trapped and she still needed to help him. But how could she help him when she herself wasn’t feeling well? It might take longer than she’ve liked to recover. By the time that happened, would there even be time left to help Rudy?

But she did realize that the only way to even start with that is to at least...try something. She had to at least try to tell Mr. Wilter anything, even a small detail, and hope that it was enough to bring them closer to helping Rudy, if there was any time left for that, anyway. She can’t do anything for him like this and Mr. Wilter can’t do anything either if he didn’t know what was going on.

Penny’s mind went abuzz with many thoughts as she pondered her probable solutions, whatever paths were available. She licked her lips slowly and swallowed hard. She lifted her head up and looked over at Mr. Wilter. The man was watching her carefully, as though worried that at any given moment, she could collapse. She soon looked away, returning to her own thoughts.

She still couldn’t remember everything. That may come back in time. What she did recall, however, was a smoking gun; telling Mr. Wilter this may give him a better idea on how to help him. But it would also mean putting ChalkZone at risk, potentially. She didn’t know if it was even possible to say anything to the man without him eventually finding out about ChalkZone. She would hope and pray that this was not the case. But was there really any sort of guarantee?

And just how could she help Rudy if she couldn’t even stand up? These injuries were going to hold her back. They were going to make it dang near impossible for her to do anything. She couldn’t rush back in that building like this. And since her mom knows what happened, she could bet that she would show up at any moment to take her to the hospital. There had to be another solution.

...and she realized there wasn’t really much of a choice.

She would have to tell Mr. Wilter about Mr. Cosmo.

Penny drew in a slow, deep breath as she looked back at the man carefully. She watched him carefully as she tried to formulate the words inside of her head. She had already wasted enough time as it was. For all she knew, Mr. Cosmo might already be...

Penny tried to shake the thoughts out of her head as she stared at Mr. Wilter. After collecting her thoughts and mentally preparing herself for this, she said, “The man responsible for this... I-It was...” She swallowed hard. She didn’t know how Mr. Wilter was going to react to this. “...Mr. Cosmo...”

Mr. Wilter seemed to freeze and color drained a little from his face. Penny hadn’t expected this kind of reaction this fast. She swallowed nervously and felt herself cringing, waiting for a response.

“Did you say... Mr. Cosmo...? You are...certain of that?” Mr. Wilter asked carefully.

Penny nodded her head. “I know it sounds crazy. But I swear, I’m telling the truth. Mr. Cosmo is responsible for this.”

Mr. Wilter turned his head away. “I was afraid of that.”


	24. Gambling Is So Risky

Gambling was never something that Rudy was very fond of. He was well aware of how much it can backfire. He was well aware of how wrong things could go. He would normally never try something like this.

But this wasn’t a normal situation, now was it? He had exhausted so many options in his mind, and attempts to get out of here had failed. He had tried to reason with Mr. Cosmo before and that just wasn’t working. He needed to try another approach.

He had agreed to speak with Mr. Cosmo again. It felt like routine at this point, anyway. The man would try to convince him of something and Rudy would try to resist, but that was getting him nowhere. And he couldn’t forget that he had two friends who were in danger of dying. As disgusting as it was for the man to be holding them ransom like this, he wasn’t exactly surprised by it. Now the man had him by the horns, so to speak.

It seemed like his only option was...

“So... you’re willing to negotiate...?”

Rudy flinched at this words. A cold chill rushed down his spine. He knew the full meaning of these words and what they entailed. He could feel his heart clenching tightly and he struggled not to throw up. But he soon managed to nod his head slowly.

Mr. Cosmo smiled at this. Rudy shuddered at how cold and twisted that smile looked, as well as the smugness that just radiated off of it. “So I see a good night’s sleep did help you see reason.”

Rudy shifted his gaze away. “However you define a good night..” He muttered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes a little at this. But he seemed to let it go, returning back to his smiling state. “Why don’t you come on in and we can sit down and chat about this?” He motioned his head in one direction. Rudy noticed a desk and a few chairs, something he hadn’t noticed in this room before. Had they just been added? “I’m sure we can come up with a reasonable accomodation.”

Rudy wasn’t really so sure about that. The only ‘reasonable accomodation’ Mr. Cosmo cared about was making him work for him. Rudy hated the idea, but as he thought about his predicament this morning, he started to wonder if this was the only option that he had. If he agreed to work for him, then perhaps that could buy him some time to deal with him later on.

Though there was still a chance that the man knew about this and would take action to prevent this.... But it was still worth a try. He couldn’t bare to see his friends continuously hurt. If working for Mr. Cosmo meant that they could live longer, then it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. He would just need to be very careful on how he went about this.

Rudy could feel something behind him and he was reminded that he had been dragged here. Or rather, ‘escorted’ as Mr. Cosmo would have said. The zoner in question was not the same one as before. Instead of Lars, it was instead Rapsheeba. Though the zoner was smaller than him, something about the device in her head made her stronger, or at least, stopped her from resisting pushing him. Rudy couldn’t bring himself to seriously hurt her, so he allowed her to push him the whole way.

Now Rapsheeba was releasing him and backing away. She probably got the signal that her services were not required at this point. Rudy watched as she headed towards the door. He wondered if she was going to remain there to make sure that he could not leave or if she was going to return to her enclosure. Either way, she was gone.

Rudy made his way towards the chair that Mr. Cosmo was motioning him towards. Rudy stared at it intently, feeling his lip curling up into a snarl. But there wasn’t much else that he could do. He let out a small sigh and he moved himself closer. In a matter of moments, he got himself to sit down on the chair in front of the man. He moved himself closer, staring intently at the man, waiting for him to say something.

Mr. Cosmo appeared to be enjoying this. Perhaps he was feeling a small taste of victory, even if it was to be short-lived. Regardless, Rudy could feel himself growling at this, growing increasingly uncomfortable with the man. He didn’t attempt to flee, knowing that would screw things up. But he also wasn’t sure how much more of this that he could handle. He was trying really hard to keep himself under control. But he feared that it would not take long before he would launch himself at the man and...

The young teenager was caught off guard when the man started to chuckle lightlly at him. Rudy gritted his teeth. Just what was so dang funny all of a sudden?

“You really are amusing.” Mr. Cosmo mused, his voice soft. “Did you really think that you could make me believe that you’d lean in my direction that quickly...?”

Rudy felt his eyes widen slowly. How had the man....

“I can see it in your eyes. You really don’t want to do this, do you? This is all just to gain a few moments. Tell me...” The man cocked his head to one side. “...what exactly did you have planned....?”

Rudy felt his mouth go dry rapidly and he struggled to think of how to respond to this. He could feel his brain whirling around in circles, emotions pumping through his body, making him shake and quiver. He struggled to keep control of himself, but he was already losing control of that. Even after struggling, he could feel tremblings rippling through his body.

“I see I triggered something...” Hissed Mr. Cosmo.

Rudy felt his teeth clenching tightly. He did manage to keep himself still, avoiding attempting to lunge at Mr. Cosmo and grab onto his neck in self defense. But he still didn’t know just what the man was going to imply. He would be reacting too quickly. He should try to stay calm and see where this goes. Despite himself, he managed to keep himself steady.

Mr. Cosmo regarded him silently. The man’s eyes looked over his body. This created a strange sensation and he felt himself tense up as the man studied him. It was like he was trying to look for some kind of a weakness or something, and Rudy could not bear the thought of the man using any more weaknesses against him. He felt himself chill at the thought of his parents getting dragged into this as well.

Slowly, the man before him appeared to relax. He leaned back in the chair, holding his hands against each other, the fingers tapping slowly. Rudy wasn’t sure what to make of this and continued to look at the man warily. All that he knew for certain was that the man was up to something and it wasn’t anything good.

“I’m sure you might think I’ll do something about this. Knowing that you just want to get yourself some minutes.” Mr. Cosmo said casually. He slowly held one of his hands out to the side as if to motion to something, though there was nothing there. “But I assure you... This doesn’t trouble me at all.”

Rudy felt himself going slack at this. He had no words to respond with.

“Surprised? I’m sure you are. You probably thought I was going to do something crazy, like... I don’t know.... threaten your parents...” Mr. Cosmo leaned in a little closer. He tilted his head to one side. “Did I get warm there?”

Rudy licked his lips briefly before swallowing and nodding his head slowly.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this. “I’m not worried enough to take that kind of action. As for why, well.... You will find out soon enough.”

The young teen narrowed his eyes at Mr. Cosmo. Something about this didn’t settle right with him. He tried to think of why Mr. Cosmo would be acting like this. If he knew that he was plotting something, then why wasn’t he being rougher with him? It was as though the man was getting a little too confident. Just what did he have planned?

He held still for several moments, watching the man, unwilling to look away from him. There had to be some kind of explanation for this. But at the moment, nothing was coming to his head. It felt almost like it was becoming locked and he couldn’t get himself to push too many more thoughts through. Yet the feeling of unease still remained.

Mr. Cosmo managed to stop this mind lock when he began to speak again. “Rudy, before I continue, I want you to make me a promise.”

Rudy frowned slowly at this. Something told him that he wasn’t going to like this. Still, he said, “What do you want me to promise?”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes slowly. They didn’t become too deep and instead it looked more like the man was just looking pretty determined. This did not bode well for Rudy, the teen realized. It meant that Mr. Cosmo was going to try to... “I want you to promise me that, when I ask you to do it the first time, you will use the black chalk.”

“What...?” Rudy felt himself freeze at this. While he wasn’t surprised by such a ludicrous order, it still caused chills to go through his body. “Y-You want me to...”

“Yes.” Mr. Cosmo nodded his head. “Promise me that you’ll do that....and I just might let you see how your little friend is doing.”

Rudy stiffened up at this.

“Snap, of course. Penny is not here right now.”

Rudy lowered his head slightly, his eyes moving upwards to stare at the man intently. He remained this way for several moments, shakes and trembles racing through his body as he tried to settle himself down. It was getting harder by the second, and his teeth ground up against one another. “Did you hurt him again...?” He asked in a darkened tone of voice, his mind echoing with Snap’s earlier screams.

Mr. Cosmo shook his head. “I assure you, I did not do anything else to him.” The man paused for a moment. “At least...nothing physical.”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this. The implications were rather apparent. His heart gave a sharp twist as he leaned forward. He slammed his fists against the table and shouted, “What the hell did you do to him this time?!”

Mr. Cosmo stared at him blankly for a few moments. The silence around them lasted for quite some time with no signs of slowing down. They continued to stare at one another, unblinking, unmoving. It felt as if invisible walls were slowly closing in all around them. Rudy could feel everything darkening in all directions except for Mr. Cosmo. He almost looked like a beacon.

...one that was meant to bring in despair rather than hope...

More chortles came out of the man’s voice. Rudy growled at this, growing ever more and more irritated by the sounds that this man was making. “You’re quite humorous, Rudy. I told you I didn’t hurt him physically. What else matters...?”

Rudy couldn’t believe how this man was being. Did he honestly think that this wasn’t going to upset him? Did he honestly believe that there wasn’t anything as bad or worse than being hurt physically? Rudy was surprised that he wasn’t at the man’s throat alrady.

“I don’t see why you’re upset. But if you do want to see him, first...make me the promise.” Mr. Cosmo commanded, his voice taking on an authoritian tone. “Promise me that you’ll use the black chalk... then I’ll let you see your friend again.”

Rudy couldn’t bring himself to respond right away. He felt himself instantly locked in another frozen mind, his eyes going even wider than before. He felt his head pounding inside and he drew in quick breath after quick breath. He tried to see and listen if the man had said something different, if he could have possibly have misheard him. But no, that isn’t what happened. Not at all, which only further confirmed Rudy’s fears.

He licked his lips slowly as he tried to ponder what he was going to do. He had never planned on touching the black chalk. He wanted to stay as far away from that stuff as possible. He feared what it might do to him. He was afraid that he might become like Mr. Cosmo. He curled his fingers inward slowly, his head hurting as he struggled to think of what his options were.

He could simply say ‘yes’ just to see Snap, and then find a way to decline the offer later. But he doubted this would work that well. Mr. Cosmo might threaten to do something if he backed out of the deal. He might make him watch him hurt Snap. He might track down Penny and finish her off. There were a number of things the man could do as punishment. And the longer he remained quiet, the more likely these acts became.

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly, unable to believe the situation that he had been placed in. Why couldn’t this man try to play more fairly...? That was a dumb question. Why would this evil man do that? Especially when he could get something that he wanted faster than trying to ‘play it by the books’. And now Rudy was stuck in this, with very little ways of getting out of it. He only had two options, both not leading to a very good outcome.

But.... He did still want to see his friend again. He did want to make sure that he was all right. This might be his only chance of doing that. He didn’t know what Mr. Cosmo might do if he said ‘no’. And who knows? Maybe Mr. Cosmo was not going to try to make him use the black chalk anytime soon. Maybe this was just a precautionary thing. Maybe he...

“What is your answer, Rudy?” Mr. Cosmo inquired, who leaned forward a little more closely. “I’m waiting.”

Rudy bit his lip. He realized that, whatever decision that he made, he was going to regret it. He forced a small exhale out of his mouth, feeling a tingling, burning sensation in his fingers and hands, traveling down to his chest. He straightened himself up the best that he could, narrowing his eyes at the man. He said the only thing that he could think of.

“..alright, fine.. Just... Let me see my friend...”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flickered a little. “Excellent choice.” He raised his head up. “You won’t regret it.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. He had a few choice words for the man for even thinking of saying that. But regardless, he still held his tongue. He didn’t want to give the man any reason to withdraw from the agreement. So he just stood there and waited for the man to take him to his friend.

Instead of that, however, Mr. Cosmo got up and began to walk away. No motioning for him to come with. No signalling to go to another room. Rudy watched carefully as Mr. Cosmo disappeared somewhere, leaving him alone.

Immediately, Rudy realized that, if he acted quickly, he just might be able to get away with running off. He could get up from this seat and run and try to find Snap his way or try to get help or free the other zoners. The only thing preventing him from going was....what if Mr. Cosmo found out? He might not be gone for very long and if Mr. Cosmo saw that he left, he might do something drastic. So as tempting as it was for him to flee, he forced himself to remain in his seat, waiting for the man to return.

Then he could hear a few small sounds. Muffled and soft, he couldn’t tell what it was at first. He listened intently, turning his head to one side. Small cries became more and more clear, intermixed with little cries. His eyes widened when he realized who it was.

In moments, he could see Mr. Cosmo coming into the room, holding his friend by his cape. Rudy was appalled by how his friend was being treated. He wanted to reach out and grab Snap and get him to safety, but the threat of Mr. Cosmo hurting him kept him from doing anything. All he could do was just stand there and watch as Mr. Cosmo came in towards him, uncaring of how roughly he moved Snap, whose body was swinging almost violently from being carried over here. In a matter of moments, Mr. Cosmo stopped in front of Rudy, holding Snap up like he was some kind of a prize.

“Here’s your friend, Rudy. You can see that he’s still alive and he hasn’t gotten any new injuries. In fact, I had Ms. Saffron treat his injuries. But as you can see...”

Mr. Cosmo lowered Snap towards the ground. There wasn’t anything dangerous underneath, but it was still harrowing to watch as Rudy knew what was coming. And sure enough, as soon as Snap’s feet touched the ground, the zoner immediately let out a cry of pain and a whimper. Mr. Cosmo hoisted him back up again.

“He still has some problems. He won’t be able to walk for a while, I assure you that.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes as he pointed an accusatory finger at Mr. Cosmo. “That’s because you hurt him!”

Mr. Cosmo shrugged his shoulders. “Details...” Mr. Cosmo gave a sideways glance to Snap. “At least he’s alive.”

Rudy felt his teeth grinding against each other so hard that he thought for sure they were going to break. It was true that Snap was indeed still alive, and he was grateful for that. But Snap was still in pain, frightened, and this man was the one who cause all of it. He was not going to be reassured by some flimsy statement by this guy.

Regardless, he decided not to say anything further on that. Not that he didn’t want to. There was so much he wanted to do to tear this man a new one, verbally or physically. But he didn’t want to provoke the man into doing something drastic. So he forced himself to hold his tongue and glare at him, breathing slowly and heavily to keep his mind from going too nuts.

The man before him still had that smug smile on his face. He hadn’t done much else with Snap; he was just holding him. But with that look in his eyes, it seemed obvious that he had something more planned with him. If Mr. Cosmo thinks that he could get away with hurting his friend again....

Mr. Cosmo once more lowered Snap to the ground. This time, however, he did things a little differently. Rudy was a little surprised to see the man cradle Snap, lifting his legs up as he was placed down. Rather than his feet touching the floor, instead Snap was carefully placed on his rear end and back. This alleviated the need to put pressure on his feet and Snap was able to rest on the ground. Snap managed to hold himself up with his arms, his wide, white eyes never leaving Mr. Cosmo.

And then when Snap looked over at him with that expression, Rudy felt his heart stop completely. Snap’s eyes bored right through him, delivering an onslaught of raw emotion straight through his soul. Rudy licked his lips nervously, struggling to answer Snap’s unspoken question. Yet he could only remain silent, the words failing him utterly.

“There, now that you’ve seen your friend...” Mr. Cosmo said, breaking the silence. Rudy turned to glare at him. “I think it’s time to prove to me that you were telling the truth.”

Rudy felt his eyes widen ever so slightly. This paled in comparison to the rush of emotions shooting through his body. He knew exactly what the man was implying and his throat began to go dry.

Mr. Cosmo walked away from Snap. There wasn’t much need for him to worry about Snap going anywhere. With those injured feet, Snap could only crawl and that would take him a long time. “Did you think that I was going to let you walk away from this? Did you think that I was going to wait until later before I asked you to prove your words? Boy, I think you give me too little credit.”

Rudy was reminded instantly of what the man had said earlier. He was aware that this was just a way to extend time. He felt himself growling under his breath, his fist shaking slightly. He should have realized that Mr. Cosmo was going to pull some bullshit like this. He should have realized that Mr. Cosmo was going to make sure that he couldn’t attempt to use this time to figure out an escape plan.

“I take it your silence means you know what I’m talking about.” Mr. Cosmo smirked darkly as he looked back at Rudy. All the teenager could do was continuing to glare back at him. “Just remain right there... This will not take long...”

The brown-haired teen watched in silence as Mr. Cosmo pressed a button. He thought he could hear a loud buzzing sound eminating from it. But he couldn’t tell if this was actually the case or if the sound was in his imagination or elsewhere. He shook the thought out of his head when the doors were pushed open and he could see an employee walking in. And in his hand was...

A piece of black chalk.

Rudy quickly noticed that the man was holding the piece of chalk with a cloth. An odd decision, Rudy thought. Why would the man need to....

Then as the employee walked passed him, Rudy noticed the black chalk suddenly glowing a bit more brightly, creating something of a flash. Rudy remained still for a few moments before quickly shaking his head. That was...really weird. And terrifying. It was like the chalk was trying to shoot something into him, like...

Rudy was taken aback when Mr. Cosmo grabbed onto the chalk directly, and the employee immediately backed away, as though he didn’t want to touch it. Rudy watched with an open mouth and wide eyes as the man bowed to Mr. Cosmo before moving away quickly. Soon the man disappeared completely.

Rudy slowly turned his head to face Mr. Cosmo. The man was holding the black chalk up. It didn’t take long before Rudy could see the black smoke-like trail withering around the piece of blackness, swirling around and having a very faint iridescense about it. Rudy swallowed hard, the feeling of dread overtaking his body, slowly realizing what this was building up to.

“I used to be a lot like you, Rudy.” Mr. Cosmo said. His eyes did not leave the black chalk. He just stared at it and smiled, holding it up like it was some big, massive prize. “I used to think that zoners were my friends, that my creation was my friend, and that so long as I was friendly with them, they would be friendly with me. I even did a lot of exploring, which I’m sure you do as well.”

Rudy didn’t answer.

Mr. Cosmo continued, “But I wasn’t lying when I said that the black chalk opened up my eyes to the truth. It showed me the way. And now...” Mr. Cosmo looked intently at Rudy. “It can do the same for you, Rudy.”

It didn’t take long for Rudy to get the implications of it. Instantly, it all crashed in against his mind and he realized, for the first time, what the black chalk was actually doing. He had thoughts of it before, but now, hearing this man talk and seeing the black chalk for the first time and seeing how that one employee reacted to it, Rudy felt his stomach burning with horror and dread on what using the black chalk really entailed.

Rudy felt himself taking a small step back from the red-haired man, his breath catching in his throat. He tried to breathe yet found it increasingly difficult. His chest burned like it was on fire and it showed no signs of stopping. The atmosphere around him felt like it was choking him and he was locked in place, unable to move.

He had been right.

Mr. Cosmo was like this because of the black chalk.

There’s something....wrong with the black chalk...

Rudy moved back even more when Mr. Cosmo started to move a little closer to him, closing in the gap rapidly. Rudy’s eyes shifted from the black chalk and to the man’s eyes and back again repeatedly. He licked his lips again, one of the only things that he could think of doing in this moment to keep himself from running off. His heart’s beating quickened as he watched the black chalk getting ever closer and closer.

What was he going to do? If he was guessing right on the black chalk, then that could mean that this thing could... It had the power to... No, he couldn’t let that happen to himself. If he did, then it no longer mattered what he planned up until this point. It was all going to get flushed down the drain and there would literally be nothing that he could do about it. He probably wouldn’t even try. He would not be himself anymore.

Mr. Cosmo held the piece of black chalk out to him slowly, holding it in his open hand, staring intently at Rudy. He clearly expected Rudy to grab it. He didn’t move or change his expression as he remained in this pose. Time seemed to slow down as Rudy stared at the black chalk.

At first, he was trying to will himself not to move forward. He was trying to focus instead on figuring out how to stall for time another way. Maybe try to convince Mr. Cosmo to let him do something for him first. Just anything that didn’t involve the black chalk.

But the longer that he stared at it, the more that he seemed to get drawn into it. Everything around him became blurry and invisible and the black chalk was just hovering there, floating in a black semi-sparkly glow. Rudy felt it increasingly impossible to turn away and all he could do was just focus on this thing before him. He felt his vision blurring a few times for just a few seconds and his mouth went a little slack. He had no idea what was going on. For some reason, he couldn’t get himself to move.

Then he could hear something echoing in his head. It was soft at first, and echoey. As time ticked by, the voices grew increasingly louder, coming in from all sounds. Then eventually, he started to understand what was being said. His blood’s temperaure dropped as he reluctantly listened to the voices speak.

“Oh you poor little child...”

“Here, let us take your hand...”

“We will keep you safe...”

“We know how much you’re really afraid...”

Rudy shook his head a few times. He tried to force himself to move back a few steps. But his unrelenting rigidness, induced by fear, was more than enough to make him freeze a little, increasing the difficulty of him being able to move anywhere. He remained in his current position for several moments, only managing to shift himself to the side a little. His eyes never left the black chalk.

“Why do you stutter...?”

“Why do you flee...?”

“We only want to help...”

“Take our hand...”

“And we will show you the way...”

Rudy shut his eyes tightly and he turned it to the side roughly, baring his teeth. “N-No... I won’t listen to you!”

“Boy, who are you talking to?”

Rudy looked over at Mr. Cosmo, noticing that the man was staring at him with a cocked eyebrow. Rudy stared in disbelief, wondering how the man could not have heard that. Or was he just pretending? Either way, Rudy found himself releasing a low growl before taking a slightly defensive stance. “I-I won’t do it... I-I can’t touch that... that thing... It’s not right.”

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him, the seconds passing slowly, almost painfully. The man then turned his head to the other side, his lip slightly elevated, almost as if to growl. “...but you said that you would help me. You promised.”

“Yeah, well....”

Rudy stopped himself. He realized that he had to be very careful on what he said next here. It was critical that he be careful with his words. If he slipped up too much, he would end up making things worse for himself. He could wind up killing his friend by mistake. Who knew what Mr. Cosmo had planned if he pulled back now?

Rudy couldn’t think of much else to say, except..

“Wh-What I meant to say is that... I thought that I would have to...prove myself to you first.” Rudy said. He tried to smile a little bit, but it wasn’t really enough to fully offset how nervous that he looked. He made a few motions with his hands as he explained, “Y-You see, I thought that only those who did you...favors would be the ones with the p-privilege of using the black chalk.” Rudy gave pause for a moment to look over at Snap. The zoner was still awake and looking at him cautiously. Rudy flinchd for a moment as he saw how much pain that his friend was in. Then he looked back at Mr. Cosmo. “I mean, you obviously believe the black chalk is special. So why not only let these ‘special people’ touch it? Don’t I need to prove myself to you?” He made a quick motion towards the man.

Rudy wasn’t really sure whato think of his own words. A part of him felt a little disgusted with how he was partially kissing up to this guy. Yet he realized that it might be the only thing that he could do to make sure that Snap stayed safe. So he watched the man before him carefully, waiting to see if his words made any impact.

He hoped that at least something changed. He hoped that this would cause the man to consider his actions and forget that he could force him to use the black chalk and it won’t be a problem. He hoped that Mr. Cosmo may end up liking this idea of ‘proving loyalty’ beforehand. It was the only thing that could ensure Rudy a chance at victory.

But Mr. Cosmo’s eyes seemed to flicker and that didn’t seem like it was a good thing. Rudy could feel something changing about the man’s mood, and he felt himself moving back a little further. He eyed the man carefully, feeling every core part of him wanting to turn around and run off away from him. He waited in silence to hear what the man was going to say.

At first, it looked like the man was going to flip at him. Rudy was prepared for the worst as he gritted his teeth in fear. He could feel his body starting to shake a little. He waited for Mr. Cosmo to explode at him at any given moment. He prepared to defend himself if he had to. He prepared to defend Snap if Mr. Cosmo went after him.

But almost as soon as Mr. Cosmo seemed ready to strike at him, he suddenly pulled his head back and started to laugh. A rather unpleasant laugh at that. It was soft at first but then increased in volume. Rudy clenched his teeth as one eyebrow raised a bit higher than the other. Just what was this man’s deal? Why did the find this so funny?

Mr. Cosmo’s laughing fit was, thankfully, short-lived and Rudy was able to relax. He rubbed his hand against his ear as he felt something continue to echo inside of his head. He then turned his attention back to Mr. Cosmo. The fifteen year old’s expression shifted, his eyes becoming wide and yet slightly narrowed at the same time.

Mr. Cosmo caught that look and gave him another smirk. “You do realize that when I had you make that deal with me, I literally meant.... whenever I tell you to use the black chalk... It was not a ‘let’s do this later’ thing. Honestly, do you think I’m stupid?”

Rudy blinked a few times before the implications of that statement came crawling into the back of his mind, creating a cold chill that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise up. “Y-You were going to....”

“That’s right, Rudy. I’m shocked you didn’t figure it out sooner.” Mr. Cosmo took a few steps closer, his taller size suddenlly feeling imposing to the still growing teenager. “I wasn’t going to waste my time letting you run around here before using the black chalk. I knew that you would find a loophole in that.” Rudy could only stare at Mr. Cosmo with wide eyes. “So here’s the new deal, Rudy. You either start using the black chalk now...or your friend over there...” Mr. Cosmo motioned to Snap. “..well, let’s just say he is not going to have a fun time.”

Rudy shook his head. “N-No, you can’t...”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes. “And what? You think that it’s right of you to make me a promise and then pull the rug out from underneath me? What makes you so special?”

Rudy opened his mouth to speak, but Mr. Cosmo cut him off immediately.

“You would have tried to pull some shit... and I am only doing the same thing because I knew you were going to.” Mr. Cosmo looked down at his hand, flexing his fingers. “I’ve worked hard on bringing you here, kid. I’m not going to let you go so easily.”

Rudy’s breathing quickened once more. He couldn’t bring himself to answer. He looked at the man for several moments before he quickly turned and tried to run towards his friend. He reached out towards the blue and white zoner, calling out his name. Time felt like it was slowing down to a crawl.

Then Rudy could feel something striking up against him. Something hard and small. He realized that it was a fist. He let out a cry of pain as his side was struck and he fell to the ground. He groaned, his arm overlapping the other, his side aching from skidding so painfully.

“B-B-Bucko...”

Rudy opened up his eyes and he looked over at Snap’s terrified expression. He was leaning forward, his mouth agape, his eyes wide in horror. Rudy couldn’t bring himself to speak before he turned his head downward and grunted. He used his hands to push himself up from the ground, wobbling a little from side to side. Then he slowly turned to face Mr. Cosmo, who had been the one to strike him.

“I didn’t want to do that, but you left me with no choice. Please cooperate, or else I’ll be forced to try something...different.”

Rudy growled deeply. “What makes you think that I’m going to just...”

“Don’t you value your friend?” Mr. Cosmo asked. His voice was a little quiet and yet still had a sinister tone. He raised up something in his hand. “Do you even know what this is? What I can do...?”

Rudy tried his best not to let his mind become too dizzied or filled with rage at this, despite the growing fear for his friend. He knew that’s what Mr. Cosmo would have wanted, and he would just be giving into what the man desires in that case. Rudy settled for just pressing his fingernails against the palm of his hands, feeling them push up against his skin, bringing about some pain. But none of that pain could measure up to the anger that he felt towards this man.

Of course this man would resort to something like this... He didn’t even know what the man was planning specifically, but already, his mind’s gears were turning and shifting. For a few moments, anger became the dominant emotion in his head, and he could feel it thudding and aching throughout his skull.

Then that shifted towards fear once more as he watched Mr. Cosmo point the device over at Snap. Something rushed through Rudy’s body and he swallowed hard. He had a feeling he was going to regret this, but he still found himself taking a step forward, daring himself to do such a thing.

“What are you...”

“Watch...”

Rudy could hardly say another word before the man pressed a single button. Rudy could hear a faint click. That was quickly overshadowed by what he heard next.

“Gah! Make it stop! Please!” Snap wailed as he began to spasm on the ground. His hands clawed at his forehead, which now had some small sparks of electricity shooting out of it. “I-It hurts too much!”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at this cruel display. “Snap! No!” He whirled his head towards Mr. Cosmo. He didn’t have the will to even glare at the man. Fear and horror took over him, any shred of anger gone for the time being. “What the hell are you doing to him?!”

Mr. Cosmo gave him a cold stare, nearly devoid of emotion. “I needed someway of making sure the zoners don’t try to backstab me.”

“B-But I thought that...” Rudy stammered.

Mr. Cosmo cocked his head to one side. “Oh, did you think I was directly controlling them? I suppose in a sense, that’s what these things do. But more they just...make a zoner really frightened, too scared to do anything unless I tell them to. So if you noticed any strange movements coming from any mind-controlled zoner you saw before this, well that’s why. It’s really easy to control someone when they’re terrified of you.”

Rudy felt his stomach start to burn in anger at this, but fear still overrode that. “And what of Snap?”

“I put in an experimental device in him. It’s not as fear-inducing as the other models, so I’m forced to keep him afraid other ways.” Mr. Cosmo explained. “It was a ‘just in case’ kind of thing. I had hoped that I wouldn’t need to do things this way.” He sighed and narrowed his eyes. “But here we are.”

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly, feeling his heart struggling to pump out of his chest. “A-And what are you.... What do you hope to achieve from this? Do you really think that I....”

Then Rudy froze, his blood going cold. He could still hear Snap’s cries. He couldn’t ignore them. He looked over and he watched his friend toss and turn on the ground. It looked as though Mr. Cosmo had even turned up the volume, so to speak.

Soon Rudy couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “N-No.. Snap! Please, hold on...!” Rudy called out to his friend, reaching out towards him. “I-I’ll try to think of something! Just please... Don’t die on me...”

“Oh don’t worry. I will not kill him.” Mr. Cosmo reassured Rudy. He held his hand up in gesture, his eyes remaining narrowed. “But don’t think that he won’t continue to suffer. I’m prepared to keep this up for a while. When it stops will be up to you, child.”

“I-I...” Rudy couldn’t bring himself to answer. All he could do was just look at Mr. Cosmo and Snap in horror. He didn’t want to let Snap continue to be hurt by this man. And yet he didn’t want to give into Mr. Cosmo either, knowing full well know what will really happen.

But could he really continue to resist for too long? Could he really hold out on Mr. Cosmo? Could he really keep this up and hope that Mr. Cosmo will get bored and let his friend go? Sure he says that he won’t kill Snap. But how long could he keep that promise? He did, after all, accidentally kill a zoner before. What will make this so different?

Feeling his strength being zapped from him, Rudy felt himself dropping down onto his knees in front of Mr. Cosmo. “O-Okay.. You win... I’ll.. I’ll use the chalk now.... if you let my friend go...”

Mr. Cosmo immediately released his finger from the button. This caused Snap to let out a loud, airy gasp, before collapsing. Rudy flinched when he noticed that Snap now adorned some burn marks on his body, as well as a few tears on his suit. Probably a direct result of what the man had done to hi. “Sure Rudy. I’ll let him go. Just make sure you put your hand on the black chalk and we can discuss things further.”

Rudy watched as the man drew closer, feeling his heart pound heavily. Looks like this was finally it. He...

Suddenly he could hear something clanging against the ground. He looked around and saw something small and metallic rolling in his direction. He stared at it, blinking in confusion. Then it suddenly spewed out some kind of smoke. Rudy immediately covered his mouth and coughed, struggling to breathe. He looked around, trying to shield his eyes.

He wasn’t able to stay up for much longer. His vision blurred, his senses weakening, Rudy collapsed onto his stomach. His world faded into darkness.

sss

Where was he? What was happening? It was like he was dragged into some sort of void. Blackness was all around him and he couldn’t figure out which way was up or down. It really felt like he was floating around in an empty space with no signs of life anywhere.

It was almost...relaxing... Maybe he should take a bit of a rest. There was nothing to worry about right now, right? Just close his eyes and...

“Rudy!” A voice suddenly called out to him.

He shuddered at this shout and he looked around. Was it really directed at him? Or was it someone else? He couldn’t tell. The voice seemed like it was coming from all around, and yet from nowhere at the same time. He gritted his teeth and looked around, moving with his arms and legs in the dark void as he tried to figure out what was going on.

“Rudy, you have to get up! We don’t have much time!” The voice sounded pretty frantic at this. “Please, get up!”

He could feel himself releasing a small groan and shake his head slowly. Was... Was he this Rudy that this person was trying to contact? He couldn’t remember if that was his name or not. He could not remember any names. It was like his mind had been drained of all thought and there was nothing left but blankness.

And yet every time that voice called out, he couldn’t help but freeze. That voice and that name, both were so familiar... He couldn’t just let it go. He couldn’t let it stop nagging him. It was crawling in the back of his head, seeping over his skull. It was making the darkness around him start to lighten up. He started to flinch at this steadily increasing brightness.

Then he could feel something start to pull him down. He struggled at first, kicking and squirming wildly in the air. But eventually, whatever was gripping him started to feel...comforting and good. It was almost like someone was trying to cuddle with him, despite the sensation of falling down. Warmth spread throughout his body and Rudy could feel his eyes start to close faster.

And then...

sss

“Rudy! Wake up!”

Suddenly, Rudy shot up awake, his body moving forward quickly. He let out a few coughs, suddenly aware of his surroundings. Gone was the sensation of comfort and taking over was the realization that he had only just been dreaming. A dull heachache formed, banging up inside of his skull, the same time of pain from not sleeping well, or in his case...

“Thank goodness! You inhaled a lot of that smoke!” The voice called out again. This time, it sounded more relieved and happy than anything else. “I thought you were going to be hurt much worse than it looked!”

Rudy rubbed his eyes. He was still waking up, still recovering from whatever the heck had happened. What did this guy mean by smoke? Was there some sort of fire? He struggled to remember, but his mind ached too much, pounded too hard, and he just couldn’t think of what could have possibly happened. He put his hand to his head and rubbed it, groaning softly.

He reopened his eyes and looked around. His vision was coming into focus. He blinked a few times, shapes coming into view. He shook his head, trying to clear his vision a little more. He then stopped and took a good look at the figure before him. His vision shifted from fuzzy to sharp a few times, and he was seeing double for a few moments. But once it settled in, he realized who this person was. He didn’t do anything at first. Soon things clicked into place, and he couldn’t help but breathe in sharply.

“M-M-Mr. Wilter...?” Rudy groaned. He tried to get up, but his headache wore him down. He ended up nearly falling forward. “Gah...” Rudy’s hand clamped to his forehead. “What happened to me...?”

Mr. Wilter hesitated. “...I happened to you.”

Rudy looked up at Mr. Wilter in shock. “What did you...do to me..?” He asked. He didn’t have the energy to ask that in an accusing tone of voice. He could only manage a weak cough and strained voice.

Mr. Wilter let out a small sigh. “I had to get you out of there somehow. I didn’t have much time. If I didn’t do something, then...”

Rudy’s eyes suddenly widened when he recalled a particular detail.

The black chalk...

Without warning, Rudy could feel memories flooding through his head. They struck him in the back like lightning bolts, flashes dominating his mind. He felt his breath freezing in his throat for several moments before he managed to force his lungs to start working again. This time, they kicked into overdrive, practically hyperventilating.

He could remember Mr. Cosmo and that ‘promise’ that he forced him to make. He rememberd how he had threatened to continue hurting Snap unless he joined. He remembered how Penny became a bargain chip as well to coax him to his side. He remembered that he had nearly fell for the man so-called ‘offer’, until...

Rudy looked over at Mr. Wilter, his mind filling up with a million questions. These kept echoing in his mind over and over again and he couldn’t stop it. Every time that he tried, it only got worse.

Eventually, a single thought dominated his mind.

“Where’s Snap? And where’s Penny?”

Mr. Wilter looked at him sympathetically. “Penny is fine.... But I couldn’t grab the other one.”

Rudy’s eyes filled with horror. “Y-You left him behind?!”

“...I had no choice.” Mr. Wilter confessed as he nodded his head. “Look, why don’t you rest up a bit, and I can explain. I’m sure there’s...a lot you’d want to hear.”

The fifteen year old nodded his head slowly, glaring at the man softly. There was a number of things he wanted to ask. Could they all be answered?


	25. Attempting To Escape

Marching towards Mr. Cosmo’s office never felt like this before. She had never felt this pumped, this geared, this adrenaline-filled before in the past. This was a new experience for her. And while new experiences were fun, she was not enjoying this one in the slightest.

That was because, unlike her other trips to Mr. Cosmo’s office, this was not based on duty or anything. But instead, it was out of...something else entirely. She could feel it consuming her, burning her up on the inside, as though she were some kind of food to be skewered over the fire.

Ms. Saffron had come into this knowing that things were going to happen. When Mr. Cosmo told her of his plans, and how he felt they would benefit society, she was on board. She always had some mixed feelings on it, but she allowed her excitement to push aside any concerns that she may have had. All that she was interested in was getting things off the ground. Though things did slow down once it became more and more apparent what they were dealing with, she still could not bring herself to turn against Mr. Cosmo.

Even now, she still believed in him and still had faith in him. She believed that he could do a lot of good for the world and that this project just might be what was needed to move things forward in a positive way.

But after what she had seen, she needed to talk to this man. There were some things that could not be waived that easily. And this happened to be one of them.

She was no stranger to the mind control nail. Mr. Cosmo had assured her that the ‘wild animals’ that the zoners were could not try to harm her while they had the nail in them. He never explained how they worked, but he did tell her that no zoner will attack her so long as a nail was put in them. She had agreed with this procedure because it helped her feel safe. She didn’t feel as though she could trust any of these zoners.

She was a bit shaken up when she saw Snap with the nail. She remembered how her heart raced and clenched at the sight of what looked like a small child writhing and crying in pain. Even after telling herself that it was only a zoner and not a real human being, she still could feel her heart going out to Snap. It looked really uncomfortable.

She had confronted Mr. Cosmo about that. The man had told her before that the zoners can’t be hurt that badly as they were drawings. But judging from what she had seen, Snap was suffering just as much as any real person would. So she tried to get the man to explain himself. Mr. Cosmo reminded her that zoners could still be recreated. That was...true, she admitted, but that still didn’t fully alleviate her emotions about the topic.

And now, she was still reeling from what she had seen last night.

When she had asked Mr. Cosmo about how the zoners get their mind control devices put into place, he had told her that it was a fairly simple procedure. Usually the zoners were knocked out for it if she remembered right.

But last night, she had seen one of these zoner creatures get a nail put in their head while they were awake... She could still hear those horrible screams echoing in her head. She could still see that employee pushing the nail into the large zoner’s skull. Despite how scary that green and purple thing looked, even she could not bear to watch them get that nail shoved in. She could have sworn she could hear their skull, if they had one, start to crack a little.

This was not something that she could simply ignore anymore. She needed to confront Mr. Cosmo once more on this. She wanted him to explain all of this. She didn’t mind doing this stuff if it didn’t cause actual pain. No matter the species, she didn’t like watching other creatures suffer. She wouldn’t wish this treatment on a crocodile. Why would she be okay with doing it to creatures that could speak like her?

She didn’t want to be angry at Mr. Cosmo. She wanted to believe that he had a good reason for all of this. She just... couldn’t think of what that reasoning would be. She couldn’t fathom what his train of thought was for all of this. She hoped that he had a good explanation for this. Otherwise, she wasn’t...

Ms. Saffron pushed those thoughts aside as she moved towards the door. She didn’t realize that she had already arrived at her location. She wiped herself off before proceeding to go in slowly, licking her lips a little. She grabbed onto the door knob and paused for a moment to catch her thoughts. Then she exhaled slowly and opened up the door.

“Mr. Cosmo, I need to speak to....” Ms. Saffron suddenly paused, her eyes widening in shock. “Mr. Cosmo!” She immediately rushed forward. “What happened?!”

There on the ground laid Mr. Cosmo. He was leaning himself up against a nearby wall, coughing heavily. His face had a bit of dirt on it and it looked like he was in pretty bad shape for a while. The fact that he was breathing did help calm her down, but the sound of his breathing combined with the horrible smell all around her caused her to flinch.

Soon she herself began to cough. She put her hands to her mouth and tried to cough out whatever was in the air. She could practically taste salt and she was dying for something to drink. She grabbed onto Mr. Cosmo and started to guide him out of that room. She allowed him to lean against her, supporting him so that he wouldn’t fall. In moments, they were out of the room.

Once they were out, they could suddenly breathe better. Ms. Saffron leaned her head back, drawing in deeper breath after deeper breath. She was about to collapse down when she could feel Mr. Cosmo tugging at her arm sleeve. She looked down at him with concern.

“Sir..?” Ms. Saffron whispered softly. “A-Are you okay...?”

Mr. Cosmo wheezed and coughed a few times. “I’m fine..” He closed his eyes and coughed heavily into his arm. Ms. Saffron didn’t fall for his statement for one second. But she said nothing and allowed him to continue. “G-Get him out...” He struggled to speak, having bouts of coughs coming out of his throat. He motioned his hand towards the door. “S-Snap is still in there... Get him out of the room... Now...”

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened at this. “What’s he doing there...?”

“N-Nevermind that!” Mr. Cosmo growled at her. “Just get him out before the smoke gets to him!” He shouted before he began to cough harder.

Ms. Saffron didn’t waste any more time. After glancing for another second at Mr. Cosmo, she turned and she rushed back into the room. She moved her arm over her mouth to try to ease her breathing a little bit as she looked around, trying to find that zoner. Where could he be?

She didn’t have to look around for too long. It was pretty easy finding the zoner laying on the ground, mostly still save for his coughing rattling his body. She gritted her teeth at this and she immediately headed over towards him quickly. She managed to scoop him up into her arms and she gently cradled him. She then ran towards the door as quickly as she could go, her feet pounding against the ground.

Soon they were out of the room. Ms Saffron held onto Snap tightly as she leaned against the wall behind her, coughing heavily. She struggled to regain her breath, her lungs refilling with fresh air, forcing the smoke out of them. She then looked down at Snap, seeing how he was doing.

Snap was not really responding too much. He still coughed, but it was getting less and less. But he did not look at her and he seemed weak. She started to wonder just how much smoke he had breathed in and how that was affecting him. Was it the same as a human? Should she get him some help? Would he be able to recover on his own?

“H-He should be fine...” Mr. Cosmo wheezed, answering her unspoken question. Ms. Saffron looked over at him. “I should be fine, too. Just need...to breathe more clean air..” Mr. Cosmo coughed hard, sounding so horrible. “I do believe that we should both recover in a few minutes. Just need some...rest...”

Ms. Saffron felt relief at this. But worry was still etched on her face. She did feel a tingling sensation as though she was forgetting something. But in this moment, it slipped her mind. “I’m glad you’re all right, sir.” She paused for a moment before looking down at Snap. “...you, too.”

“He will need to be placed back in his old cell for now. There’s no way he can go into his current one with the smoke in there.” Mr. Cosmo explained. His breathing started to sound a little better. “After you place him back in there, I want to you grab Draow and use him to find out where Rudy had went off to, and whoever had come to drag him away.”

That reminded Ms. Saffron of another question that she had. “Sir, what exactly...happened in there?”

Mr. Cosmo took in a few heavy breaths, as though still trying to fix his own lungs. He shuddered once or twice before he answered Ms. Saffron. With one of his eyes looking at her sideways, he stated, “S-S-Someone came in... to....” He coughed a few times, making it clear that his lungs were still filled up with a little bit of smoke. “...take Rudy somewhere... I didn’t see who they were. But they..couldn’t have gotten far...”

Ms. Saffron felt her eyes widen in shock at this. Her hand moved towards her mouth, her mind swirling with thoughts. The situation just got a lot more serious. Just who could have taken Rudy? And for what purpose? She couldn’t think of just who would want to take the child by this sort of means. Was it his parents? They didn’t come across to be like this.

But someone had to have done this. And whoever that someone was, they had Rudy with them. She didn’t know what their intentions were or what they wanted with Rudy. But judging from the fact that this person had used a smoke bomb to grab him, she couldn’t imagine it was anything good. If something wasn’t done soon, Rudy might...

Ms. Saffron took a more affirmative stance in front of Mr. Cosmo. Her previous anger with the man was forgotten and returning into place was her loyalty and faith with Mr. Cosmo. It was accompanied by the need to save Rudy from whatever fate he had gotten himself into. She would find out who had done this to him and to Mr. Cosmo and she would make sure that they wouldn’t get away with it.

“You can count on me, sir.” Ms. Saffron stated.

Mr. Cosmo gave her a small smile. “I had a feeling that I could rely on you.” He flinched as he motioned his hand forward, flicking his hand a little as a silent signal. “Drop off Snap first. Then go find Draow and have him track down the culprit.” He pointed his thumb towards the room. “Rudy’s scent should still be in there. Draow should be able to find the smell. Have him use that to figure out where Rudy’s been taken.”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head once at this. She looked down at Snap for a moment, readjusting him in her arms, before she started to make her way down the hallway. Thankfully, Snap’s old cell wasn’t too difficult to get to. She should be there in no time. Then she could figure out just where Rudy had been dragged off to.

She narrowed her eyes softly. She did recall that she still had something she wanted to speak to Mr. Cosmo about. There were still things that needed to be discussed regarding the zoners. Seeing and feeling Snap in her arms reminded her of this. Even with all that’s happened, she still wanted to make sure that she brought this up. But she would hold it off until this current situation was taken care of. She bit her lip. She didn’t want to be the reason that Rudy ended up hurt, or worse...

Ms. Saffron forced the thought out of her head for now as she got herself to continue moving forward. Things would work out fine in the end, she was certain. She just..needed to think positively. And then they were going to help improve the world, just like Mr. Cosmo promised.

sss

Snap curled up on the ground, ignoring the sound of the door behind shut behind him. He didn’t bother to look. At the moment, he didn’t really care about that. All that was on his mind right now were the events that had transpired back there. Events that he himself could never hope to forget, no matter what he tried. He could feel tears moving down his face and he sniffled softly, unable to believe what had just happened.

How could Rudy... do something like that to him...? How could Rudy just turn his back on him like that? How could his best friend abandon him in this kind of place?

It just didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t fathom what his motivation was. He was right there. He wasn’t that far. He could have grabbed him and left with him. He could have gotten him out of that place and he would have been safe. But instead, Rudy just left him there, and Snap couldn’t understand why.

His mind whirled in his head, aching and pounding, his body shuddering as he tried to think of what could have happened inside of Rudy’s mind to make him do such a thing. He didn’t want to think that Rudy had left him on purpose. That wouldn’t be in his nature. In all the times that he’s known him, Rudy’s always done whatever he could to save him and make sure that he was safe. So why would he start to change now?

Nothing about that meeting suggested Rudy was ‘altered’ by Mr. Cosmo in any shape or form. There was nothing to suggest that Rudy had changed his mind about Snap or had other plans. Indeed, Rudy looked ready to tear Mr. Cosmo apart after he was hurting him so badly. Snap would have thought that Rudy would have grabbed him the moment that smoke started to appear.

But no, that is not what had happened. Snap had seen what Rudy had done. And he had essentially done.... nothing. No attempt to call out to him at least. No move to try to get him to safety. He was just...out of there, and he couldn’t understand why Rudy would do something that horrible to him.

Snap remembered hearing the thing clanging against the ground. He remembered smelling smoke before it happened. He remembered the area being filled up with the dark grey mist. He remembered having trouble breathing and his eyes becoming irritated. But even with how red and puffy and teary that they were getting, he was still able to make out shapes. And there were two in particular he had been paying attention to.

The larger green form, he knew was Mr. Cosmo. The man had staggered away from him and collapsed very quickly. Snap could easily hear his coughs and wheezes. He tried to ignore them, but it was really too horrible to just push aside.

And then there was Rudy, the smaller form. Snap recalled how Rudy was staggering, struggling to stand up, his body swaying from side to side. Snap almost thought that Rudy was going to collapse at any given moment. The fact that it didn’t happen at all surprised him. But not as much as what had happened next.

Snap hadn’t expected Rudy to just run off like that. Rudy looked as though he was in a hurry. Instead of going to help Snap, Rudy had taken off in one direction. Snap was certain that he had seen someone else’s arm and made the connection that Rudy chose to follow them.

Though he did remember Rudy falling down...

But that momentary piece of hope that maybe Rudy didn’t leave under his own free will was shattered by the other memories that came flooding in. Regardless, Rudy still left, was still somehow on his feet, even if it was for a short time, and he still failed to save him. He just...

Snap hissed softly, feeling a wave of pain rushing through him. This stupid, fucking nail... It kept drilling into his head and he thought it was going to tear into his brain any second now. He was too afraid to touch it, thinking that doing so would cause him not just more pain, but complicate the issues further. That was not something that he felt that he could afford. He had too much on his mind right now, anyway.

Snap did admit to himself that maybe his memories were just confused, the smoke having gotten the better of him. Maybe he was just hallucinating and he was just remembering wrong. He would love for that to be the case.

But at this point, he just didn’t know. He didn’t know what to think. He didn’t know how to find out if he’s wrong or not. He just knew that he was trapped here and he didn’t know if he would ever get out of here. He was a prisoner to some madman who wanted to use ChalkZone to benefit his own end goals. And there was literally nothing that he could do to stop him.

Snap could feel a surge of emotions gushing through him at this realization. It was all becoming so much. With Rudy’s apparent betrayal, with being locked up in here, with Mr. Cosmo planning nothing good for ChalkZone, it weighed down on his mind heavily. The fact that he was still in pain and still recovering from the smoke didn’t help matters, either. Nor did his lack of food and water in several hours. It was just a combination of factors that left him feeling weakl and sickly.

Loneliness started to grip him now. He realized, for the first time, just how truly alone he really was here. He had no one. Any zoner that was here was either already loyal to Mr. Cosmo...or they were nailed like he was. And Rudy, he... failed to save him and now he was gone, too. The feeling of being alone caved in around Snap, and it soon became too much for him.

Using the remaining strength that he had, Snap curled up on the ground and he could feel his large, fat tears dripping down rapidly. He took in several shuddering breaths and soon sobs wracked through his body, causing him to quake. His cries echoed throughout the room.

This lasted for several minutes. His ears were filled with nothing but the sounds of his own crying. It was getting to the point where he thought for sure that sound would be forever etched into his head, with nothing that he could do to change it. He licked his lips slowly as he let out another sob, forcing himself to lift up his head.

He could feel how wet his face was from all of the crying. He raised an arm up and wiped at his face, hoping to try to get rid of some of that wetness. He shook his head a few times before looking around, taking note of his blurry surroundings, trying to figure out just what he was going to do.

But he couldn’t just lay here forever, could he? Even if Rudy wasn’t going to come save him, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t try himself. There was no one around here right now and Mr. Cosmo was too busy with something else to really pay much attention to him right now. If there was any chance to try to escape, now was it.

Snap narrowed his eyes slowly, feeling his teeth gritting tightly. He pushed himself up from the bed, panting slowly, staring at the door. His mind felt like it was going a million miles an hour. It was in that moment that he made his decision.

Regardless of whatever Rudy’s plans were, Snap was going to try to get himself out of here.

sss

“But mom... I can’t just stand here and do nothing! I-I have to go and....”

“For the last time, Penita, no. You are too hurt. You can’t leave. I forbid it.”

“Mom....!”

“End of discussion. Now lay down and rest. I’ll go get you something to drink.”

Penny wasn’t able to say anything else before her mom abruptly turned and walked away, leaving her alone. Penny narrowed her eyes and grumbled softly. She wished that her mom would just listen to her. Now wasn’t the time to be laying down resting. Now was the time to move as quickly as possible.

But in the end, Penny knew that her mom was right, as well as Mr. Wilter. She was in no condition to be running around like this. She knew this from before. She was badly hurt and it would be suicide, insane, idiotic, to go rushing in like this.

But still, she didn’t want to just leave Rudy hanging there. She wanted to help him. She wanted to make sure that he was safe. She wanted to get him out of that horrible situation that he was trapped in. It was not fair that he had to remain in that place while she was out here, safe and sound. Or rather, as safe as she could possibly be.

Mr. Wilter had brought her out here after their discussion. She had told him what she could, and it turned out, much to her shock, that Mr. Wilter was already familiar with Mr. Cosmo and his....issues. Mr. Wilter did not really reveal to her how much that he knew. But even with what little he had told her, it was still a bombshell. She could feel her mind cracking open at the realization that her teacher, the same one that she had known for years, was actually much more observant than she and Rudy gave him credit for.

She had wanted to go with him, but he had insisted that she go back to her mother’s. Her mom would have been able to treat her even though she wasn’t exactly a pet, and he had turned out to be right. Her mom had done the best that she could to patch her up. When asked, Penny could only say that she was attacked by a dog. Her mom was horrified and said it had to have been a huge dog. Penny did not respond to that.

Mr. Wilter did know what had actually attacked her, and he kept silent on it. He was aware of what could happen if her mom found out she was attacked by a large, winged wolf. If she didn’t think it was an insane joke, she would flip out.

Penny hissed softly as she adjusted herself on her bed, pressing her back against the head board behind her. Her mom may have mended her wounds but that did not reduce the pain all that much. Some small portions still stung from what ointments her mother had used. Considering how deep these wounds were, Penny suspected that she would not be on ‘perfect working order’ for at least a month.

She didn’t feel all that comfortable with just sitting here while Mr. Wilter went out and tried to help Rudy, though. She felt like she was letting Rudy down by not doing anything. Even though, technically, she was helping him by alerting someone else to his predicament, someone who might be able to get him out of it. But that still didn’t shake off the feelings of guilt rising up inside of her.

Penny turned her head as her mom started to walk back into the room slowly. She noticed her holding something in her hands. Some steam rose up from it, indicating that it was hot. Penny could smell it from here. Some kind of sweet honey lemon tea. And sitting beside the mug, she could see two small white, oblong pills.

Medicine. Of course.

Ms. Sanchez stopped beside Penny’s bed and lowered the tray down towards her. She hovered it in front of Penny, close enough for her to reach it without too much issue.

“Here you go, Penita. Some nice warm tea and medicine to help take away the pain.” Ms. Sanchez told her daughter.

Penny smiled the best that she could at her mom. “Thanks.” She froze for a moment as she reached over, her body locking in a surge of pain. She brushed it off and then grabbed onto the tea, using her other hand to scoop up the pills.

The handle was a little too warm, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable. Penny raised the cup close to her mouth and she gently blew on the hot liquid, trying to cool it down a little. She did this a few times, watching as the steam danced around her, before she started to sip the liquid. She flinched a little, her lips slightly burning. Still a little too hot. She waited a little longer.

After about five minutes and a few more blowing sessions, the hot liquid was chilled enough that she could start to drink it better without much hinderance. She dropped the pills into her mouth, ignoring their bitter taste. Then she tilted the cup back and she swallowed, feeling the hot fluids and the pills squeezing down her throat, hitting her stomach. Then after a few more sips, she set the cup back down.

“It will take about an hour before the medicine will fully kick in, Penita.” Ms. Sanchez cooed softly. “Try to relax while it works its wonders.”

Penny wasn’t really sure if she could rest. Not while her friends were in danger. She wouldn’t be surprised if she were to try jumping out of bed now and rushing over to help her friends at this very moment, uncaring if she got herself hurt or not.

But she also knew just how dumb this would have been. What good would she be if she just let herself get hurt? How could she help her friends like that? The only option that she had was just have faith in Mr. Wilter and hope that he will be able to rescue Rudy.

But there was one thing that was on her mind. One thing that kept repeating itself again and again in her head, refusing to leave her alone.

Just how long could she just sit here, doing nothing, before she would be compelled into trying something?


	26. Delving Into The Past

Rudy stared at Mr. Wilter in shock. His head felt solid, as though something heavy crawled into it and made him feel like he was going to fall down at any second. He tried to see if Mr. Wilter was making this stuff up. He tried to see if there was anything in the man’s eyes that could tell him that he was misunderstanding something. But no matter what he tried, nothing really revealed anything to him. Mr. Wilter was just as serious as ever.

But... How was this possible..? He had known this man for years. He had heard the things that he’s said before. He knew how he thought...didn’t he? None of this made sense. How could Mr. Wilter have...

But here he was, in a situation where that seemed undeniable. Mr. Wilter had not spoken up much yet. But what he did tell him before shattered his view of this man. He kept struggling to breathe as his heart twisted and pounded. He felt an avalanche of mixed emotions hitting him, and it didn’t seem like there was any escape. He felt like he was being pulled in two different directions at once and he wondered how much more of this that he could take.

Rudy felt like he was being overwhelmed. His senses felt like they were going to explode. He felt like...

Was Mr. Wilter really....

“Okay you can stop staring at me like that now.” Mr. Wilter grumbled. “You’re starting to creep me out.”

Rudy blinked at this, not realizing just how much he really was staring at the man. He shook his head quickly and chuckled softly, unable to believe just how stupid that he had been right then. “Oh... I’m sorry...” He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “I-I didn’t...”

Mr. Wilter raised his hand up. “It’s quite all right. This is a bit of a bombshell for you, isn’t it?”

Rudy gulped and nodded slowly. “W-Well yeah... I mean, how could I have known that you...”

“Knew about ChalkZone?”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah.”

Mr. Wilter furrowed his eyes slowly. “It’s not something that I go spewing around, in case you didn’t notice.” He shifted his gaze to the side, his eyes narrowing a little further. “I did not exactly have a good time in there. And when I saw people coming out that one day, I thougth that...” He paused for a few moments. He exhaled again and shook his head. “Well that doesn’t matter right now, does it?”

Rudy flinched slightly. Mr. Wilter hadn’t told him enough to know what happened, but he could already tell that the man had some bitter feelings about this world. Was it actually because of ChalkZone itself, though? Or was it because of...

“How long have you known Mr. Cosmo...?” Rudy knew that wasn’t exactly the best question to ask right now. But curiosity was getting the better of him at the moment.

Mr. Wilter glared at him, causing Rudy to cringe back. If it weren’t for the weakened lungs, he might have even let out a small scream. He had never seen Mr. Wilter look at him this way before. He felt like he was in lock down and there was nothing that he could do to turn his gaze away from the angered man. It seemed to take hours before Mr. Wilter did anything.

Mr. Wilter’s expression softened up and he looked at Rudy with a bit of an apologetic look. He turned his head away, staring off into the distance, at nothing in particular. He drew in a slow, almost deliberate breath, before exhaling slowly. “I... have known that man since childhood.”

Rudy leaned in a little, trying to be a little bit brave. “Was he...a good friend of yours?”

Mr. Wilter was silent for a few moments. Then he nodded his head once. “We used to be pretty close. We lived in the same neighborhood. We were mostly the only friends that we had. Kind of like how you and Penny hang out so much.”

Rudy felt himself grimace slightly. He knew that Mr. Wilter didn’t have the best childhood. If he remembered right, his dad was pretty nasty to him regarding cartoons, which is why Mr. Wilter was the way that he was with cartoons and comics and what not.

But he didn’t realize that his childhood was even worse than that. Geeze, only one friend? Well that was better than nothing. Rudy had no friends for the most part until he created Snap, and then eventually came Penny. He understood what Mr. Wilter was going through here.

“We used to hang out in ChalkZone together. Well almost... There were times that we would go off on our own, do our own thing. But that didn’t mean that we didn’t have adventures together. We loved that world. It was so much fun... I...” Mr. Wilter tried to smile, but that smile rapidly faded. He turned his head down and he frowned a little.

Rudy swallowed, nervous about that change in expression. It was almost like a part of the man was dying right in front of him. He bit his lip and leaned in a little, trying to figure out just what the man was going to say next.

“But... It would seem that ChalkZone just...wasn’t for us.” Mr. Wilter commented. His voice sounded soft and it almost drolled on a little. “Perhaps we just weren’t right for it. Maybe we should have turned back sooner.”

“Why do you say that?” Rudy asked, utterly confused and disturbed by Mr. Wilter’s behavior. “What could have happened that...”

Mr. Wilter turned to stare at Rudy intently. There was a short pause and Rudy found himself cringing away from the man. This lasted for a few long moments before Mr. Wilter finally spoke. “It all changed within a day.”

Rudy felt something flash in the back of his head. He recalled that Biclops said that things changed very quickly as well, didn’t he? Biclops had told them about Mr. Cosmo and his sudden change of heart. He remembered how terrified he was to learn of this, how terrified he was to realize that Mr. Cosmo had shifted so fast, taking the zoners by surprise. And then all of those horrible acts...

Now Mr. Wilter seemed aware of this. Rudy wasn’t sure what to think about this. He could feel his stomach churning uncomfortably as he realized that Mr. Wilter knew about the countless deaths of zoners, the blood bath that ensured in ChalkZone, the... He tried to get his thoughts to stop as he watched Mr. Wilter carefully, wondering what he was going to say next. Something told him that he was not going to like it.

Mr. Wilter’s expression furrowed not into anger, but something more resembling worry. “I don’t know what happened to him that day. He just seemed to suddenly change out of nowhere. I...I think it had something to do with... but I have no idea... None of us do for one hundred percent certainty.” Mr. Wilter went quiet for a moment and sighed, “All I knew for certain was that.. my friend had changed for the worse.”

Rudy’s stomach stung as he listened to Mr. Wilter talk like this. He could feel his heart going out to the old man. He really did sound hurt by this, and so betrayed. He wondered just what could have happened to...

Then he realized... He did have a good idea on what happened. He didn’t have any proof, but there was enough evidence pointing in that direction. He usually wasn’t the one to try to spread anything, but judging from the way Mr. Wilter spoke, perhaps the man was already aware of what could have happened. The only way to find out was to speak up about it.

Which Rudy did.

“H-Hey... I... think I...” Rudy started to say. He stammered a little, his fingers fumbling, his eyes shifting left and right. “I might know something, but I’m not so sure. I...”

Mr. Wilter looked at him carefully. He kept staring at Rudy for several moments before he began to move towards the boy a little closer. Those eyes of his kept staring at him intently, waiting for him to say something. Rudy could almost see the urgency in his eyes. Rudy felt himself hesitating for a few moments before he could bring himself to say anything.

“Well I could still be wrong, but..” Rudy rubbed the back of his head. “Mr. Cosmo, he kept trying to get me to use the black chalk and...” He looked back at Mr. Wilter, his eyes watching him warily. “C-Could that have anything to do with it...?”

Mr. Wilter’s eyes showed a flash of something. Some kind of strong emotion. Fear, horror, shock, anger? It was one of those, he knew for certain. It was there, and when it was there, Mr. Wilter looked like he was about to jump back. Then he settled down a little, his gaze shifting more into a grim realization. He looked away, staring at the ground for a length of time. Rudy watched this with a morbid curiosity.

It was obvious that something was on the man’s mind. Something was making him freeze up like this. Something was making him just... And it was all because Rudy had mentioned the black chalk. This caused his heart to sting. Was his assumption correct? He really did want to believe that he was wrong, but he could not keep himself in a constant state of denial. Especially if Mr. Wilter seemed to agree with him. At least so far.

Mr. Wilter looked back at Rudy. “I had a thought about that. But I wasn’t really...sure. I guess a part of me just wanted to believe that no magic chalk could do...that to a person. But that was just wishful thinking.” He shifted his head to one side. “It would certainly explain why he was able to ‘recruit’ all those people...”

Rudy felt his eyes widen at this. “You were there...? You were one of the ones who tried to fight him?”

Mr. Wilter looked at Rudy sadly, a tinge of shame written on his face. “I didn’t want to. I tried to stay out of it for the longest time. But I couldn’t ignore his deeds anymore. I had accepted that my real friend had died, and was replaced by this person. I went as far as pretend that we were never that great of friends.” Upon seeing Rudy give him a look, Mr. Wilter said, “Yes, I know. That’s not the most mature way of going about things. But I couldn’t help it. It was the only way I felt that it could hurt a little less.”

Rudy wasn’t really sure how to respond to this. He didn’t like the idea of someone going as far as pretending that they never had anything special with someone, even if it was for self defense. It just seemed like a cop out. Wouldn’t it make things worse?

But at the same time, he couldn’t just expect Mr. Wilter to pretend that he was happy, either. That wasn’t going to resolve anything. It was going to make it worse. He didn’t want to do that to Mr. Wilter. It was clear that this was hurting him on the inside and that he never wanted to do this. Rudy couldn’t remain that angry at the man for that long. And besides, they had other things they needed to focus on.

Such as figuring out what they were going to do from here.

Rudy would like to keep learning more about Mr. Wilter’s connection to ChalkZone and he would like to discuss with him more on the black chalk and Mr. Cosmo. But that would need to be shoved aside for now. They needed to focus on trying to get out of his place, quickly.

Looking over at Mr. Wilter once more, Rudy could feel his eyes narrowing slowly. Mr. Wilter took notice of this. He remained silent as he permitted Rudy to speak first. The two could only look at one another as they felt as though a breeze was moving through them.

Then Rudy spoke. “Do you think we should get a move on?”

sss

Ms. Saffron moved quietly down the hallway, taking her time. She felt her teeth gritting as she looked around slowly, wondering just how far she had traveled. In this place, it was rather difficult and she was having a hard time keeping track of how many rooms that she was passing by. She began to wonder if she was going around in circles or not.

Beside her, Draow moved along slowly. She had a lead tied around his neck. She wasn’t sure if Mr. Cosmo wanted her to take him like this or not, but she did feel better doing things this way, anyway. It was easier to keep Draow in check and keep him from doing anything too crazy. The large beast would suffer a painful tightening around the neck if that were the case. Ms. Saffron instinctively held onto the rope as she moved in deeper down this hallway.

Draow had his snout pointed slightly upwards. His black nostrils were flaring about, wetness shining from it, as he searched around for wherever Rudy had gone. Or at least, that was what Ms. Saffron was hoping was happening. He had been doing well earlier but lost the trail, forcing them to have to try every hallway until they found something. Well, it was at least better than nothing, and Draow didn’t look like he was ready to call it quits just yet.

Ms. Saffron did have some confidence in Draow being able to find the boy. Even if it took longer than she thought it would have, Draow would figure out where Rudy was taken. Then they could save him from whoever had taken him. And then they could...

Her mind went through several thoughts as she continued this trip. Thoughts that interfered with her fear for Rudy and then just added to it. There were other things on her mind and she found it hard to filter it all out to focus. A part of her wondered if this had been a good idea. She still had some trust for Mr. Cosmo and she still felt compelled to help him. Yet at the same time, some more thoughts were coming in and they were getting harder to ignore.

She still felt conflictions about this whole nail business, and she felt a growing uncomfortableness when she thought of how much pain the zoners were actually feeling. Mr. Cosmo already tried to quell her on those issues. But despite knowing that zoners could be redrawn, that didn’t make this any easier to deal with. Memories flooded back to her, forcing her to relive those moments. She couldn’t help but recall in detail everything that she’s witnessed.

Snap was the most haunting to her of all. She had been there, up close and personal, as Snap recently got the nail put in his head and he kept thrashing about. She almost thought that he was going to attack her. And if that happened, would she have been able to blame him? Something told her that she would not.

But Snap wasn’t the only one. What of that big guy? The one she had seen the nail get put into? He wasn’t exactly having such a good time. Granted, he was clearly trying to be braver and not beg or plead. Most of what he said, if he weren’t screaming, were threats. But they were a direct response to the pain. Despite his efforts to hide it, it was plain to see how much the large zoner was suffering for this. Snap may have been the most memorable as he looked like a little child, but even this big zoner’s pain and suffering was getting to her.

Ms. Saffron hated the idea of letting these doubts return. She didn’t want to feel this way about Mr. Cosmo. That didn’t seem like it was really fair. She felt that she should give him more of the benefit of the doubt. If he were doing this and he didn’t seem worried, there had to be a good reason, right? It couldn’t have just been a ‘zoners could be recreated’ sort of thing. There had to be something more to this that she wasn’t getting. Something like…

Ms. Saffron couldn’t really think of what it could be, though. Nothing that came to her mind was making much sense. She could just spare herself and say that it was okay to do these things to zoners, who weren’t real people. But her heart wouldn’t have been able to accept that. She needed something….better.

And what of Rudy? Was he really in trouble like Mr. Cosmo said? Or did the boy run off? Mr. Cosmo already admitted before that his methods were unorthodox. Could Rudy have just escaped and was not in any actual danger? Could Mr. Cosmo be lying about that…?

She was stopped from continuing her thoughts when she heard a low sigh beside her. She turned her head and she could see Draow moving a bit more differently than usual. Slower, his ears lowered a tad and flickering. He didn’t look quite as perky as he usually would. She wondered for a few moments what could be wrong with him. And then, she realized…

Could Draow be sensing her doubt…?

She was aware that animals could sometimes sense how humans were feeling. She wasn’t sure how accurate they were or what. She didn’t even know to what extent it was true. But that didn’t change the fact that this did seem to be what she was witnessing with Draow here. The big beast did look as though he realized that she was upset about something and was responding accordingly.

Was this something to be concerned about? She had no idea. And a part of her wasn’t sure if she wanted to find out. If anything, Draow behaving like this was making her even more uneasy of this whole thing. It was constantly reminding her that zoners were far from drawings, and that caused her doubt to increase a little more.

And of course, that doubt transferred over to Draow. He let out a small whine and she could see his ears flattening a little more. He was moving his head from side to side slowly. It was almost like he was expecting something to happen. But she wasn’t sure what it could be. Was it more sensing her doubt? If that is the case, then…

Then Draow started to slow down abruptly. He did not pull on the lead, but he looked like he was close to doing so. There was some kind of flash in his eyes, something that immediately said that something was going on in his mind. His tail swished about and his body gave a few small shakes. He kept looking around, and as he did this, his pupils losing some size, Ms. Saffron slowly made a realization.

Draow was not upset about her. He was upset about something else.

The moment that she made his realization, Draow’s behavior started to seem more...normal. It still reminded her of an animal, but in a different way. Draow was acting like he wanted to get away. He wasn’t even trying to sniff anything anymore like he was earlier. It was like he already knew all there was to know here and he wanted to leave. Seeing Draow like this caused Ms. Saffron’s anxiety of this place grow even more.

And then, once she actually started to look around, she realized that she did not recognize this hallway. She had walked further than she had intended and now she was in a place that she did not fully recognize. It was still obviously part of Mr. Cosmo’s building. But just where this was...she didn’t know.

Despite not knowing where this place was, however, she still felt herself compelled to move forward slowly. She felt almost drawn into this place. And the door right in front of her looked like it was beckoning to her. She wasn’t really sure why. This place did not look particularly special. And yet here she was, moving towards it slowly, unable to stop herself. She licked her lips slowly, tasting a bitterness as a result of her nerves. What could be beyond this door?

She didn’t realize that she had let go of Draow’s lead at this point. She hardly felt the rope leaving her hand. Her eyes just focused on what was in front of her, moving ever closer to the door. She wasn’t even sure if Draow was still following her or not. All that she focused on right now, in this very moment, was just figuring out what was in that room.

As soon as she had entered it, she could feel her core temperature dropping a little. Suddenly, it felt like she was in some kind of chilly location, as though the winds had kicked up on high and was blowing all around her. She tried to ignore it, but no matter what she did or tried, it didn’t seem to work. And yet despite this, she still moved in deeper.

This was a pretty strange room. She hadn’t seen anything like this before. None of the other rooms were quite like this one. She could feel her heart clenching a little as she forced herself in deeper, curiosity getting the best of her.

The room was medium-sized and didn’t seem to have much stuff in it. But despite looking about as empty as the room that Mr. Cosmo met Rudy in, this room somehow felt...busier. There were a few chalkboards on the walls around her, each with some sort of mark on them. She could see a few pieces of chalk just laying on the ground. Some looked as though they had been broken into pieces, and some of them looked pretty deliberate.

As she headed in further into the room, her questions only began to raise up higher, making her ponder just what was going on here. Something felt really wrong here. It might have looked like just an artist’s room, one that was really frustrated at that. But something felt different here. Something didn’t seem right. Something was…

She looked over and noticed a small table off to the side. This one had some pieces of chalk in it. But they didn’t look right. Broken yes, but not like the others. Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes a little as she moved in slowly, trying to figure out what it could be that was different.

And then it dawned on her.

The two pieces, one red and one white, both having an accumulation of crumbles and dust beneath them, were cut down the middle and then pushed together. It was almost as if Mr. Cosmo was trying to…. Ms. Saffron froze at this, realization washing throughout her body. She struggled to keep breathing, the very act having grown difficult for her in those few moments.

Was Mr. Cosmo….doing what she thought he was doing…?

No, it couldn’t be. She must have been imagining it. Mr. Cosmo never mentioned anything about this. He wouldn’t.... He couldn’t... Ms. Saffron tried to push the thoughts out of her head. She didn’t want to keep continuing to believe that this was the case. She didn’t want to think that Mr. Cosmo would have gone this far. He just wanted to keep everyone safe. He just wanted to...

...but then if he didn’t do something like this, how could he have known how to get the nails to do what they should? How did he come to know how zoners are vulnerable to water?

Well, he did say that he knew them when he was younger, so it was probably just that. But why could she not shake off this uncomfortable feeling? Why did it still feel as though something was up? Why couldn’t she shake it off and accept it as just...

...unless...

Her thoughts were interrupted when she could see something in front of her. There was an occupant in this room. Something small and furry, colored with yellow and red. She did not recognize what this was. The only thing that she could tell in that immediate moment is that something felt very....wrong about it. She couldn’t figure out what it was.

Then her mind flashed when she recalled the chalk that was put together as her eyes focused on the zoner’s outline. She had grown used to seeing this, but it was still unnerving to see. A reminder of how these things weren’t human. But they were normally consistant with their coloring. But this zoner had a striped outline. Bits of red hinted throughout. And when she reminded herself of that chalk she had seen, she immediately clicked with what it meant.

Mr. Cosmo had been experimenting with the magic chalk. He had been trying to create something new.

Ms. Saffron felt her legs grow weak as she fought against her nausea. She put her hand to her mouth as she tried not to throw up. This... This went beyond just experimentation. This was worse than that. Mr. Cosmo was toying around with something that he should not. He wasn’t just creating a zoner. He was creating a new type of zoner. A breed that should not exist. And he did it all right under everyone’s nose.

Ms. Saffron had to get out of here. She couldn’t stay. She couldn’t bear to be in this place for any longer, and she couldn’t bear to look at this zoner. She swallowed hard and she turned to try to leave.

But then...

“....company... been so long... company...”

Ms. Saffron heard that as mostly growls, but a few words were heard. She swallowed hard as she turned around to look at the creature. She hadn’t expected the thing to be able to speak. She thought that it was feral. Somehow, that didn’t really help soothe her shaken mind.

The beast looked like a furry reptilian creature, its tale swishing from side to side slowly. Its bright green eyes peered into hers, somehow complimenting the long fangs that grew from its mouth.

“Come and chat?” The creature asked, raising its paw up like it was some kind of hand, gesturing to her.

Ms. Saffron swallowed at this. And then, reluctantly, she moved slowly towards the creature.


	27. More Going On Underneath

Trying to think of just what to do next wasn’t that easy. Trying to find their way out of here was important, but then, so was trying to find anyone to rescue. But neither action seemed viable as there was one particular issue that hovered over their heads.

None of them knew where to go.

Rudy furrowed his eyes at this realization. He licked his lips slowly, swallowing hard. He kept himself close behind Mr. Wilter. He wasn’t really sure what else to do. The man had agreed with him that getting a move on was the best thing that they could do right now. Staying in one spot would not have been a very good idea.

Rudy decided to break the silence, unable to take it for much longer now. “Do you know where you are going?”

At this, Mr. Wilter nearly stopped in his tracks. “Of course I don’t know where I’m going, Rudy. I’ve never been here before. We just....have to keep moving and hope for the best.”

Rudy wasn’t really sure what to think about that. But he also knew that Mr. Wilter was right. They really didn’t have much of a choice. It was either this or just standing in one place. And doing the latter would have resulted in them getting caught faster. At least this way, they had a chance at finding some place that they could escape through.

Rudy looked around as they kept walking, keeping his mouth shut tightly. This wasn’t exactly the best spot to be looking around. Especially with how dim it was and the smell.... But he did still think that it was a smart move, considering things. Moving in the walls did make it harder for them to be detected.

But they still needed to be quiet. It was apparent that the sound in this place echoed more easily. This meant that something as simple as a small tap would be magnified and he and Mr. Wilter could be caught. The thought filled him up with dread and made him move more rigidly. This caused him to slow down even more. But given what was at stake here, he realized that a slower pace was better than a fast one. He couldn’t help anyone if he were captured, now could he?

At least there was a good amount of light here, even if it was dim. The light from the hallways seeped in through small cracks. It was enough to give this area some illumination so that he and Mr. Wilter could traverse through here without tripping over the wires.

And oh geeze, there were a lot of them. Left and right, bundles of wires or singular wires zipping along the ground. It didn’t seem to end. He wasn’t too surprised by this. Mr. Wilter did mention that these must control not just the main electricity, but also the security systems and cameras that must be in place. Of course, that made sense.

Rudy felt a brief, cold chill as he started to wonder just how much the cameras were looking at. Were they in the rooms as well? Were they just in the hallways? He supposed it all depended on just how paranoid Mr. Cosmo was....and that immediately caused Rudy to flinch. He wouldn’t be at all surprised if the man went all out just for this.

The two of them continued on through the hallway, or rather the inside of the hallway. They didn’t know where they were, but they were at least aware enough that they were still in the heart of the building. They were nowhere near the exit...or to any of the zoners, for that matter. At least, Rudy could not hear them. But he recalled Lars couldn’t speak and...

This caused his mind to go a million miles an hour, recalling in detail what Mr. Cosmo had told him before. He was controlling the zoners. He could make them do anything, even without some sort of controller. A zoner could be dispatched to find them, and since they can go through small cracks...

Rudy’s thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt himself slamming into something soft and solid. He grunted and moved himself back. He shook his head and he turned to glare at who it was...only to get a reminder that Mr. Wilter was with him.

“I’m so sorry, I...”

“Shush...!” Mr. Wilter called out, raising his hand up. Mr. Wilter’s narrowed eyes never looked at Rudy; instead they focused on looking around slowly, as though something else had caught his attention. “Do you hear that..?”

Rudy tried to listen. He moved in closer, turning his head to one side, trying to match Mr. Wilter’s. But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t hear anything right away. He couldn’t help but look at Mr. Wilter in confusion, wondering what he could be going on about.

But when he opened his mouth to ask him a question, that’s when he finally heard it. Some soft talking coming through the walls. He shifted his head towards the spot. He swallowed as quietly as he could as he crept in closer, crouching a little as he stared intently at the wall. He couldn’t see any shadows showing that someone was there, but he knew that there had to be at least two people there as he could hear voices. Two distinct ones. And the volume slowly increased.

“Hey do you think Mr. Cosmo will be all right?”

“Well probably. It might take him a little bit to be on the move again. Sheesh, can you believe it, though? What jackass broke in here and gassed that room?”

“How did this intruder even get by? The cameras are turned on!”

“I have no idea. Maybe they disabled them?”

“Either way, we need to find that intruder and fast. I know Ms. Saffron’s already looking for them, but I think we can help, too.”

“I’m still not sure of this goal of his. But if it means making sure that we are not harmed by those chalk things, I’m in.”

Rudy sucked in a sharp breath. More people in this place were in cahoots with Mr. Cosmo. It was not just Ms. Saffron. While he couldn’t say he was surprised to learn this, at the same time, he was kind of hoping that he would be wrong and that Ms. Saffron was his only confident. Turned out this train of thought was incorrect.

So that confirmed that. Ms. Saffron had been sent to find the intruder, in this case, Mr. Wilter, and now there were more people involved. Rudy was glad that the two men that he heard could not see them through the wall, nor would they even think to look there. Good thing, too, for that was apparently how Mr. Wilter bypassed the security altogether.

Neither he nor Mr. Wilter moved a muscle until they were certain that the two men had disappeared down the hallway. It was only after they left that they let out a small exhale of relief and continued on forward. Although they still moved a bit slowly, considering just how close they could have come to getting caught.

As they went along, Rudy could feel his heart tightening at the thought of what the zoners might be going through right now. A part of him wondered just how much of them were caught as a result of Spy Fly. The thought of that zoner started to heat up his blood. If he ever got a hold of her...

Rudy shook the thought out of his mind, almost terrified at what nearly rang through his head. He couldn’t think like that. He couldn’t let himself get that dark. He didn’t want to be like Mr. Cosmo. They would deal with her like they would anybody else, and that would be through a jail system. Once she was caught and apprehended, once they forced her to play all the footage that she got, she would be found guilty and locked up where she could not help bring pain to anybody else.

It was still causing him to quake thinking about it, though. He still could not believe just what had happened, how Spy Fly went unnoticed for so long... And now he wondered, what other zoners could be secretly working for this evil man? How many were left uncaught? How were they going to....

“Rudy, stop.” Mr. Wilter’s voice sliced through his thoughts, interrupting them. “We’ve reached a crossroads.”

Rudy blinked as he turned to see what the man was talking about. He felt his teeth grit as he noticed that the man was indeed correct. Situated before them was a place where they had two paths to take. The choice was simple. They had to pick which way they should go. But that was easier said than done. Which one would be the right one?

Rudy furrowed his eyes. “I wonder which one of these would take us to the zoners...”

At this, Mr. Wilter seemed to flinch a little. “I...think you shouldn’t worry about them right now.” Rudy turned to stare at Mr. Wilter in shock, horrified by what the man had just said. Mr. Wilter quickly said, “W-Well, we still need to get out, and Penny was badly hurt and...”

“How can you say that I should just abandon the zoners..?” Rudy whispered in a low voice. His thoughts immediately went back to when Snap was left behind. He could feel his blood heating up once more. “You left Snap behind on purpose, didn’t you...?”

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened at this. He made a few quick shakes of his hand as he said, “N-No... It’s not like that at all, Rudy!” Mr. Wilter raised his hands up and took a few steps back. “But we need to think of ourselves first. W-We can’t help anyone if we’re caught. Th-The sooner we get out, the sooner we can think of a plan to help your friends.”

Rudy kept his eyes narrowed at Mr. Wilter, finding his thoughts going at such a quick pace. He wasn’t really sure what to think at this point. It was so easy to just snap at the man out of anger. It would be so easy to yell at him and say all kinds of things to him..

...yet he still kept himself silent, opting to just give the man a death glare than actually doing anything. That seemed to be good enough. The man was aware now that he did not appreciate his idea of what to do. Rudy had no plans on just abandoning the zoners. He was not going to do it just because his old teacher said ‘no’. He could never do that to them.

The silence between him and Mr. Wilter lasted for several moments. Neither of them dared to make a move or even speak. It felt as though everything was coming in all aroun them, preparing to squeeze them tightly. They breathed heavily, matching the tension that surged through them. They weren’t sure how long that this lasted, but they would both agree that it was longer than it needed to be.

Rudy forced himself to exhale, his mind’s clouds starting to clear up. This wasn’t the proper way to respond to this, he realized. He should have known better. Had Mr. Cosmo really gotten to him that much?

“Look, I’m sorry. But I just..” Rudy started to explain. He still hesitated to speak a little, and he talked a bit too slowly for his liking. But at least he wasn’t just expecting Mr. Wilter to understand his feelings even without him talking. “I don’t think I can do that... I have a responsibility to these zoners. I’m supposed to protect them. What kind of protecter would I be if I just...left and allowed this to happen...?”

Mr. Wilter still looked a little nervous. But despite that, he managed to say, “I understand, Rudy. But one thing you yourself must understand is practicality. Just how do you expect us to get all those zoners free while Mr. Cosmo and his minions still run loose?”

Rudy couldn’t say anything to that.

Mr. Wilter took that as an answer and he nodded his head. “Exactly. That is why we need to plan more and think of a strategy. Just like how I found a way to get in here and get you without the alarms being sounded off.”

“I... suppose...” Rudy had to admit, he couldn’t deny what Mr. Wilter had told him.

“I understand if you don’t really agree. I can sense the urgency in your eyes. But at least try to listen to my words and understand where I’m coming from.” Mr. Wilter looked at Rudy intently. There were so many emotions gushing through the man’s facial expression that Rudy could not keep up. “I don’t really want to do this, believe it or not. But we have no choice. Even if we do happen to find a zoner along our way, regardless of who it is, even if it Snap, we still need to move on. We have to escape first. Then we’ll come back for the others.”

Mr. Wilter paused for a moment to rest. He also gave Rudy the time that he needed to think about this and try to understand it. Silence spread throughout, the two looking at one another in silence.

Then Mr. Wilter whispered, “Do you understand?”

Rudy wasn’t sure what to say. He could have said ‘yes’, but at the same time, would that be a good idea? There were still questions that he wanted to ask. There was still some things left to be resolved. And he still didn’t know if he could actually abandon Snap like that, even if he understood the urgency behind this.

In the end, Rudy was at a loss. Neither answer sounded right in his mind. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t think of an answer that fully suited his response. There were too many questions rolling around inside of his head and nothing he did would make it go away. He could feel himself shuddering once, realizing that...

He suddenly stopped himself when he heard something in the background. Something that started off small and light, much like the talking before. But this grew in volume very quickly, zipping through as though it were nothing. It was almost like someone was sending a lightning bolt to strike through his body. This was practically matched by the sudden loud pitched wailing that tore through his eard drums.

“Oh shit..” Mr. Wilter hissed. “The alarm’s been sounded.”

Rudy looked up at Mr. Wilter with his eyes wide in shock. He licked his lips nervously. “Th-They don’t know we’re here.... Do they...?”

The two remained silent, locked in place, as they heard the sound of feet echoing all around them. Some were fainter than others, indicating the foot falls were coming from multiple levels of the building. But that did not help settle the two humans down as they stared at one another. It didn’t take long for things to click in their head, making them realize one thing: They couldn’t stay here.

“We need to move! Now!” Mr. Wilter cried out to Rudy, forgetting that they needed to be quiet. He reached over and grabbed onto Rudy’s arm, causing the boy to grunt. “Come on! Let’s get going!”

Rudy could do nothing as Mr. Wilter began to drag him down the hallway.

sss

Snap flinched when he heard the sound of the sirens echoing all around him, combined with the hustling of several humans traversing through the hallway. He had nearly fallen to the ground, erasing any progress that he had originally had. He remained stiffened for a few moments before he looked back at the wall before him.

It was difficult to concentrate on this with all of those sounds wailing about. But he couldn’t let himself get too distracted by that. He needed to focus on the task at hand. He was fully aware of what little time that he had to do this. It had been difficult getting up here. He was not going to let himself get screwed over by whatever the fuck was going on out there. He...

Snap nearly slipped from the wall. He could feel his feet dangling. He could feel pain moving through his body, giving him a harsh reminder that he was not in the best shape right now. He gritted his teeth and he started to swing himself a little, forward and back, trying to get himself back up onto the wall. He could feel his feet touching the wall and sticking to it. He struggled to keep his body as flat as possible, and he reached over towards his target.

A small crack in the wall.

He didn’t know how long it took him to find this, but it didn’t matter. At least he knew where it was. It wound seem that Mr. Cosmo did not fully cover up all the holes here. That gave him a place where he could try to escape through. But he didn’t have much time to try. If he didn’t get out of here within what little time that he did have...

Snap pushed his hand against the hole and slowly eased it inside. At first, there didn’t seem to be much of an issue. He moved himself closer, pushing the arm further in, and he prepared to get his head through and...

Suddenly there was a spark of electricity that zipped up his arm and invaded his body. Snap let out a small scream as his body shuddered and twisted. Within moments, he collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide in both shock and pain, his mind going through rapidly moving thoughts. Realization rapidly dawned on him.

Mr. Cosmo rigged that crack with some kind of trap.

sss

“Ms. Saffron, what in the world are you doing in here?”

Ms. Saffron nearly jolted, jumping up from where she stood and whirling her head around. She could see Mr. Cosmo standing there with his arms folded up. He glared at her with a disapproving expression. It didn’t really take a genius to know what was going on inside of his head. Ms. Saffron licked her lips nervously as she tried to smile at the man and shrug this off like it was nothing.

But she doubted that the man would really accept any explaination that she were to try to whip up. Because he could only see a trespasser. He could only see that she was in a place where she should not be, talking with someone that she presumed he wanted to be kept secret.

Although this did cause her to start questioning some things, as with any sensible person, she also couldn’t help but feel locked in place, unable to move or speak, as Mr. Cosmo continued to glare at her like that. She felt like she was going to collapes to the ground at any moment.

The yellow and red zoner did not say anything. His eyes were staring intently at Mr. Cosmo. With his expression, it was clear that the zoner did know this guy, something that did not surprise Ms. Saffron at this point. But it also caused her head to fill up with many questions. Like... Just how this guy come about? What was Mr. Cosmo thinking? What made him believe that this was a good idea?

“I must say, I am very disappointed in you.” Mr. Cosmo moved in closer. Ms. Saffron felt himself starting to cringe a little. If she had a tail, it would be between her legs at this point. “I thought you would have trusted me enough by now that you wouldn’t go wandering off.”

Ms. Saffron turned her gaze downward. “I’m... I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to. I..”

“No excuses.” Snarled Mr. Cosmo. “I will have to see to it that something is done about this. You should have kept to your missing and instead you wandered off.” Mr. Cosmo raised his finger to point at Ms. Saffron accusingly. “You should have continued your search with Draow. Why didn’t you?”

Ms. Saffron tried to think of how to respond to this. There were so many things that she could try to say. But would it even be remotely good enough? Would Mr. Cosmo accept these kinds of answers? Could she think of anything that he would even remotely buy?

There was only one way to find out.

“Sir, I’m so sorry about that. I hadn’t intentionally done it.. But you see, I didn’t have much of a choice. I...”

Mr. Cosmo cocked an eyebrow. “Not much of a choice? Don’t lie to me, Ms. Saffron. There was no reason for you to abandon this mission. Try to give me one good reason why I should believe....”

“But it’s true, sir...” Ms. Saffron stammered. She could feel herself cowering a little in the man’s sight, and she licked her lips nervously. She struggled to keep her cool as much as she could, her wide, terrified eyes looking at the man directly, unable to move. “I am...sorry if I upset you. I...”

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up quickly, stifling her. She cringed back a little and she half-expected him to do something crazy or harsh. But of course, this was Mr. Cosmo after all, and true to his nature, he didn’t outright assault her. But he still gave her a look that told her that he was still very disappointed in her.

“I’ll agree to let this go...if you agree not to come back here again.” He took a few steps towards her. “Can I trust you on that, Ms. Saffron?”

The woman looked back at the yellow and red zoner. Her mind still abuzzed with whatever he had managed to tell her. They had not been chatting long before Mr. Cosmo came. And judging from what she’s heard, she didn’t exactly like this zoner. If she couldn’t speak to him anymore, she had no problem with that.

“..yes, sir. I will make sure that it doesn’t happen again.” Ms. Saffron bowed her head, showing submission to the man. For the time being, she decided to push aside her increasingly confused feelings, like why he made this zoner, in order to focus on what she should have been doing all along. “I’ll get to finding Rudy. I promise, I’ll locate him and bring him back.”

Despite this statement, Mr. Cosmo still glared at her. She wasn’t really sure if he was happy for what she said and just couldn’t change his expression, or if he was upset still. It could be hard to tell with this man at times.

But he did seem to at least be settled down for the most part. She still sensed something about him, but that might not even be directed at her. Maybe he was just upset about this whole thing in general. Things hadn’t exactly been all spice and cookies lately.

Ms. Saffron decided not to provoke the man further. She would rather not get caught up with this man if he were to get legimately upset. She didn’t say another word as she took a few steps back away from the man, moving around so that she could head towards the exit. She kept her eyes glued to him before she managed to force herself to turn around and walk away.

sss

Mr. Cosmo kept his eyes narrowed as he watched Ms. Saffron leave. He fought with his emotions, trying not to let himself get upset again. He did manage to keep himself under control, keeping up with his cool facade for the time being. But he wasn’t sure how long that would have lasted.

At least Ms. Saffron is gone now. That made it easier for him to deal with the other task at hand.

And that was this creature situated in the cage.

He won’t deny the fact that he was not happy Ms. Saffron came here. He could not begin to imagine just what prompted her to come here, even though she knew that she had an assignment. Finding Rudy should have been her first priority. If she saw that she was in an unknown place and was lost, like she claimed, then she should have contacted him and he would have helped navigate her out and back into more familiar territory.

But instead, she thought it would be find to keep exploring here. She didn’t see anything wrong with delving in deeper, and now she had found someone, something, that she should not have. Mr. Cosmo had no idea if she was dispelled in trying to find out more information or not. You know how curiosity works. Sometimes, the more it’s blocked, the more it grows.

But he wasn’t sure if he could blame her. He didn’t really know precisely what they had talked about. But he wouldn’t doubt that this zoner had said something that piqued her interest. And now because of him, she was going to be quite curious and trying to keep her from doing anything stupid was going to be rather difficult. He was going to need to be careful with her from now on.

All thanks to this yellow and red zoner…

Mr. Cosmo waited until he was completely certain that Ms. Saffron had left before he even thought about approaching the zoner. He narrowed his eyes at him, ignoring the sneer that he got in return. He could feel his heart starting to thump and twist. He fought against this feeling the best that he could, gritting his teeth, before he walked over towards the zoner, creeping ever closer.

“Look who decided to show his face here again.” The zoner said with a smirk. His tail swished about from side to side, deliberately, tauntingly. “I thought you weren’t going to show up again for a chat.”

Mr. Cosmo growled softly at this. Already he could detect a change in tone with the zoner’s voice. It was as if the zoner was just talking how he was before to lure in Ms. Saffron. That’s probably how it was playing out. He’s known this zoner long enough to understand how he worked and how he functioned. It was not really that difficult.

He remained silent for a moment as he tried to think of how he was going to respond. He didn’t want to say anything that this zoner could take advantage of. He had worked too hard in locking this foul little creature in here and he wasn’t about to let him get away that easily. He knew what would happen if he had managed to escape. He is quite the manipulative little fellow and he feared how things would go if he managed to talk to any of his workers for an extended period of time. He felt relieved that he had interrupted their chat when he did.

Perhaps he should have just killed him and get it over with. Zoners were inherently dangerous. That would have been the most sensible option. It would be so easy to kill this guy, too. All it would take is some water and he was finished.

But….something compelled him to keep him awake. There was something about this creature that he felt could be useful. He did realize that he needed to prove to people how dangerous zoners were. This guy helped convinced a good number of his workers of that fact. A brief meeting was all that it took. No need to keep talking with him. If anyone else needed to be shown how dangerous zoners were, this guy made that possible. It didn’t even require threats; he was just...naturally like this.

That went for any zoner, however. He didn’t think for a moment that no zoner had some manipulation about them. Even Snap could easily fool him if he wasn’t careful. This made the nail mind control devices that much more needed. It was the only way to stay safe. Otherwise, it was impossible to know when a zoner was safe to be around or not.

This yellow and red zoner helped to prove that to him.

“Why the silence? Did you miss me that badly? Are you trying to find a way to say how much you missed me?” Grinned the zoner, low chortles coming out of his mouth.

Mr. Cosmo growled softly, baring his teeth. “You know the answer to that….Bardot.”

“Hmph, whatever you say.” Bardot said with a smirk. “But you can’t try to blame this all on me. You know who is really responsible for this. Try to hide it the best that you can. But you cannot run from your mistakes.”

Mr. Cosmo formed a tight fist with his hand. He could feel the back of his mind start to spin a little. “You can’t fool me again. It might have worked on me originally, but you know that you can’t try to trick me anymore. I’m wise to you.”

Bardot let out another chuckle. He lifted his head up, moving his head in one direction. He flicked his ears forward a little as he motioned his three clawed foot towards a nearby shelf. “And you keeping those around, are they a way of pretending that this isn’t your fault? They are the remnants of your errors from long ago.” Bardot lowered his foot down as he stared intently at Mr. Cosmo. “You can try to pretend it never happened. But you and I both know the truth. You can’t pretend that you didn’t try merging white and red chalk…”

Mr. Cosmo moved back from Bardot, his mind reeling from memories of that incident. He felt his body freeze, emotion rushing through him, his eyes beginning to glow in some fear. He then grunted and shook his head, trying to get that thought out of his head. He then kept his teeth bared as he glared more intensely at the zoner before him. “I miscalculated…”

Bardot took a stance, pressing his feet together while his tail raised up, almost like an arrogant husky. “And I am proof of that.”

The red-haired man wasn’t sure what to say at first. He could feel his emotions burning him up inside. Trying to remain calm grew ever more difficult. He could feel his mind being tugged in all sorts of directions and his heart thudded inside of his chest. He tried to think of how he could handle continue speaking to this zoner without…

No, he just… Breathe in, breathe out, he reminded himself. He repeated this a few times, feeling himself growing ever more calm. Well, if calm was the right word for it.

He realized that he nearly got pulled back into this zoner’s mind games. It was similar to how he had gotten him before. Bardot knew just how to get under people’s skin and then once he reeled them in more, he would begin to say other things. He would try to coax them into doing something they never would before. He could turn even the most loyal of people with just a few simple phrases. But it only worked if he managed to get them pulled in first.

Which was why he was locked up in here. To make sure that he could not even get past the first step.

“I have wasted enough time with you.” Mr. Cosmo said after a few moments of silence. Bardot chuckled at this, but said nothing. Mr. Cosmo did his best to keep something of a professional stance, pointing his finger in Bardot’s direction. “If you see anyone else coming through here, you keep your mouth shut, you got that? I will not have you try to corrupt any of my workers with your filthy words and lies.”

Without saying anything else, Mr. Cosmo turned and began to walk away. He wasn’t interested in hearing anything else that this zoner had to say. He’s had enough. He just wanted to return to the business of finding Rudy and whoever had dared trespass in his company building.

But he never got that far away before he could hear that horrible, snarling voice behind him say one more thing.

“And how are you any better…?”

Mr. Cosmo felt himself freeze immediately at this. He turned his head slowly to look at Bardot, only to stop before his head reached. He could see a bit of yellow in the corner of his eyes, and a splash of red. But despite not seeing his face, he could still see that arrogant smile spreading along the beast zoner’s lips. Mr. Cosmo felt his eyes filling up with fear, requiring a hard shake of the head to remove them. Then with a small growl, he forced himself to continue walking away.

sss

“What happened to you? Kind of look like you fell off a cliff, comrade.” A small, feminine voice called out.

Snap felt his head jerking up. He swerved it over to see who was talking with him. He immediately felt his eyes narrowing deeper when he saw who it was. The last person he wanted to talk to right now.

“Go away, Spy Fly. I’m not in the mood for you.” Snap grumbled as he twisted himself away from her. He could hear her buzzing growing louder and he knew that she was approaching him. But still, he kept his back to her. He had no desire to deal with her shit right now.

“Oh come on, is that any way to greet a friend?” Spy Fly asked. “After all I’ve done for you, comrade, this is how you pay me back? Talk about gratitude.” The last line was spoken with a level of sarcasm.

Snap tried his best to ignore the fly zoner. He didn’t want to engage her. He didn’t want to encourage her to taunt him or say something else to make him mad. He was well aware of what she had done and he would rather just pretend that he never knew her. That hurt him a lot less than remembering how he used to get along with this zoner, only to realize that she had been lying the entire time.

How had he found out? At this point, he couldn’t remember. It was very recent that he learned the truth. The thought made him shudder and he found it hard to believe at first. But he had seen enough to realize the truth. Spy Fly had convinced him of it and now he just…

Why hadn’t he seen it earlier? How could he have missed it? It shouldn’t have been that hard to realize what was going on. And yet there he was, stupidly being so naive of the whole thing… It was right under his nose and he still missed it. He could feel his heart stinging at this. He could tell that Spy Fly was laughing about it underneath that fake smiling face of hers.

He could feel something burning around his eyes. He struggled and fought against it. He did ultimately manage to push those tears back and not let Spy Fly see them. But he still felt ashamed that he was going to cry at all. He couldn’t show weakness in front of this zoner. She would surely use it to her advantage.

“Oh I see. I think I know what happened.”

Snap still didn’t say anything.

“You must have tried to escape. Tsk, tsk.. Shame on you for even thinking about that.” Scolded the tiny insect zoner. “Did you really think that it was going to work out well for you? Mr. Cosmo isn’t that stupid.”

Well that was something Snap figured out on his own. The blue superhero zoner folded his arms to his chest as he released a low growl. He was going to make sure that he didn’t make that same mistake again.

The pain was starting to return to his head. The agitation caused by this zoner coming in to bother him caused his stomach to burn and he thought he was going to feel sick. He hadn’t tried speaking to her again since she first showed up. But just her mere presence, whether or not she spoke at all, was enough to start pushing in towards the edge. This was complicating things further and he tried his best not to think too hard on the topic. But how long could he keep it up for?

“You got a taste of the electrical trap, didn’t you, comrade?”

Snap’s emotions surged even more at this. He grounded his teeth together. He could feel a deeper growl coming out of his mouth. He felt his head swinging in her direction, unable to stop. In a burst of emotion, he shouted, “Will you stop calling me ‘comrade’?!”

Listening to Snap pant angrily, Spy Fly raised her hands up and looked away, giving a small grimace. “Geeze, you don’t need to be like that.”

Snap snorted at her before looking away.

There were a few more moments of silence before Spy Fly tried to speak again. “Giving me the silent treatment, are you? Fine then..” Spy Fly’s voice seemed to sound a little darker than usual. Snap tried to ignore this, pretending like nothing was going on. But he could not block his ears, could not block himself from hearing Spy Fly continuously speaking to him. “You’re pretty funny, you know that? Before, you would have been more eager to speak to me. But you find out one little thing I did and…”

“...it wasn’t a little thing..” Snap hissed. He turned to give her a sideways glance. “You sold us out, your own species, to this...this evil man…” He felt his eyes narrowing into slits. “How could you have done such a terrible thing?”

Spy Fly just scoffed at this. “You poor naive little fool…” She moved in closer, staring at Snap in the eyes. The blue and white zoner leaned away, trying to keep distance. But he wasn’t able to avoid the tiny bug-like zoner from getting within an inch of his face. “You don’t know what’s really going on, do you? You have no clue what Mr. Cosmo truly wants. If you did, you would see things more his way.”

Snap snarled, “And what do you know about him that I don’t?”

Spy Fly just released a small chortle, a move that made Snap’s stomach churn. She put her hands on her hips and she said, “Like I am going to tell you. Not like you are interested in talking with me.” She moved away from Snap before raising her hand and waving it to the side. “See you around….comrade.” She said sarcastically before taking off.

Snap growled and tried to speak, but the zoner was gone before he had a chance to get a word in edgewise. Snap watched where Spy Fly disappeared to, through the small opening that only she could fit through, before just releasing a shaky, emotion-filled sigh.

A question hovered around his head, unwilling to stop: just what did she mean by what she said before…?


	28. Unable To Break Free

It hadn’t taken that long for the woman’s mind to be filled once more with thoughts of confusion and uncertainty. It was starting to wear her out and she no longer knew if she could even keep this up or not. She didn’t know how much more she could take before she just broke down and collapsed from the shere weight of it all.

Things were adding up too quickly. Things piled upon each other and it showed no end in sight. She could keep acting and keep pretending, but that could only help her for so long before it would be too much. She could feel her head pounding and hurting as she kept trying to clear her mind of this.

But how long could she dismiss Mr. Cosmo’s behavior...?

Ms. Saffron told herself time and again to be more understanding of what Mr. Cosmo was doing, given that he did really want to help out society, that he just wanted to make sure everyone was safe, and what not. She had tried to push aside his increasingly odd behavior as just a result of him being stressed out and she tried to find ways to excuse his behavior about the zoners and of Rudy.

But over time, this was getting harder and harder. It had fully come to her realization after she left that room. Discovering what he did and his actions finally broke the straw that was bending so far, and now she was starting to actually analyze what was going on. She couldn’t keep trying to come up with excuses for him anymore. She wanted to understand just what the heck he was thinking.

She couldn’t keep condoning his abuse of the zoners if they were truly sentient, and she saw enough to prove that. She couldn’t condone his kidnapping. She could appreciate what he’s been able to do with electricity and all. But she also wondered if it could be put to better use than just magnifying signals to control the zoners.

This was a point where she felt she was at a crossroads. Literally the only thing keeping her from confronting him completely, keeping her from finally saying something, were the zoners themselves. Sentient or not, they were still an unknown species to her. She hadn’t interacted with them long enough. Mr. Cosmo knew them for decades. By that virtue, wouldn’t that mean that he knew them better than she?

Then again, he did say that zoners could not feel much pain but that turned out to be a lie.... Who is to say that he didn’t lie about other things regarding zoners...?

But even still, she couldn’t bring herself to put her foot down and confront him. Something kept holding her back. Was she being a coward for doing so? Perhaps. She just....couldn’t help it. She wasn’t exactly proud of it. She was caught in an intersection in her mind and no matter what, she couldn’t think of something that she could do. No path seemed viable for her.

Except...

If she really wanted to know if Mr. Cosmo was lying or not, there was really only one way that she could do that.

Interacting with the zoners.

She had fed them, but she hardly spoke to them too much. She never took the time to get to know them. The most that she did for a zoner was feel sorry for Snap who had been just nailed. But perhaps if she visited him again and spoke to him, maybe she could get a better understanding. She didn’t see why it would be an issue. She did learn to refer to him as ‘he’ and not ‘it’, so maybe it would go better than she thought.

She did recall what her mission was supposed to be, but perhaps Mr. Cosmo would not mind if she spoke to Snap first. She could just say that she was interrogating him for information. After all, he could be withholding information on what happened. Perhaps he knew how Rudy escaped.

...where was Draow....? In a moment’s notice, the blonde human recalled that she hadn’t seen Draow since the encounter with the yellow and red zoner. She wondered what could have happened with him.

Shrugging off the thought, she continued down the hallway until she could see the door up ahead. She raised her head once to acknowledge this before quickening her pace. She realized that she had to be quick about this. She took a moment to look around to make sure that she was truly the only person there. Then she opened up the door and headed on inside.

“Snap, I...”

“What do you want?” Snap hissed. He was already pressing himself up against the wall, his hands spread out as he looked ready to attack. “Don’t you dare touch me...”

Ms. Saffron raised her hands up, motioning them back and forth. “No no... I just..wanted to talk...”

“Yeah right...” Snap tilted his head to one side. “And why should I believe that? You people never just ‘talk’ to us zoners. Not unless there was something else going on...” He turned his head to the other side. “What do you have planned...Ms. Saffron?”

The woman wasn’t really sure how to take that zoner’s tone of voice. But regardless, she still attempted to speak to him. “Nothing. I just thought it would be nice if we took the time to get to know each other a little.”

The zoner looked at her with a suspicious expression. “What makes you think I’d want to get to know you...? You haven’t once shown me that you were trustworthy.”

Ms. Saffron felt her teeth pressing into her flesh. She couldn’t deny that the zoner was speaking the truth. She actually hadn’t given him a reason to believe that she was someone he could talk to. She wasn’t sure how she was going to go about this. She managed to say, “True... And I’m hoping to change that.”

Snap kept his eyes narrowed at her, turning his head slowly to one side once more, this time stretching outward a little further. Nothing in his eyes suggested that he believed anything that she had to say. Ms. Saffron could just feel his suspicion leaking outwards, spilling off in her direction.

But he didn’t really say anything. Nothing about making her trying to leave or what. Perhaps it was safe to approach? Ms. Saffron decided to take that chance. She swallowed hard, knowing what could happen if she was not careful. She proceeded to head over in the zoner’s direction, keeping her pace nice and slow. She tried not to move too quickly, knowing full well that this would easily startle the zoner.

The zoner was still silent even as she approached. Ms. Saffron was not sure how to react to this. Though he hadn’t said anything to her to stop her, he didn’t exactly look happy with her approach, either. It looked as though he was judging her. His large white eyes, tinged with some hidden fear, were scrutinizing her with each step. Ms. Saffron slowly felt it a little difficult to keep moving. But regardless, she kept up the pace. Slow and steady, she got closer.

Soon there was a shift in Snap’s stance. The zoner seemed to be growing increasingly tense. His posture was changing, transforming from what it was currently to something more arched, more noticeably aggressive. Ms. Saffron felt herself slowing down at the sight of this. But regardless, she kept going, knowing that she needed to get this done and over with. Snap was the one who could help her understand what was happening. She was not going to give that up, no matter how tense the zoner was being.

The closer she got, the more hostile Snap was looking. The zoner was now baring his teeth at her, as though he were a rabid dog ready to bite. He held his hands into fists and it was clear that he could strike at her any moment. His body gave a few sharp quakes and he was tightening his muscles inside to prepare for a fight. His back became more arched, bending further, and he soon almost looked like a startled, frightened cat.

Despite the clear warning signs, Ms. Saffron didn’t stop her approach. She continuously got closer and closer to Snap. She was intent on speaking with him and it would be better if she were closer. She wasn’t really sure if her standing by the doorway looking imposing was going to help win his trust. The only way that she could think of doing that was to get closer to him and try to show him that she was not going to harm him.

But Snap may not be easy to convince. Even now, the odds of her actually winning him over looked rather dim. Snap looked more and more like a cornered animal ready to strike than anything. She realized quickly that if she wasn’t careful, she might end up getting hurt. She nearly froze at this and started to wonder if she should turn back.

She shook her head and still forced herself to go forward. She couldn’t stop, not now. Not after coming all this way. She just needed to remain cautious or she…

“Get the hell away from me!” Snap’s sudden shout startled the blonde woman, as did him striking at her. Even though the fist was too far to really have done anything, Ms. Saffron still felt herself moving back quickly. “I won’t let you hurt me!”

Ms. Saffron looked at the zoner with wide eyes. She bit her lip firmly as she struggled to think of what to say. She slowly reached her hand out, stopping it after it moved less than a foot away from her, and she said, “I’ve told you before, Snap. I am not here to hurt you. Please, I just want to talk…”

“As if…” Snap snorted. “That’s what Mr. Cosmo told me the one time and he still…” Snap’s voice trailed off. His gaze appeared to change and some kind of negative emotion flashed in his eyes. This lasted for a few seconds before he shook his head and glared at her. “S-S-So just back off!”

Ms. Saffron stared at Snap in confusion. Her eye blinked slowly as the zoner’s words entered her mind, seeping into her skull. She felt herself licking her lips unconsciously, barely able to control her tongue as she tried to think of just what the zoner meant by that. What could he have been referring to? What could Mr. Cosmo have done that….

She felt her body stiffen up when the full realization finally struck her. She felt her eyes widen a little and her mouth becoming still, air just barely passing through it. She felt her heart pound heavily in her head and the zoners’ words kept replaying over and over again in her mind.

Just what did Mr. Cosmo do to this zoner? What could he have done to make the zoner this frightened? It could not have been just the nail. Snap made it sound like Mr. Cosmo lured him into a false sense of security and then… Ms. Saffron shook the thought out of her head, trying not to let it overtake her too much.

For a few moments, she tried to justify the man’s actions here. Despite her growing uncertainties, she still felt herself doing this. It was second nature at this point. It was a habit that she was having a hard time breaking, and she realized that this was going to get in the way of progress. It took a lot of energy and a lot of motivation. But she eventually managed to force these efforts out of her head.

It was true that Snap was a zoner. And it was true that zoners were dangerous creatures that needed to be controlled.

But did that really require torturing them…?

Ms. Saffron shuddered at that thought. She really hoped that this wasn’t what happened. She hoped that it was just a misunderstanding. But what if… Just what if she really didn’t know Mr. Cosmo as well as she thought…?

Ms. Saffron could feel a headache forming, stronger than before. She was still caught between different thoughts and she didn’t know how long it was going to last. Even despite what she thought before, it still wasn’t enough to make her mind settle down. And why should that be a surprise? What she knew was being torn apart and she wasn’t sure if she could catch up.

She felt a rush of air close to her when Snap tried to strike at her again. She hadn’t realized just how close she was at this point. Ms. Saffron stared at the zoner with wide eyes, taking note of how he was looking at her. More intense than before, more willing to strike repeatedly, more like he was a wild animal.

...just like Mr. Cosmo had told her…

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened slowly at this before she felt them narrowing a little. She met Snap’s glare as the two seemed to be having something of a stare down. Neither of them relented and the air around them seemed to be growing more and more tense. Just how long was this going to last before one of them had to say something? They could not keep this up. Not for much longer.

Ms. Saffron finally had to make a move. She rushed at Snap at full speed. She reached her hand out swiftly and she grabbed onto the zoner’s arm. Snap let out a yelp of surprise at this. He responded by trying to strike at her. Ms. Saffron moved her other hand quickly to grab his arm by his fist and push it back. She used as much of her strength as she could to keep holding the zoner like this, locking him in place.

“Please settle down. I only came to talk. Stop trying to attack me.” Ms. Saffron said in a firm tone of voice. She glared at Snap, watching him as he struggled. “You are making this harder than it needs to be, you stupid little..”

Snap did not respond with anything other than a few yells. The zoner tried to wriggle himself free, pulling back from the woman, twisting and turning. Ms. Saffron had an increasingly difficult time holding onto him. But she still managed to keep her grip on him and prevented him from doing anything else. She pushed down harder, soon pushing Snap against the bed.

Yet the zoner still did not quit. It got to the point where he actually tried biting at her. The blonde woman had to react fast in order to keep her arm from having a chunk of flesh ripped out of it. She growled lowly. If this zoner had wanted to prove to her that Mr. Cosmo was wrong, he was doing a very poor job of it. Just what the fuck was he thinking? How could he think that doing this was going to…

Suddenly, Snap let out a wail, his eyes bulging, his voice filled with pain and agony. Ms. Saffron nearly let go, her body stiffening from the sudden loud noise. She could feel her eardrums beating from the force of the sound and her heart had nearly stopped beating.

“Stop! Please! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.. I’ll do whatever you want…! Just please don’t hurt me anymore…!”

Ms. Saffron stared down at Snap in shock, not having expected him to shout like that. The previous glare from the zoner was gone, replaced with one filled with fear. Much more fear than he had at the beginning. If it was possible to lose color despite being white, Snap was proving that notion right now.

Ms. Saffron immediately let go of Snap. The zoner collapsed against the bed, curling up into a small ball. He stared up at her in utter fear and terror, his body trembling. With the way that his expression looked, it didn’t seem like he was seeing her as Ms. Saffron anymore. Instead, he was looking at her as though she were Mr. Cosmo. The realization struck her hard.

It would seem that Mr. Cosmo had done something other than just put the nail in Snap’s head…

Ms. Saffron could feel her heart start to sting more sharply. She started to imagine just what it was that Mr. Cosmo did to make the zoner act this way. He had rapidly gone from being defensive to just...terrified in a short time frame. She didn’t recall Mr. Cosmo doing anything. He had never informed her of him interacting with Snap recently. But then again, he hadn’t told her everything, now did he? What if this was another case of that?

She looked sadly at Snap, her mind starting to see him as more of a frightened child than a zoner. It got worse when she could see his tears flowing down his face. Then she quickly saw why he had such a change in attitude.

There was blood dripping from the nail. She must have hit it during her struggling to keep him down.

And considering how it felt to him before…

Ms. Saffron felt her blood chill in horror. She was the reason that he was in pain right now. And this dreadful pain was correctly what was tormenting him. She could feel guilt washing through her body. She hadn’t meant to hurt him like that. She didn’t mean to….

Ms. Saffron could not explain her actions after that. She could not explain why she went in closer to gently scoop Snap into her arms. She could not explain why she cooed to him and tried to shush him and reassure him. She just..did it. Something inside of her was activated, compelling her into a more motherly state. For the time being, she did not care if Snap was a zoner or not. She only saw someone in great pain. She held onto him gently and continued to carefully stroke him.

Snap seemed to respond well to this. He might still be filled with terror, but his desire for company was apparent. He had been alone most of the time. He had forced himself on his feet, she could tell, just for the chance to escape. He had run off of adrenaline, making it look as though he had recovered. But that drained out quickly and she could see just how messed up he truly was.

The pain was unending for him. His feet were a source of constant torment. He looked as though he had caused himself more pain, and now she added to that. But with all of that, it ultimately broke the zoner and he just collapsed. He could not fight against her anymore. All he could do was cuddle up with her, his body shaking up against hers.

Ms. Saffron could feel time being lost to her as she tried to comfort the zoner. She forgot about wanting to talk to him and instead decided to focus on making sure that he didn’t hurt himself again. He really shouldn’t try to get on his feet or move about. Not after what happened. His body was reeling from the full force now and it seemed Snap was finally fully realizing just what kind of predicament that he was in right now. His body radiated in pain and he released several small whimpers.

Ms. Saffron finally cleared her mind. She finally was no longer being tugged from both sides. She finally knew what she was going to do.

She needed to have another word with Mr. Cosmo.

sss

The large jellybean zoner was still reeling from pain. He could feel his head throbbing and it felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to his face. He raised his hand up to try to rub his forehead...only for him to shudder in pain and put his hand back down. He took in a few shaky breaths, trying to control himself.

Just what had happened? He could barely remember much outside of just...waking up to pain. Something had happened earlier, he knew. But that, along with the pain, was all that he was certain of at the moment.

Well that, and being trapped in this...thing. This giant glass tube in some place that he did not recognize. And yet it still seemed familiar. There was something about this place that was calling out to him. Something that was reminding him that he had been here before. Perhaps things will come back to him after his head stopped throbbing. He let out another groan before he leaned back away, trying to get some rest. That was hard when the tube itself was not large enough for him to lower his massive birth down. This was the next best thing.

Skrawl looked around, taking note of the other zoners with him. He was certain that he had seen them before. Well actually, he did know these zoners. It was more just...he had seen them in this situation before. And he could see that they had the same nail as him pushed into their skulls… The thought of it caused him to cringe.

Skrawl never thought that he would feel sympathy for any of these zoners. Not after how they had treated him before. But here in this moment, these kinds of thoughts still moved through his head. Perhaps it was because he was feeling the same pain as them and he was trapped in the same situation. Perhaps it was not real sympathy but more just understanding that they were in this together. A sort of unity and…

Skrawl shook his head, getting those thoughts out. That was disgusting. Did he really just have a moment like that? Did he really start almost… bonding with these zoners? How horrid… These zoners didn’t and shouldn’t matter to him. He had more important things to worry about.

Like how was he going to get out of here? He tested the glass to see how strong it was. He first scratched it slowly. He could hear the high pitched screech of his claws moving down the glass slowly. He flinched as the sound echoed in this tube. He pulled his hand back and snarled softly. He looked over at the glass again. This time, he formed a fist with his hand and started to pound on it. This created a thudding reverberation, though it was far less painful than the scratching noise. He hit against it a few times before he stopped, his hand hurting too much from the effort to break it.

So this glass tube was stronger than he thought. He looked around, trying to see if there were any cracks. He hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the glass. No broken area that he could slip through. He imagined that whoever had put him in here had made sure that there was nothing that he could crawl through.

But that didn’t stop him from trying to find something, at least. He didn’t want to give up that quickly. He was Skrawl for crying out loud. He would always find a way to get out of things. The zoners couldn’t catch him, let alone hold him up anywhere. What made this person think that they could do the same with him?

Skrawl pulled his lips back, baring his teeth more noticeably. He breathed in and out slowly, feeling his breath hitting against the glass in front of him. He thought for sure he could notice the glass in front of him starting to fog up. He ignored his, his odd-colored eyes staring out ahead, focusing on nothing in particular. Well nothing except for determination, the will to get out of here. It practically overrode his feelings of pain and whatever fear he head before.

Wait, fear…? Skrawl scoffed at that. Why would he have felt fear? He always knew fear was for cowards. He almost laughed at the mere thought of him being afraid.

That amusement died down quickly when he could hear footsteps approaching him. He tried to look to see who it was. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not see them. At least not yet. He pressed himself against the glass a little, but had to refrain when he could feel echoing pain in his head from the slightest touch.

In that moment, very briefly, he could sense white flashes in the back of his mind. They did not show him much, but he had seen still images in head of him against something flat and a bright white light above him. He could see someone leaning over him and then…

Skrawl shook his head once, causing the images to fade. He did not have much time to reflect on them when he saw someone standing in front of his cage. He could feel himself starting to growl despite the human not having said or done anything yet. Skrawl kept mostly quiet himself, resorting to just keeping his large yellow teeth bared and his eyes narrowed.

Apprehension wasn’t something he felt much of towards his human. Anger perhaps. Fury and indignation at the idea of this creature having trapped him here. But if this human thought that he was afraid, he was badly mistaken. Why should he be afraid when he was so much larger than he was? It wouldn’t take much for him to break his neck, or at the very least, rip his throat out. Did he think that the stupid nail would stop him? Well then, he would be glad to prove him wrong. He could feel his claws flex in anticipation.

What the..

Was this human really taking down the dome? Oh what a fool he was…

Skrawl could feel his mouth curling upwards into a dark, twisted smile as the glass lowered down slowly. He felt his body shaking, emotions rushing through him, the desire to attack growing. Whether or not this human had anything to do with what was done to him didn’t matter. The point was, he was going to make a fine example to any other human that happened to be in this area.

Once it was down, Skrawl didn’t bother with a witty statement. He just wanted action. He immediately jumped out of the tube and he headed towards the human. He raised his hand up to strike, the claws flexing and glinting in the bright light all around him…

...only for a whirlwind of pain to strike him in the head. His eyes immediately bulged open like saucers and he collapsed down. He laid on the ground, writhing in pain, screaming, as the human stood over him. Skrawl looked up at the human and, in self defense, he struck out. The human, with a bored expression on his face, just moved aside like it was nothing. Then he looked back down at him, his mouth showing the faintest hint of a smug smile.

“Mr. Cosmo is right. You really are a feisty one.” The human cocked his head to one side. “But that will just make you the best choice. Since Ms. Saffron and Draow have failed in their mission, you will have to do.”

The human took a few steps closer. His face hardened up slightly as he quietly examined him.

“...I just hope you are in good working order.”

Skrawl had no idea what he meant by that. Nor did he attempt to find out. For the time being, he was too busy screaming in agony as pain coursed through his body. This lasted for several moments, getting worse and worse as the second passed…

..only for it to suddenly stop.

Skrawl laid there in confusion, wondering what just happened. He took in a few shaky breaths. Slowly, his anger began to return and his mind shifted back to taking care of that human. The pain did not stop him. It had only delayed him from trying anything. Skrawl prepared himself for another attack, only to immediately realize something was wrong.

He couldn’t move. Why couldn’t he move? Why was he just laying here, frozen like a ragdoll? He couldn’t… This was impossible… He…

Then, with a dull pain returning to his head, he could feel one of his limbs beginning to move on their own free will.

sss

Mr. Cosmo still felt a small shudder as he recalled his previous encounter with Bardot. He tried his best to shrug it off. He didn’t want to think about what he had to put himself through. He tried his best to refocus his attention on heading down the hallway. There was something that he wanted to do.

His mind was filled with several thoughts. It wasn’t just Bardot that he was concerned about. He still hadn’t heard back from Ms. Saffron or any of his employees on Rudy’s whereabouts. He couldn’t believe that, even with so many eyes out there looking for him, they still hadn’t found him. He knew that his building was large, but come on. It shouldn’t have taken this long to find him.

Or perhaps he was just going a little too far with this. Maybe he was not being patient enough. His employees were still working hard on finding him. He knew that they would do all that they could to locate him. They would figure out where Rudy and his captor...or rescuer or whatever they were had gone off to. He doubted they had gotten out of the building yet. Or was that just him being a little too hopeful?

But as furious as he was at what had happened, he couldn’t really put the blame soley on the others. He had been a little foolish himself. He should have worked a little quicker. He should have just opted to make Rudy touch the black chalk instead of prolonging things. If he had just done that, he might have been able to turn Rudy before he was able to do much resisting. Then this whole issue never would have happened. He would have had Rudy for an ally before he had a chance to be taken.

But now it was too late for that. He had to face the consequences of his inactions. It was at least in part his fault. He just needed to make sure that it didn’t happen again. He would need to make sure that he had Rudy touch the black chalk and become enlightened as soon as he got his chance to do so.

Soon he arrived at the room in question. It was, in a way, pushed off to the side so-to-speak. He had wanted to make sure that it was a little hard to get to. Putting it against the groove of the walls like this did help, although it did make it a little awkward for him to get in. He looked around, left and right, making sure that no one was following him. Then he pushed his way through into the room, shutting the door behind him.

In front of him were several monitors, the sound of beeping filling the air, the bright lights filling the otherwise dark room. The monitors were arranged in rows, going in a near complete circle. There were a few keyboards laid out, each one designated for a different thing. And there was a lone chair sitting there, ready for him to sit down in and take control of the security system.

But controlling the security system isn’t quite what he had in mind. Instead, he focused on the monitors themselves. They flickered about, moving through a few set images. They showed the hallways and the rooms of this building. He watched carefully, trying to see if he noticed anything unusual.

So far, he could only see the usual stuff that he would have come to expect. He could see some of his workers moving about their business. He could see where the zoners were being locked up. He could see Draow moving alone the hallways, sniffing about. Oddly, he didn’t see Ms. Saffron with him. But perhaps she was further behind him or...

..what was she doing with Snap...?

Mr. Cosmo stared at the woman, who was stroking and comforting the small blue and white zoner. He couldn’t tear his eyes away for several moments, blinking slowly. He then shook his head once and narrowed his eyes slowly. So the woman was still shirking her duties, wasn’t she...? He guessed she hadn’t learned her lesson yet. He would need to speak to her later. His eyes moved away as he concentrated on looking at the other monitors.

He still couldn’t see anything worth taking note of. The only thing was what was going on with Ms. Saffron. But he didn’t see anything yet regarding Rudy or the person who had taken him. He could feel his teeth pressing tightly against one another. Was it possible that he really had gotten out of the building? He didn’t see him no matter which monitor he looked at, no matter how many times it flipped through the images. Perhaps it was possible that..

No, there’s no way he could have gotten out. There would have been an alarm. There was only one way out of this place without getting hurt, as far as he knew, and that was the front door. And that had an alarm set to blast when someone left without authory permission. Unless Rudy found another way out of here... Wait, what of that... No, that room was locked up. Rudy couldn’t have gotten in there. But then, where could he have gone off to?

Mr. Cosmo could feel his head starting to hurt. He hoped that he found a breakthrough soon. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take with this throbbing headache. It was going to be the death of him if it didn’t end soon.

Then he saw something. A sort of flash in the corner of his eye. He shifted his gaze and stared at one of the monitors. He didn’t see just what it was, but he knew that he had seen something. He furrowed his gaze and tilted his head slowly to one side. He gave a small huff before he turned his head to look at the monitor next to it and waited. Then the monitor flickered and for a few seconds, he could see one of the hallways, which he realized was blaring red. The alarm must have gone off there. But why did...

That’s when he saw it. A small shadow on the ground near the wall. It was tiny, nearly invisible. But it was still there, moving slowly, discoloring the ground ever so slightly. It perplexed him at first. What would that mark be...

It took him a few seconds to realize what it was. He could feel himself chuckle a little, his mouth corners pulling up in a dark smile. What a clever trick... He wondered if it was Rudy’s idea or that person who had dragged him away. Either way, it was such a nice try. But now that the cat was out of the bag...

Mr. Cosmo sat in silence as he formulated a plan in his still dull aching head.


	29. Caught In A Trap Like Prey

Run…

Faster and faster…

Just run…

That was all Mr. Wilter’s head could think of shouting at him as he and Rudy ran through the interior of the walls. The loud buzzing sound was still close to them, cutting through his head and making his ear drums feel like they were going to burst open.

He and Rudy didn’t really know for sure if anyone was following them. It did seem that way a little while ago. But with all the footfalls they heard, he knew that the only way to stay truly safe is to just keep going. They had to at least try to get out of here. If they failed to escape, then they were both in big trouble. After all, just how long could this hiding place actually stay secret?

Mr. Wilter was aware of how smart Mr. Cosmo can be. And he knew that, even if it didn’t happen right away, the man may figure out that he’s using the wall’s interiors to hide. If he learned of this, then how long could he and Rudy keep hiding?

Mr. Wilter fought to remember just where he had come in from before. He turned his head left and right, his head aching, his brain’s gears turning and churning. But everything looked the same in here. He realized that he should have written a map or something. Now it was too late for that. He could only hope that this oversight did not harm him or Rudy later on. After all, there still had to be a way out of here, right?

Mr. Wilter looked over at Rudy. The teenager was slightly ahead of him. But he looked the most exhausted. His face was red and covered in sweat. He was struggling to keep breathing. It took the old teacher a little bit to realize that it was the smoke. He knew that Rudy had inhaled a good chunk of it. But with how he was moving, his heart skipped a beat as he realized that it may have done a bit more damage to the boy than he thought. Rudy was going to start slowing down soon.

And it was his fault. He was the one who decided that a smoke screen was the best option. He was the one who decided to use that and it was due to his actions that caused Rudy to breathe in so much that he had passed out.

His gut immediately twisted and yanked in guilt. If Rudy ended up captured, he would have no one but himself to blame. He should have planned it out better. There had been other options. Why didn’t he take them?

Without thinking, the old man found himself rushing towards Rudy and grabbing onto him. Rudy let out a few shouts and demanded to know what he was doing. Mr. Wilter did not pay attention, hearing nothing but gibberish in his head. His mind was too focused on trying to help him to reall listen to what he had to say. Then within seconds, Rudy was adjusted onto his back, the man’s arms supporting his legs, pressing them against him. Then he resumed running.

“Mr. Wilter, what’s the meaning of this? You can’t just carry me!” Rudy shouted. His voice was tinged with shock and surprise.

Mr. Wilter let out a grunt. “I’m aware that this might not be the best move…” Mr. Wilter let out a few small grunts as he tried to support Rudy’s weight. This might have been easier when he was a child. But the boy’s gained a lot of weight in five years. “...but you were slowing down and I don’t want you to get caught.”

“What? No I wasn’t! Put me down!” Rudy demanded as he started to squirm a little.

Mr. Wilter tried to be silent at first. He tried to understand how flustered Rudy was and how it must feel to have someone carry you if your legs still technically worked. But he also realized something that Rudy was not seeing. He had been getting increasingly wobblier and was slowing down quite a bit. He was catching up to him too fast. Had he not done something, he would have bypassed Rudy, and that would have been worrisome, considering Rudy was more youthful than he was.

But as time passed, it became increasingly obvious that Rudy was not going to listen to him. The teenager kept wriggling around and tried to get away from him. The teenager was clearly not happy with being treated like this, even though it was a necessity. Mr. Wilter felt his teeth gritting tightly, feeling his patience starting to wear thin. He tried to control himself, but that wasn’t going to last long. He could feel his frustrations wearing his inhibitions down into a thin layer.

Eventually he just couldn’t take it any longer. Old feelings that he was trying to keep locked away, fears regarding his former friend and what he knew he was capable of, combined with what was all going on now and the unknown of what Mr. Cosmo could be up to, it all finally came a head. His emotions boiled over as he suddenly stopped, nearly sending Rudy flying over his shoulder. The boy was stopped just barely, only for the old man to yank him off in a swift move and then pin him against the wall.

Rudy looked clearly shocked by this. He began to squirm and writhe more frantically now. “What the…. Mr. Wilter, what is the meaning of this?! I thought we had to keep going!” Mr. Wilter just glared at him. Rudy’s struggling began to slow down as he looked into the man’s eyes. Rudy’s eyes started to fill with a sense of panic. “M-Mr. Wilter..?”

The old man had to drew in a slow, deep breath, trying to calm himself. He couldn’t let out all his anger against the boy. Rudy just wasn’t fully aware of the situation. He didn’t know Mr. Cosmo the way that he did. He didn’t fully understand that there were times when you needed to do something you didn’t like. He took a few moments to force himself to exhale and then he opened up his eyes, staring at the startled boy.

“Look, I’m sorry that I’m doing this, Rudy. I know that this must be confusing for you. But you have to understand that…” Mr. Wilter had to pause for a moment to try to collect his thoughts. “Why did you struggle when I picked you up? We had to get going. You were slowing down.”

“No I wasn’t… I…” Rudy protested. But Mr. Wilter cut him off.

“Yes you were. I could see it, Rudy. I know what I’m talking about.” Mr. Wilter growled softly. He then sighed, getting himself to relax again. He tried to look at Rudy as sympathetically as possible. “I understand that you don’t like being carried around like you’re a little child and I understand that I’m old and not as fast. But going at a continuous slower speed is better than slowing down to a complete halt.” He looked over his shoulder. “And if those people were to catch up to us…”

Mr. Wilter lowered his head, baring his teeth for a moment. A wave of emotion washed over him. He soon looked back at Rudy. He gave something of a small smile, though it was tainted with the negative emotions that swirled about in his head.

“I don’t think I could forgive myself if something happened to you.” Mr. Wilter’s voice was a whisper at this point.

Rudy blinked in confusion, before his eyes filled with realization. “Mr. Wilter, I…”

But he wasn’t able to finish.

There was a loud sound, something that Mr. Wilter could not identify, that sounded out. It echoed across the area for a brief moment, startling the two. They locked their bodies in rigidness, staring at one another as they both silently asked the other what had gone on. They remained this way for several moments before they forced their heads to turn, struggling to see just what it was.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened in horror at the sight of something moving through the interior wall. Something thick and heavy and looking like it was made of thick, unbreakable glass. He stared at this for a few moments before he turned his head in the other direction. He could see another one was lowering down. He spent a few moments looking left and right before deciding to choose the left. He grabbed onto Rudy’s hand and he started to make a run for it.

But by the time he had got there, it was already too late. The glass wall had already lowered down too close to the ground to try to cross. All he and Rudy could do now was just watch it slam into the ground, kicking up a small bit of dust, while they leaned back and stared with wide eyes. They glanced at each other nervously, gritting their teeth in fear.

Now what?

Mr. Wilter looked around them, realizing that they were now trapped. There was just about ten feet of walking space left for them and nothing else. They couldn’t crawl through the walls, either. They had no proper tools with them. There was nothing that would allow them to escape. They were just...stuck.

It must have been Mr. Cosmo’s doing. That man must have somehow figured out that he was here and that he was trying to escape with Rudy. He didn’t know how this could be the case, unless the man saw him earlier or… Mr. Wilter shook the thought out of his head as he tried to figure out what he was going to do. He licked his lips nervously as he turned his head left and right once more. He almost expected something to show up and change their situation. But he realized that in some cases, that’s just never going to happen.

“Wh-What are we going to do?” Rudy asked in a shaky voice. “There’s no way out.”

Mr. Wilter wanted to be more positive about things. But he couldn’t deny just how right Rudy was. The only thing he could do was swallow hard and whisper, “Get ready…” He didn’t know what was about to come. But he realized it was better to prepare than to just pretend it was all right.

For the next few minutes or so, the two male humans were silent. They kept looking around, looking for any sort of details that might help them. Though it was futile, they realized. That didn’t stop them from trying though, silently hoping that something would change by some miracle.

Well soon, something did change. But it was not a good kind of change. They could hear the sound of something buzzing and whirring. Then they could a loud screech. They jumped back and turned their heads, watching as something glowed and sparked on the wall. Mr. Wilter drew in a small gasp when he realized that someone was trying to cut their way through the wall.

They had to get out of here quickly, but just...where could they go? Mr. Wilter wanted to run in either direction. His leg muscles tightened up in anticipation. He could feel his breathing going a few miles an hour. His heart pounded heavily in his chest, getting louder by the minute. His mind kept struggling for a way to go, and when it could find none, it seemed to start to panic.

And with that panic came a headache. Mr. Wilter groaned as he put his hand to his head. He was getting too old for this excitement. He might have been able to handle it before. But in this situation and time, it was getting to be a little too much.

“Mr. Wilter, are you okay?” Rudy asked, apparently noticing the teacher’s dilemma, leaning up against the wall like this.

Mr. Wilter replied, “I’m fine. I just need a bit of rest.”

Rudy shouted, “We don’t have time for that!”

“I know, I know…” Mr. Wilter hissed softly. He looked back over at the wall, and he realized, with chilling blood, that time was running out. There was nothing they could do to prevent the inevitable. Mr. Wilter did the first thing his instincts told him to do.

He grabbed onto Rudy and pulled him close. He kept his arms fully wrapped around his body and he pressed himself against him, leaning over slightly to try to shield him. He had no idea if it was going to work or not, but he had to try at least something to keep Rudy safe. He and Rudy both watched in silence as danger crept closer and closer, preparing to tear through the walls at any given moment.

Then it happened. With a small crumbling sound, a creak, and then a loud booming thud, the wall had been opened up. The two stiffened up and prepared themselves for what was about to come. They could see a shadow forming, stretching along the ground. They held their breaths.

When Mr. Wilter saw who entered, his mouth started to drop open. “What the…”

Rudy looked just as surprised. But there was a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Mr. Wilter tried to ask Rudy just what his deal was, but the boy already answered for him.

“S-S-Skrawl…”

Mr. Wilter blinked at this. He looked at Rudy before he turned his head and stared off at where the massive zoner was. Big, kinda lumpy-looking, and teal, with antennas growing out of the head. That’s what this creature’s name was? And just how did Rudy know him? Had he encountered this thing in ChalkZone? He must be new; Mr. Wilter had never seen him before.

When the creature turned to look at them, Mr. Wilter nearly held his breath at the sight of the nail pushed securely into his head, a few droplets of blood coming down. There were a few tiny sparks, which was enough to give him a good idea of what was going on. He felt his teeth clench tightly against one another. So Mr. Cosmo hadn’t tried stopping his quest to control zoners… It figured. He had been naive on the phone with the man earlier, thinking that he had changed and moved past that. No, that had been way too much to ask.

The zoner, Skrawl as Rudy called him, lumbered in their direction. He was growling at them, his claws flexing. But he also looked a tad bit robotic in movement. Mr. Wilter figured it must be a side effect of the nail. Skrawl was not acting on his own volition. He couldn’t tell just how conscious the zoner was at this point. He almost seemed…..zombie-like. His skin color certainly matched with that thought.

The two humans backed up away from the large zoner, their large eyes refusing to look away from him. They gritted their teeth tightly and gave a few slight trembles as the large zoner closed the gap fairly quickly. They could soon feel their backs pushing up against the thick glass behind them. Now suddenly, they had nowhere left to go.

Watching as Skrawl slowly raised his hand, Mr. Wilter turned to Rudy and said, “Can’t you reason with him? Talk to him! Maybe he’ll recognize you!”

Rudy looked up at Mr. Wilter with a face best described as a cross between a glare and an exclamation of shock. “Are you joking?! That isn’t going to stop him!”

Mr. Wilter frowned. “How do you know? You haven’t even…”

“Mr. Wilter, I know this guy if you couldn’t tell. And if he did recognize me if he hasn’t yet, that will just make him want to attack even faster.” Rudy told him. “He hates me.”

“Oh.” Mr. Wilter muttered. He shifted his gaze way, though his head still faced the same direction. “Well that sucks.”

Rudy hissed, “No shit. Now what should we do?”

Mr. Wilter stared at Rudy for a few moments before looking back at Skrawl. He let his heart pound heavily a couple of times as he swallowed nervously. His head rapidly ached from trying to think of something more positive, more certain, to say. The only thing that he could bring himself to tell Rudy was…

“I have no idea.”

That was the last thing that he could manage to say before the massive teal-colored zoner suddenly rushed at them. The two startled humans weren’t able to react quickly enough. Within moments, they could feel Skrawl grabbing onto them. His three clawed hands wrapped around their necks and lifted them up into the air. He then slammed them up against the wall and just held them there.

Mr. Wilter and Rudy struggled the best that they could to get free. But their efforts were in vain. No matter how much they twisted and they turned, they couldn’t get themselves free. Skrawl’s grip was just too tight. Then he started to press his claws into their flesh, causing them to flinch and whimper softly. It didn’t take long before the two humans stopped struggling, largely out of fear of Skrawl doing something much worse to them than just holding them here.

Then another figure showed up. Skrawl had not been alone. More foot falls came in. A single pair filled with confidence, from what Mr. Wilter could tell. He held his breath and waited as the figure came in slowly, taking their time.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding. Heh, how clever…”

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened in horror when he realized who it was. No… It couldn’t be… Anyone but that.. Not after all the trouble they went through to…

But of course, fate always liked to work against him. Mr. Wilter did nothing to hide his anger and disgust as a familiar man came into view. He didn’t say a word. There was no need to. His narrowed eyes ere all that was required to get his message across very quickly.

The man immediately froze, not having expected to see Mr. Wilter. There was no way that Mr. Wilter could mistake this man. From his green outfit to his red hair and those blue-grey eyes… There was only one person who fit that bill.

Mr. Cosmo made a small, fake gasp as he stared at Mr. Wilter. “Oh my.. I didn’t expect to see you here..” The red-haired man smirked almost twistedly as he leaned forward. His voice was a harsh whisper. “...old friend.”

Mr. Wilter growled at this. The two men stared at one another, a tense silence filling the air.

sss

Ms. Saffron had no idea how long she had been with Snap. She didn’t know how much time she had spent stroking him, trying to calm him down. It felt like hours, or was it just a few minutes? Regardless, she just sat there, moving her hand along Snap’s back.

The zoner breathed in and out shakingly, his eyes shut softly. He had calmed down considerably and no longer seemed to be reacting in pain. She didn’t know how long this was going to last, though. But at least for the time being, it was a nice bit of silence.

She could feel her head aching with several thoughts as she tried to think of what she was going to do now. She knew, deep down, that she was going to have to make a choice. She could no longer just sit idly by and do nothing. Not with all that she’s heard and seen. Not with the evidence mounting up, becoming increasingly difficult for her mind to just simply dismiss. She was getting rapidly to the point where she no longer felt as though she could claim herself to just be paranoid.

Yet a part of her still, even after all this time, could not turn against Mr. Cosmo. She still felt...something for the man. He had helped her in the past. This was the first job that she’s had where she felt like she truly belonged. She didn’t need to worry about her finances as she was getting paid well. She and Mr. Cosmo generally got along; in fact, it’s only been recently that they’ve had any rough edges with one another.

She did recall that he seemed pretty mad at her before. She recalled how his face looked, how his eyes were narrowed into slits. She understood that he was pretty upset with her. But she could only blame herself for that. She had disobeyed his orders and she had wasted her time speaking to that yellow and red zoner instead of…

She gritted her teeth when she realized she had shirked duty again. She had decided to talk to Snap instead of going out and finding Rudy. If Mr. Cosmo found out…

She tried to shrug it off. True, there might be an issue later on. But right now, she did still deem this to be pretty important. She needed to get information from Snap about what was happening. She couldn’t just keep denying that something didn’t feel right. Even she could not pretend that Mr. Cosmo seemed to have shifted a little in attitude lately. He was more...tense was the only word that she could think of.

And there was still the matter of the zoners and whether or not they could feel pain, along with those nail controllers. If zoners were not sentient and did not feel that much pain, like Mr. Cosmo had told her, that would have been one thing. She would have been glad with at least just the ‘less pain’ part. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about zoners, but one thing that she was certain of is that she wouldn’t really want them to be in pain all the time.

Yet that seemed to be how these devices worked. They seemed less focused on just keeping the zoner from attacking and more just accomplishing that via pain. She had even witnessed a nail being put in. While the zoner was awake, no less. She had always thought that Mr. Cosmo would have refrained from doing something like that. She thought that he wouldn’t have wanted to cause pain if it didn’t have to come to it. Yet she had witnessed two zoners who suffered way more than Mr. Cosmo claimed zoners were capable of.

The fact that they were another species entirely did not deter her thoughts. That didn’t matter much to her. The zoners were sentient as far as she could tell. When she recalled how Mr. Cosmo claimed that they were unpredictable and needed controlling, she started to wonder just how much that was true. If they were sentient, could they not be reasoned with? What exactly was Mr. Cosmo getting at?

All in all, she was left in a confused, conflicting state still. It might seem like her mind was on repeat and that she just needed to snap herself out of it. But it wasn’t that easy. This information about the zoners and pain and all was rather shocking to her. But she still knew Mr. Cosmo for longer. A part of her just...couldn’t bring herself to turn on him so quickly. She needed something else to help her choose. But what could that be?

She stared at Snap intently. He was her key. She had come here to chat with him, and she was not going to just walk away without having done so. Though she hated to stop this considering that he seemed to like it, she moved her hand away and leaned back. As if on cue, Snap looked up at her, his still reddened eyes showing a layer of confusion.

“I….want to talk to you about something.” Ms. Saffron spoke up, breaking the silence.

Snap took a little while to respond. It would seem that he was still trying to recover from what happened to him earlier. As if on instinct, he looked over at her hands. It was like he thought she was going to hit him again. Ms. Saffron immediately pulled her hands away further, trying to look less threatening.

Snap then looked away, keeping his body still rested up against her thighs. “Yeah, you mentioned that…”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head even though the zoner was not looking at her. “Yes. I kind of got… Well anyway..” Ms. Saffron would rather not remind herself or Snap of their little incident earlier. She cleared her throat and asked, “But I did want to ask you about Mr. Cosmo.”

Snap looked up at her with wide eyes. Those eyes then narrowed slightly, just showing the slightest hint of a glare. “Why do you want to...ask me about...him..?”

Ms. Saffron let out a small sigh. “Because I’m...not sure what to think anymore. I’ve looked up to that man. I’ve never had an issue with him before. But lately…” She looked away for a few moments. She wasn’t sure if she could explain all her feelings at once. She looked back at Snap. “He’s told me about zoners before. But after meeting you… I admit, the description doesn’t fit as much. No, it doesn’t fit at all.”

Snap narrowed his eyes a little further. “What exactly did he tell you?” His tone of voice gave away the fact that he was still rather nervous. But he was hiding it well behind a mask of what the woman guessed to be anger or determination.

Ms. Saffron hesitated for a moment. Then she tried to explain the best that she could.

“He told me how zoners were just wild animals that would pretend to be people. He says that all zoners will do whatever they could lure you in and tear you apart. He believes that zoners should be controlled by whatever means necessary. He...claims not to want to kill zoners, but he does feel that harsh tactics are the only way to keep zoners in line.”

Ms. Saffron paused for a moment to look at Snap. She wanted to make sure that he got all of this, that he understood what she just said. Judging from the faces he was making, even though they were not positive, it was enough to convince her that he was following her.

Slowly, she turned her head away. “He claimed that you zoners did not feel much pain and that I shouldn’t feel bad for you when you got hurt. He then tried to justify it by telling me that you were another species entirely and that….because you can always redraw a zoner, it’s not as important as a human life.” She paused for a moment, turning her head up to the ceiling. Then her gaze fell back down on Snap. “...is any of this true..?”

Snap’s lips curled up slightly. Ms. Saffron could see the barest hints of his teeth exposed. She felt herself start to cringe. She stopped when she saw Snap closing them up completely. But he still looked pissed off. One would think that she had just insulted him with some cruel joke or whatever. But his glare wasn’t even aimed at her. It was more downward. It was as though he were trying to eject his anger in a different direction than her.

“Is it true, you ask… Is it fucking true…” Snap whispered softly. He opened his mouth and let out a series of chuckles. He slowly looked up at her. “Are you kidding me…? You really want to know if that trash heap that came out of this man’s foul mouth is true?!”

Ms. Saffron flinched a little as Snap spoke to her like that. She did her best to keep under control. She licked her lips slowly before swallowing hard. She knew this was a dumb thing to say, but… “So it’s not true?”

Snap let out a low hiss. “Of course not! I..” She flinched, curling inward as a bout of pain struck him. It took him a few moments to recover. “I doubt that this man has even truly interacted with zoners before.”

“Actually, he has. That much I can guarantee.” Ms. Saffron ignored the look she got from Snap. “I can show you evidence. I’m confident that he was not lying about that. That’s why I’m...so conflicted on this. Well, one of the reasons.” She closed her eyes softly. “He has been to ChalkZone before. So I thought that he...must have been telling the truth. I thought that…”

Snap growled, “Then he’s lying to you. For one thing, I’ll get this right out there, redrawing a zoner is not the same as bringing them back to life.”

Ms. Saffron blinked a few times as she stared at Snap. “It’s...not?”

Snap shook his head furiously, a few more growls escaping his throat. “Of course not! We’re still people, too! And each of us have our own individuality, uniqueness…. Each of us is different! This can never be recreated!”

“B-But… creator’s intentions and all that..” Ms. Saffron raised her hand in gesture. “Doesn’t that play a role in things? Shouldn’t that mean that it’s possible to erase a zoner then recreate the same zoner?”

“No, it’s not! Each zoner is their own life! Each zoner can only be created once! Oh sure, you might be able to create someon similar. But each zoner is still their own unique person.” Snap explained. “Once you erase a zoner, that specific individual is gone. Permanently.”

Ms. Saffron wasn’t entirely sure what to think of this. She hadn’t expected this kind of answer. It conflicted with what she heard before. It drove a stake through what Mr. Cosmo had told her. It flew in the face of what she had believed to be true earlier.

She was even more conflicted now. She struggled to think of just what she should believe. Should she consider the zoner’s words true? Should she believe that zoners really could be killed off forever? Or should she believe the words of Mr. Cosmo, the man that she had interacted with, even grown somewhat close to, for the past couple of years? She could feel her head start to thud as she tried to think of what answer would be the best one. What path should she truly take?

Ms. Saffron felt her hand going up to her head to rub it. The dull ache spread throughout her head slowly, covering it in a sort of shield. She remained quiet for several moments as she stared at Snap, comprehending his words. He didn’t look like he was lying. But if he wasn’t lying, then that meant that Mr. Cosmo was..

No, there had to be an explanation for all of this. Perhaps Mr. Cosmo just wasn’t aware, either. Perhaps he just…

Suddenly, she felt something moving through the ground. She could feel something shooting through her chest. She gritted her teeth as she endured it. Then she could hear something echoing in her head. It rang out, spreading throughout her skull. She shuddered and shook her head. But that only seemed to make it even louder, even more obnoxious.

She realized that she couldn’t have been imagining it. Snap was clearly hearing it, too. The zoner looked left and right, his eyes wide, his emotions high. It looked almost as though he recognized this particular sound. But Ms. Saffron could not imagine how. Not with how the sound really was. There was nothing to…

“Rudy…?” Snap whispered softly.

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened at this. She looked at Snap in surprise, wondering how the heck he thought this was Rudy. She then took another listen. She put her hand to her ear and leaned in one direction. She listened as carefully as she could, trying to detect whatever she could.

Then she heard it. Some loud muffled sounds. Shouts and pleas. Strugglings. Then the thud of something big, large, heavy. Ms. Saffron felt her heart pumping hard and her mind going to a million miles per hour. She could hear herself asking the same question over and over again.

What was going on out there…?

Ms. Saffron soon narrowed her eyes slowly. There was only one way to find out. She was still conflicted with Mr. Cosmo, but if what Snap told her was right, then given everything else, she realized that there was just no way that she could keep dragging this on. She told herself this before already and she realized that she was just going to keep delaying herself even after this. But if she wanted to have some semblance of an answer, she was going to have to take a stand and do something.

Looking down at Snap, she said, “I should get going. Thank you for the information.”

She said nothing else as she got up and began to make her way towards the exit. Was Snap calling out still? She couldn’t tell. Her mind was too focused on this. With her eyes narrowed slowly, almost into slits, she opened up the door and left, locking Snap back inside. A part of her felt guilty for that. But she shrugged it off as she kept going.

Ms. Saffron headed down the hallway slowly, taking her time. She tried to be as quiet as she could as she headed towards those horrible sounds. She could feel her mind tingling with curiosity. She could feel herself being driven forward, trying to locate where this sound was and just what was going on.

As she got closer, she could hear voices more clearly now. She could detect the masculine tone, how one sounded way younger than the other. She could hear them clamoring together, almost in some sort of choir. Despite how tense it was all getting, despite the rising emotion in those voices, Ms. Saffron still continued on.

Then she could hear a shout loud and clear.

“Let us go, Skrawl!”

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened at this. She recognized both the name and the voice. Skrawl was that large zoner she had seen before. The same one who had gotten the nail put in his head while awake. It seemed like he had gotten his first task now, and that panicked voice could only belong to Rudy. Ms. Saffron stood there in shock for several moments before she attempted to continue moving forward.

The blond woman continued forward slowly, her teeth gritted, licking her lips slowly. She could hear more shouts coming from the human….humans, she quickly corrected herself. The second human, she could not recognize at the moment. Something told her that she should find him familiar. But right now, all that she could get from him was that he was getting very irritated.

Soon, she was pressed up against the end of a corner. She was at the very end of this hallway. She slowed her breathing down, trying to keep herself calm. Then she moved herself forward, leaning out to peer over the corner of the wall. With her eyes narrowed, she let herself look around. It took her only a second to see who was moving down the hallway.

There was Skrawl all right. He was heading in the opposite direction, his back turned to her. He was moving a bit slowly, letting out a few growls as he went. As he lumbered along, she then noticed who he was holding onto.

Skrawl was dragging Rudy and some man that was too obscured right now for her to recognize down the hallway. Rudy was fighting the best that he could, twisting and writhing, as was the adult male human. But Skrawl was undeterred as he continued along, taking them down the hallway to an undesignated location.

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened at this, feeling her heart skipping a beat. She swallowed hard, contemplating her next move. She realized that she couldn’t just stand here. She needed to do something. Without making a sound, she began to follow close behind.


	30. Finally Turning Around

Ugh… What is wrong with him…? Why couldn’t he do anything? Why was he being forced to do this? He felt like he was some kind of doll and someone else was controlling him. It felt impossible for him to do anything except just…

Skrawl let out a loud yell, or at least he tried to. But even this had been robbed from him. He could feel his heart wrenching in his chest, unable to fight back the fear that began to rise up. He opened his mouth and took in several breaths. This he could do, to an extent. But it became rapidly clear to the massive green zoner that his choices had been robbed from him. No matter what he tried, he was unable to stop himself.

His actions were not what was bothering him. He didn’t care if he was dragging Rudy somewhere. He enjoyed the feeling of being able to take the chalk boy with him and he had no choice but to follow. He enjoyed having some kind of control over him. He didn’t care much for the larger human, but Rudy seemed to care about him. So that made it all right.

But he still would much rather have control over his actions. He would rather be able to wriggle himself free and find a way to take action himself. He had his own ideas on what to do with Rudy. He didn’t need someone else to tell him what to do. No one else was his boss. He was the one in complete and utter control. If anything, they should be listening to him. He probably had far more brilliant plans than the idiot running this joint.

But in the end, he was utterly helpless. All that he was capable of doing was just keep walking forward. His body movements felt quite rigid and he could feel his limbs nearly snap at their rigid movements. His arm was growing tired from having to carry the two humans, yet he was not able to even give himself a rest. He had been deprived of that much choice.

Skrawl knew it was going to be useless, but he tried once more to attempt to slow down. He tried to command any of his limbs. Just one of them. He tried to make his talons move or even just his eyes. But just like before, they were unresponsive. There was nothing he could do. This was a realization that he came to have before, but he just didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to believe that something like this could be true. And yet he could not deny the evidence before him.

Despite all that, he was not going to let himself fall into fear. He was not going to let himself look afraid in front of his captors. Those stupid humans probably want him to feel that way. They probably want him to feel as though all was lost, that he had nothing left that he could do to protect himself. He was ready to prove them all wrong. He was not going to give them even that kind of victory.

They might have won control of his body, but they haven’t won control of his mind.

His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed that he was standing in front of some kind of door. He barely had time to register what it was before he could feel his foot raising up and kicking outward. He wanted to hiss at the pain but all he ended up doing was just throwing Rudy and that older human into the room. Skrawl wanted to see the look in Rudy’s eyes, but he couldn’t even get that. He was greeted by the door shutting in his face and for the next couple of seconds, all he was able to see was just a grey wall.

Then he could feel his body starting to twist around. Skrawl, determined to give it one more shot to stop, tried to struggle against it. This time, he did make some progress and he at least delayed himself from fully turning around. But this didn’t last too long before he felt a sharp pain jolting through his body, originating from his head. This bout of pain, although brief, was enough to dislodge him and force him to continue down the hallway. He did try to peek over to see what was happening, but it was useless. The only thing that he could watch was the moving images as he headed towards a new destination.

As he went, he could feel the back of his mind start to smirk. If there was at least one comfort here, it was that Master Tabootie wasn’t having a much better time than he was. Though he would much rather deal with the brat himself, he did had to admit, he was rather curious about whatever the guy in charge of all of this wanted with the boy.

What role did Rudy have in all of this? What kind of purpose could he serve to whoever was doing all of this? What did this person think Rudy was good for? Was Rudy going to be killed off or used for something more? Or was there something else going on that he was not considering?

Whatever the case may be, Skrawl still found himself smiling, feeling some happiness in knowing that Rudy was not roaming free in ChalkZone. He was stuck here, just like he was, and there wasn’t a thing that he could do to escape. He was trapped like a rat in this building, with all the exits blocked. It reminded him so much of his own first trap with the boy. Oh if only he had acted sooner, Rudy would have been out of the way much quicker and he….

Then without warning, he felt himself collide with something solid yet soft. He could feel his body moving back a little. This wasn’t enough to stop him completely. His limbs were already propelling him forward. But his mismatched eyes did not miss what he had bumped into.

A female human with blond hair. A person that he did not recognize. He only had time to see her horrified expression before he lumbered away from her.

sss

Rudy grunted and hissed as Mr. Cosmo pushed him against the chair. He tried to kick at him, but the red-haired man was able to dodge him pretty easily. His foot missed entirely and instead he only hit air. He let out a small yelp of pain as Mr. Cosmo tightened up the bonds, fully securing him to the chair he was stuck in now. By the time the man was done, his arms and legs had loops of thick rope around them. This prevented any kind of movement.

But that didn’t mean that he didn’t at least try something. With his teeth bared, Rudy released a low growl and launched his head forward. He opened his mouth wide and attempted to bite Mr. Cosmo.

“Whoa there!” Mr. Cosmo immediately moved to the side. This prevented Rudy from landing the blow. Mr. Cosmo looked at the boy with slightly widened eyes, but the tiny smile indicated he was more humored than anything. “A little feisty, aren’t you?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes into slits. “What did you do to Skrawl? I thought you…”

“Oh you noticed a difference? Congratulations…” Mr. Cosmo sneered at him. He reached over and he started to lightly stroke Rudy’s face. “He was more...difficult to tame than the others. So I had to design a nail that was a little more..direct than the others.”

“You foul..!” Rudy started to say.

Mr. Cosmo just chuckled. “You are getting worked up over nothing, boy. You are taking this way too seriously.” Mr. Cosmo shook his head from side to side. “It’s such a shame, really. Things would be so much better if you just..”

“...become like you?”

Rudy and Mr. Cosmo turned their heads to look at Mr. Wilter. The man had been tied up in a chair a few feet away from Rudy. He had twisted himself just enough to look over at them. His eyes were narrowed into slits and he was focusing entirely at the man before him. He pulled his lips back into a snarl and he looked ready to strike at any given moment. It was quite surprising that he didn’t try to break through the ropes.

But those eyes were good enough, anyway. Rudy couldn’t help but flinch. He had never seen Mr. Wilter this pissed off at someone before. Then again, considering their history together, should he really be surprised? Either way, Rudy remained in a nervous silence as he watched the events unfold before him.

Mr. Cosmo kept staring at Mr. Wilter for several long moments. Then, with a slight shift in his expression, he began to walk towards the man slowly. Rudy could feel the tension rising up between the two men and he found it hard to look away. Mr. Cosmo’s narrowed eyes rested upon the old teacher, as if he were silently challenging him to something. Then when he arrived in front of Mr. Wilter, he leaned in a little closer. It seemed as though he was trying to assert his dominance.

“I’m still so disappointed in you, Horace…” Mr. Cosmo said in a soft tone of voice. The edge of that voice seemed to reveal some level of regret, leading Rudy to believe he was truthful in these words. “We could have made good partners. We could have made it all possible. My vision would have saved us all from tyranny and usher in a new era. You could have been part of that, Horace.” Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes ever so slightly. “Yet you abandoned me…”

Mr. Wilter bared his teeth, letting the red-haired man get a nice, long look at them. “I don’t want your brand of ‘security’, Teddisson!”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at this a couple of times before leaning back. His eyes appeared to twinkle and a sickening smile spread slowly along his face. “So the zoners still got you by the tail, eh? I’m not surprised. The white chalk has you fooled. It blinds you to the truth.” Mr. Cosmo grabbed Mr. Wilter’s chin and forced his head up. “You need to let go of those childish beliefs. You’re an adult. Surely, you see the logic in what I’m saying.”

Mr. Wilter yanked his head away in a loud growl. With how his mouth was open, Rudy almost thought that the teacher was going to try to bite Mr. Cosmo just like he head. But instead, Mr. Wilter spouted venom in the red-haired man’s direction, “The only thing I’m seeing is some coward falling into paranoia thanks to some stupid black chalk!”

Everything immediately fell silent at this. All sounds stopped. Even breathing seemed to have been slowed down. Nobody dared to move or try to speak. It was like everyone had turned into living statues. Two sets of eyes stared intently at one another with a third set watching with absolute apprehension.

Rudy felt his throat going dry. He didn’t like what was going on. He didn’t like the looks he could see in either man’s eyes. He could feel his body trembling a little, his blood’s temperature going down, and he couldn’t help but cringe further into the chair. He watched for a few more moments before he gritted his teeth and turned his head to the side. He waited in dreadful, chilling silence as this all played out in front of him.

Slowly, Mr. Cosmo broke the stillness of the area. His hand moved slowly upwards. There was some shakiness in the hand, making it look as though he were cutting it through something thick. Soon the hand was raised up to his side. Then his eyes flickered with some kind of emotion. Rudy recognized it as fear.

Then Mr. Cosmo struck.

“Yaaah!” Yelped Mr. Wilter as his head was knocked to the side. A red mark rapidly formed on his face. This combined with Mr. Cosmo’s still raised hand showed the truth even if the strike was not seen.

Mr. Cosmo had slapped Mr. Wilter.

Rudy felt his eyes widen at his. He hadn’t expected Mr. Cosmo to do something like that. And from the looks of it, neither did Mr. Wilter. The old man stared at his former friend with his mouth hanging open in shock. Though Rudy couldn’t tell if this was because Mr. Wilter expected something worse or not.

Mr. Cosmo stood before Mr. Wilter, panting slowly, a soft growl emanating from his mouth. He looked as though he was going to strike again, especially with how his pupils had shrunk into small dots. He hardly moved, his hand still raised, as he just glared right into Mr. Wilter’s soul, slicing through his eyes with his own. Rudy soon noticed a bit of blackness coming out of the man’s eyes. Now he was certain of it. He hadn’t been hallucinating this.

Mr. Cosmo soon shut his eyes and shook his head. When his eyes were reopened up, the black glow was gone. But the glare was still there. And Mr. Wilter still looked just as startled and was still leaning away as though expecting to get hit again. Mr. Cosmo continued to glare at him for a couple of seconds before he closed his eyes once more and sighed, turning his head away.

“You still don’t get it, do you…?” Came the green-suited man’s hushed voice. If he didn’t sound disappointed before, he really did at this point. It almost turned everything around him into ice. “Very well then…” Mr. Cosmo raised his head up, giving Mr. Wilter a blank expression. Somehow, that was far worse than any glare that he had given him before. “I’m sorry it has to come to this.”

Rudy and Mr. Wilter couldn’t help but give each other quick, sideways glances. What did Mr. Cosmo mean by that specifically?

Whatever the man had in store for them, he wasn’t going to tell them. Either not yet or not at all. Mr. Cosmo moved away from Mr. Wilter. For a split second, it looked as if he was going to strike out again. But at the last moment, he regained control of himself. He straightened himself out as he moved away from the two tied up humans.

“I need to get going. I have….something else I must attend to.” Mr. Cosmo paused after another step. Then he looked over his shoulder and said, “But first things first…” After opening up the door, the man raised up his fingers, pressing them together, and blew hard. A loud whistling sound came out.

Within seconds, a large furry beast came over swiftly. A huge wolf-like head pushed its way through the door. With those piercing teal-colored eyes, it wasn’t hard to tell just which zoner that this was.

“Draow…” Rudy spoke. He quickly realized that Mr. Wilter had whispered the name at the same time. He looked over at the old man and he could see how his eyes were flickering with horror and recognition. Rudy bit his lip at this before looking back.

Draow seemed to respond to his name being whispered. He turned his head and he took notice of the two humans. He froze in place for a second, staring intently. Rudy quickly realized that it was not him that Draow was looking at.

It was Mr. Wilter.

Draow’s eyes seemed to glow more brightly and he opened his mouth wide open. The lips stretched about, pulling back to show his sharp, pointed fangs. His ears flattened against his head and the fur on the back of his neck became raised. The beast quickened his entry into the room. Despite looking too large, somehow, the huge zoner moved through, wriggling his way into the room like an octopus through a tiny bottle. It made Rudy wonder if this had been a design choice or if Draow was just so unhappy to see Mr. Wilter that he just defied all logic.

Draow moved closer to Mr. Wilter, ignoring Rudy completely. His eyes stared right through him, low growls emanating from his mouth, his teeth exposed and dripping. Draow arched himself as he got closer, soon pointing his muzzle down so that his eyes could stare at Mr. Wilter more directly.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wilter was obviously trying to keep himself under control. But Rudy could easily see how his body was shaking. Mr. Wilter could try to pretend that nothing was wrong. But Rudy could see how afraid he truly was. Rudy couldn’t help but wonder just what happened in their last encounter together. The expressions the two were making told him something happened. But what?

“I see he remembers you.” Mr. Cosmo commented softly. “Well that’s good. Now I don’t have to remind him that you are a threat, Horace…” Mr. Cosmo looked at the glares he was getting from Rudy and Mr. Wilter. He chortled softly, though it was clear he was really holding back. He raised his hand in gesture, motioning to them. “Well I best get going. I’ve entertained you two enough for now.”

“Teddisson, if you think you’re going to get away with this, I…” Mr. Wilter stopped himself when Draow snapped his jaws shut near him. The man pulled his head back and turned it slightly to the side. He stared up at Draow in fear.

Mr. Cosmo stood in the doorway, letting out another laugh, clearly amused by this. It almost looked like he was releasing some pent up frustration. But it seemed a little… Rudy wasn’t really sure what to think. A part of him started to wonder if there was more going on than what he was seeing. Then his eyes widened, his heart tightening. Was it possible that..

His thoughts were cut off when Mr. Cosmo spoke up, “I will be back to talk with you later. In the meantime, do please try to enjoy yourselves here and get comfortable with your stay.” He raised his finger up. “Oh and just so that we’re on the same page, Draow here is to be your guard for the next… I dunno how long. A few hours?” Mr. Cosmo motioned to the zoner before looking over at Rudy and Mr. Wilter. “If you two try to escape, Draow has been authorized to attack.”

Rudy and Mr. Wilter widened their eyes in horror at this.

Mr. Cosmo waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t worry. He won’t go too far. At least…” He gave them a gleaming black sideways glance. “...you’ll still be able to breathe…”

Rudy couldn’t help but feel a cold shudder running through his spine at this comment.

sss

The blonde woman’s eyes were wide in shock, her hands shooting to her mouth. She struggled to keep breathing, feeling her mind swirling about, getting dizzier and dizzier. She found it increasingly difficult to keep standing up like this. She felt as though all the blood had been drained from her body and she was going to collapse at any moment.

How could this be possible..? She didn’t think that Mr. Cosmo would have… She tried to find some kind of logical explanation for all of this. She tried to think of any reason why Mr. Cosmo would have been like this. It didn’t fit in with what she knew of the man. She did know that he could be rough at times, but he had just flatout threatened to kill those two…

Sure, he didn’t say it, but the tone of voice that he had used.. He might have said that they would still be alive, but the way that he said it and the face that he made, it both indicated that he was not afraid to go much further than that. This man was not afraid to take things to the next level. This was no longer about just keeping things in order. It was about control, power…

...and revenge.

Ms. Saffron could feel her stomach churning, a bitterness crawling up towards her mouth. She placed her hands to her head and she gripped onto it tightly, sinking her fingernails into her skin. She tried to think of some way to better explain the man’s behavior. But nothing would come to mind. All that she could see was just how cruel the man was being.

And this was against other humans as well… She would have understood a little more if he were talking to some zoners. Though a part of her did take Snap’s words into consideration, she did still understand that Mr. Cosmo obviously saw them as a lower species.

But why would he do this towards humans…? It just didn’t make any sense. Not only would this lead him into bigger trouble if he were caught, although he was already in hot enough water when he took Rudy against his will, but it just flew in the face of what he was trying to accomplish. Just how was this going to make the world better? How was this going to help humanity?

Ms. Saffron soon found herself unable to come up with excuses for the man anymore. She could feel her chest stinging with a sense of betrayal and hurt. She had believed the man’s words of wanting to help people. But here he was, threatening two humans, one of which was not even a full grown adult yet. If he was going to treat two fellow humans like this, what was going to stop him from doing the same to others?

She rubbed her throat nervously as she thought of the man’s interactions with her. How he had kissed her… Was he just trying to use her as well? Had he been manipulating her this entire time? The thought made her sick to her stomach.

Slowly, she narrowed her eyes in disgust, her lip curling upward. She moved back further, pushing herself deeper around the corner that had kept her hidden from Mr. Cosmo’s sights. She had been close enough to hear what happened, and that was enough for her. She realized Snap was right about Mr. Cosmo. He really was a…

“Ms. Saffron?!”

The woman jumped, nearly falling forward at the sudden shout in her direction. She quickly whirled herself around to see who was behind her. It didn’t take her long to realize who it was.

It was Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea. She immediately recognized Mr. Nicolas as the one who had put the nail in Skrawl’s head. Ms. Saffron watched in silence as the two employees stood several feet away from her, staring at her with growing confusion...and suspicion.

It was pretty easy to recognize these two. Mr. Nicolas had blonde hair like her but it was a bit dustier and his green eyes looked like they had been washed out. He was scrawnier than Mr. Cosmo but still somehow looked bulky. And Mrs. Panthea was shorter with curly dark brown hair, deep brown eyes, and looked as though she always had a perfect tan.

But these were not why they were recognizable. No, it was their outfits. Despite not being married, these two wore the same kind of outfit. The same shade, the same style, the same everything. Everyone else in the building still had uniforms, but they were of varied styles, each one choosing their own that they liked that still fit in with the theme of what was going on. But these two insisted on wearing more matching outfits. They weren’t jokingly called ‘twins’ for nothing.

After several minutes of tense silence, Mrs. Panthea took a step forward, motioning towards Ms. Saffron. “Just what the hell are you doing here? This isn’t your designated location!”

Ms. Saffron couldn’t answer.

Mr. Nicolas turned his head to the side, his eyes gleaming at her as though judging her. “And weren’t you supposed to be with Draow looking for that little brat?” He slowly folded his arms up at the sight of Ms. Saffron’s widening eyes. “Care to explain to us why you shirked that duty?”

Ms. Saffron could feel herself freezing right in front of the two employees, her blood going cold. What was she going to do now…?

sss

There was no way that she could keep still for long. She had already tried to relax like her mom had said. But for the past hour or so, however long it’s been. But it became increasingly difficult. She couldn’t keep herself still. She found herself tossing and turning, and she only stopped when she felt a bout of pain surging through her body.

She curled up a little in bed, her body giving a few quakes from the pain. But then she had to quickly get out of this position as it was putting pressure on parts of her wounds. They may have stopped bleeding, but not much of the pain had faded yet. The skin was only just barely closed and she knew that it could rip open at any moment.

The medicine that her mother had given her had diminished the pain to some extent. But it still hadn’t kicked in completely. Or at least, it certainly felt that way. Huge bouts of pain still struck through her body, making her freeze and yelp and robbing her of any chance to truly rest.

She had no idea why her mom thought that she could do this. The pain was just too much, keeping her from getting too much rest. But even without that, her worries about her friends were also keeping her up. Regardless of how painless her state could get, the fact that her mind was still churning about what could be happening with her friends would have negated any calming effect that might have had.

Just...what was happening to her friends right now? Penny’s mind hardly gave her a chance to rest. So many thoughts zipped through her head, causing her to spin in circles mentally. She could feel the back of her head burning and tingling, as if it was set on fire. Her heart was in no better shape. She could feel a bitter bile rising up and making her feel as though she was going to vomit at any second. She had no idea how in the world her mother thought she was going to be able to sleep with all this going on, mentally and physically.

But despite her desires in wanting to try to do something to help her friends, she had to remind herself for the sixtieth time that she was no condition to do that. In her position, she could not help them much if at all. How could she manage to drag her broken body over there? How could she send any sort of help to aid Rudy and Snap, who must surely be there as well if she made all the right connections?

In the end, something needed to be done, she knew. She gritted her teeth as she tried to stop her head from being bombarded with several thoughts. But it seemed increasingly impossible. She could feel her body trembling, clamoring to jump up and run and do something. But there was no way that she could do that with these wounds. That’s what sucked about this. The urge to take action being hammered with the cruelty of reality.

She could only hope that Snap and Rudy were okay. She kept saying many whispers of hope regarding their safety. But she had her doubts that they were in any great shape. She had seen what that horrible man was capable of. Even if Biclops didn’t tell her anything, what she had witnessed was more than enough to tell her all that she needed to know.

She hated feeling powerless like this. She hated not knowing what to do. She had thought to herself that she couldn’t just force herself to sleep here for too long. But she just…. There had to be something… Something that she could do… She just… Penny shut her eyes tighlty and shook her head slowly. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could fight this. At any moment, she was going to jump up and run and…

“Penita!” Her mother called from down the stairs. “I’m going to visit Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie for a bit. I’ll be back soon. Please stay and rest.”

Penny didn’t bother answering. There was no point. Her mom was already out the door before she could open her mouth. She gritted her teeth and let out a small sigh. Her mother had no idea how worse she made the situation. By leaving her alone, she had increased her temptation to take action. And she literally could do nothing but…

...wait a minute…

What if she could…?

A thought crossed her mind. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it before. She turned her head towards the chalkboard situated in front of her. She drew in a few slow, deep breaths. Then she started to push herself off the bed.


	31. One Extreme Solution

It was difficult for Rudy to turn his head away from the massive beast. He couldn’t get his eyes to tear away from his. Those hideous eyes almost seemed to be tearing out his soul, making him feel small and weak and helpless. Those eyes seemed to know exactly what he was going through and they were mocking him for his failures. Rudy shuddered and licked his lips, his wide eyes unable to even blink.

He couldn’t help but be reminded of his nightmare regarding Snap. Draow standing here, only a few feet from him, swishing his tail back and forth slowly, it was a haunting reminder of what happened in that dream. He tried to close his eyes, but doing so only caused his mind’s eyes to witness the nightmare again. He could see Snap squirming about, shouting for help, and then Draow closing his jaws on him and then…

Rudy let out a few gasps of horror as he tried to push those thoughts away. He could feel sweat moving down his face as he darted his eyes left and right. He then looked back up at Draow, fear never leaving his eyes. Although this had only happened in a nightmare, he could still imagine Draow speaking to him now, taunting him for what he had tried to do. Rudy struggled to keep himself breathing, not wanting to let his fears get the best of him. But with him tied down like this and Draow standing right there, just how long was he going to be able to hold on before he lost it?

Draow didn’t really seem to care too much. He was glaring at him yes, but most of his attention, most of what Rudy interpreted as anger, was geared towards Mr. Wilter. The beast was currently standing closer to Rudy, though he was left in charge of both of them. Occassionally, Draow would watch him, but just like he was doing now, he would look towards Mr. Wilter, flicking his ears, snarling softly.

It reminded Rudy of his earlier thoughts. Before his thinking was interrupted, he had started to wonder if Mr. Wilter was the same person who beat Mr. Cosmo in the past. It would explain some things. Such as why Draow was looking at him so hatefully…

But did it make any sense for Mr. Wilter to be the person responsible? Especially given how he is now and how he doesn’t seem to like ChalkZone all that much. Perhaps it was just someone else and Draow was mistaking him for that person. It was a possibility, and this meant that there was another person out there who could stop these guy.

….then why would Mr. Cosmo specifically comment on Draow remembering Mr. Wilter, if it truly was a case of mistaken identity? Mr. Cosmo would surely remember who stopped him. Even if Draow, who seemed nothing more than a dumb beast, mistook him, there’s no way a more intelligent person like Mr. Cosmo would. After all, didn’t Mr. Wilter say he and Mr. Cosmo used to be childhood friends…?

And of course, being banished from ChalkZone, on top of witnessing all that death, that would be a good reason for why Mr. Wilter dislikes ChalkZone. He had been traumatized by it. He had been forced to live a nightmare regarding it.

No wonder he didn’t want to go back.

But the only way to know for certain was to ask him. But could he bring himself to do that? Could he really just open his mouth to ask Mr. Wilter? What if he angered him? What if he triggered Draow to attack? Rudy’s mind came alive with several questions as he tried to determine how best to go about this.

Soon, curiosity got the best of him. He began to lean himself in the direction of Mr. Wilter. Although the old teacher was too busy staring at Draow, this didn’t stop Rudy from attempting to speak with him. Although he understood what might happen if he asked, a part of him just could not relax until he had the answer.

“Mr. Wilter, were you the one who…” Rudy started to speak.

Suddenly Draow, who did not appreciate Rudy moving like that, rushed towards him. Draow opened his mouth wide and snapped it shut. Rudy let out a scream as he leaned away, his wide eyes looking at the wolf bat zoner in fear. Draow held his head close to him, his dark-colored nose flaring and drool dripping from his mouth.

“Draow! Leave him alone!” Mr. Wilter called out. “It’s me that you want, remember?”

Rudy looked over at Mr. Wilter with wide eyes. Draow turned his head and looked at the man sideway, snarling softly.

Mr. Wilter glared right back. He breathed in a few times before he started to sneer at him. “Yes I’m sure you remember me. Just like Mr. Cosmo said… You could never forget what happened the last time you tangled with me.”

Draow let out a low growling hiss before moving back towards the man. Unlike before, Mr. Wilter looked as though he was managing to control his emotions well. His fear was subdued and he just stared at Draow as though he were dominant over him. Draow’s lips were pulled back into a snarl and he looked like he wante to bite Mr. Wilter. But curiously, he held back. Rudy wondered why. Was he….afraid of Mr. Wilter…?

And with how Mr. Wilter was behaving with Draow just now, did this mean that his suspicions were right? It seemed all too coincidental to be…

“Mr. Wilter…” Rudy found himself saying again. This time, he spoke louder, ensuring that the man heard him. And of course, so could Draow. “..y-you’re the one who originally defeated Mr. Cosmo years ago..?”

Mr. Wilter seemed to freeze at this. Draow hissed at the statement and lowered his ears. Slowly, Mr. Wilter turned to look at Rudy. His face seemed to glow with several rushing emotions. Then eventually, the man slowly swallowed and then nodded his head.

Rudy felt as though his world closed in around him. Many thoughts rushed through his head as he tried to comprehend this. He couldn’t understand how this was possible. How could Mr. Wilter be the same person? He didn’t look like he… But looks didn’t matter, did they? But he also wondered how Mr. Wilter kept this a secret for so long, and just how didn’t he see through Mr. Cosmo’s ruse before? This and other questions surged in his head and he wasn’t sure how long it would take to clear out.

Mr. Wilter appeared to notice his confusion. The man let out a small sigh. “Yeah… I imagine this is hard for you to understand. It’s one thing to know I was in ChalkZone before. It’s another to know that I fought Mr. Cosmo before and beat him.”

Draow tilted his head a little before leaning in closer and keeping his bared teeth close. Mr. Wilter just stared up silently at him.

“And yes, I remember when we fought. You were so confident that you could win...just like with the other creators… But I was too much for you. I and my own creation.” Mr. Wilter smiled a little, chortling. At this, Draow snapped his jaws. “Oh that’s right. I was able to beat you because I saw through your weakness when no one else could. That is how I and Tsere beat you.”

Tsere..? Rudy could not recognize that name.

Rudy wasn’t able to think too long on that name or ponder what it meant when he suddenly heard Mr. Wilter let out a cry of pain. Rudy swerved his head over, staring in shock and fear as Mr. Wilter was pushed into the ground. The man was groaning in pain and then yelped when Draow stomped down on him. The wolf-like zoner lowered his head down and growled at him threateningly. It was as though Draow was trying to make Mr. Wilter regret what he had just said.

Rudy watched this with wide, terrified eyes, before he started to wriggle around in his chair. “G-Get away from him!” Rudy called out, hoping that Draow would leave Mr. Wilter’s side. Draow only flicked his ears, but Rudy took that as him acknowledging that he was being spoken to. Rudy continued, “Let him go!”

Mr. Wilter grunted before turning his head to where Rudy was. He drew in a few deep breaths before he said, “R-Rudy..stop.. It’s fine. I…. Ahhh!” Draow applied more pressure.

Rudy widened his eyes in horror and screamed, “Draow! Stop it! Please!”

Draow looked over at Rudy, but he kept his head low, his muzzle placed close to Mr. Wilter’s head. The message behind his posture was clear and Rudy could feel himself start to shake. He knew that if Draow decided to, he could easily kill Mr. Wilter right then and there. It would not be that hard. Mr. Wilter was tied up, after all.

But what chilled Rudy’s blood the most was not the fact that Draow’s head was close to Mr. Wilter’s, though that played a big role in it. Instead, it was what was appearing on Draow’s mouth. It was faint and hardly able to be seen. But closer inspection revealed to Rudy that, yes, Draow was smiling.

And it was the same smile he had seen him make in his dream.

Rudy couldn’t move, his mind locked in terror as his mind once more flashed with memories of what had happened in that dream. He could hear Draow’s dark chuckling. He could hear Snap’s words of doubt. He could sense that Draow was ready to attack and that it was going to be out of spite. Not just against Mr. Wilter, but him as well. It was uncertain of Draow could actually go that far considering Mr. Cosmo never said he wanted them dead. But he could still hurt them. Who is to say that Draow wouldn’t try to have some ‘fun’?

But then Rudy remembered the other things going on as well as his own determination. He drew in a few slow deep breaths before he narrowed his eyes slowly. He realized that he couldn’t allow Draow to get the best of him. He was not going to let that smile deter him from doing whatever he could to save Mr. Wilter. He might have failed to save Snap in the dream, but he would not let that happen again this time around.

Recalling Mr. Wilter’s words from earlier, Rudy felt himself grinning more broadly. He noticed how confused Draow looked at this sudden change in expression. Good, he wanted him to be confused. Rudy decided not to leave Draow waiting for long. “So you are not that big of a hot shot, are you? Mr. Cosmo might have tried to make you unbeatable, but someone’s managed to take you down, didn’t they? How does that make you feel?”

Draow was growling lowly but he hadn’t moved from his spot. He bared his teeth at Rudy and his ears were lowering a little. Those teal eyes stared intently from him. Draow was silently warning Rudy to shut up. And Mr. Wilter looked shocked by this whole thing. But that didn’t stop Rudy from continuing.

Rudy continued, “Oh does that make you upset? Perhaps you should go complain to your creator about it. He’s the one who made you like that!”

That was all Rudy needed to say to get Draow to start coming over.

“Rudy, no!” Mr. Wilter cried out. “Hey, get back here! I’m the one who defeated you, remember?!”

But Draow was not listening to him. His attention was fully on Rudy now. He was getting closer, inching his way over. Rudy could feel the growls echoing in his stomach. He cringed a little as Draow began to loom over him. But Rudy still attempted to be as brave as he could and words still flowed out of his mouth.

“Perhaps Mr. Cosmo really isn’t that smart! Maybe he was just too stupid to realize what could have worked better. Maybe he isn’t all that. Maybe he…”

That was all Rudy could say before he felt a weight pushing against him. Rudy’s eyes bulged wide open as he caught a glimpse of something light brown and then he could feel himself falling backward. He smashed against the ground, the back of his head aching like a drum was being beat against it. He laid there for a few seconds before he became aware of something big smashing down beside him, shaking the ground.

“Rudy!” Mr. Wilter fearfully shouted.

Looking up, Rudy could see Draow standing over him. He was completely covered in his shadow, feeling a sense of chilliness as a result. Draow glared down at him, his teeth bared, hissing softly. His eyes looked a little widened and his pupils had shrunk. With this combined with his lips curling back, his fur standing a little, and his ears flattened against his skull, Draow began to look more feral, like a wild animal. Rudy struggled to control his breathing at the mere sight of this zoner.

Draow then lowered his head towards Rudy. Mr. Wilter shouted and pleaded with the zoner to leave Rudy alone. But the bat wolf zoner ignored his words and just continued staring closely and intently at Rudy. Soon the creature was very close, his breath pushing against Rudy’s face. The fifteen year old hardly paid attention to how bad the breath smelled, his mind too filled up with fear of his current situation. He continued trying to breathe normally as Draow let him get an up close and personal look at his teeth.

Then after several tense seconds, after Rudy felt like he was going to have a heart attack, after Mr. Wilter caused his throat to go dry from screaming for Rudy’s safety, Draow did something that Rudy thought could only happen in a dream.

“How….dare….you…”

Rudy could feel a gasp drawing into his mouth. Did Draow just...talk…?

sss

Ms. Saffron could feel herself backing away as she stared at the two employees in front of her. She tried not to make it look obvious that she was afraid, yet it was clear that this was going to be impossible. Her breathing was growing rather shaky and each breath was harder and harder to make.

She could tell the two employees, Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea, both had noticed her expression and neither of them responded with a hopeful expression. She could see how skeptical they were getting and they were already advancing on her. Ms. Saffron struggled not to look left and right as she did not want to make it obvious she was looking for an escape route. She didn’t want to give them more of a reason to be skeptical.

What was she going to do now? She had already asked herself that before. And she still had not thought of an answer yet. How could she? In this situation, she was getting so stressed out, so worked up, that it was going to be impossible for her to figure out an answer this fast. It felt as though something was plugging up her ears, preventing her from thinking too hard. It created a great deal of stress for her and she realized that she was starting to quake more violently.

“You seem so tense. Why is that, Ms. Saffron?” Mrs. Panthea asked in a cooled voice. She gritted her teeth, raising herself up a little to give the appearance of being taller than she really was. “This isn’t where you were supposed to be. Explain yourself.”

Ms. Saffron licked her lips slowly and bit them. She couldn’t think of an answer.

Mr. Nicolas took another step forward. “And why didn’t you keep looking for Rudy? That had been your assignment. Explain to us just what you were thinking.”

Still, no answer from Ms. Saffron. She felt herself breathing a little faster and she could feel her mouth going dry rapidly. There had to be something that she could say to get out of this situation, but nothing was coming to her mind. She felt like she was a rat trapped somewhere and there was nothing that she could to do escape. There was nothing that could be done to help her climb out of this and prevent herself from getting hurt.

The longer that she stood here, the more time she wasted, she realized. She had to try to do something if she wanted a chance to get out of this. But what could she do? What kind of action could she take to get herself out of here? How could she go about this without raising some suspicions even more?

It was going to be hard, but she had to at least try.

“I.. well you see.. Mr. Cosmo told me to...check the security cameras.” Ms. Saffron said. She flinched at how shaky her voice was and she tried to correct herself. As she kept going, she did steadily feel a little more confident in her words and soon she was speaking more clearly. “Yeah, he wanted me to check those first and see if I spotted anything.”

Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea looked at one another. They exchanged glances with one another. It was difficult to say if they bought her words, but it was at least an attempt. She hoped and prayed that they would buy at least a little bit of it.

Slowly, Mr. Nicolas looked back at her, raising an eyebrow. “Mr. Cosmo...told you this?”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. “Yes, he did.”

“Are you sure about that?” Asked Mrs. Panthea. “Because we hadn’t heard any such command from him.”

Ms. Saffron tried not to curse at this. She struggled with figuring out what else she could say that would sound convincing. Then she figured it out. “He told me over text. It wasn’t broadcasted.”

“Oh yeah? I’ve never heard of Mr. Cosmo doing things that way.” Mrs. Anthea hissed softly. She started to walk a little closer to Ms. Saffron, her eyes boring through hers. “Since when did he ever do things like that?”

Ms. Saffron tried not to swallow. “He was..stressed out, and he’s still recovering from that smoke.” The woman managed to say. “You can’t expect him to always be so predictable.”

“You know, she does make a good point.” Commented Mr. Nicolas. “Mr. Cosmo can be...off key at times.”

Ms. Saffron could feel a sense of relief coming over her. It would seem that her words were finally having some kind of an effect on them. Perhaps if she kept this up, they would leave her alone and she would be able to get out of here. She had been lucky to escape Mr. Cosmo’s sights. She didn’t want her luck to run out that quickly.

But as a few seconds ticked by and she saw the look in Mr. Nicolas’s face, she realized that she might have just had that happen to her.

“However…”

Ms. Saffron felt herself stiffen a little at that tone of voice.

Mr. Nicolas continued, “Even in that event, we still would have been aware. He would have texted us if he was busy, informing all of us of what our duties are. You should know that is how he usually operates, Ms. Saffron.”

Mrs. Panthea folded her arms to her chest. “On top of that, he usually doesn’t give us another assignment until after we are done with the first one, failure or not.”

“So tell us exactly why Mr. Cosmo would tell you to use the security system when he’s already told you to look through the building with Draow…?”

Ms. Saffron couldn’t stop herself from swallowing hard and starting to shake. Without realizing what she was doing, she started to move backwards slowly. One step at a time, she put a bit of distance between her and the two employees.

“Ms. Saffron…” Mr. Nicolas spoke in a warning tone of voice.

Having no choice, Ms. Saffron turned around and started to run.

“After her!” Mr. Nicolas shouted as he and Mrs. Panthea gave chase.

Ms. Saffron ran as fast as she could, trying to keep ahead of the two employees behind her. She could feel her heart wanting to jump out of her throat, her windpipe burning as she struggled and strained to breathe. She had no idea where she was going or what was going to happen. All that she was aware of was that she needed to get out of here as quickly as her burning legs could carry her.

Up ahead, she could see another pathway to run towards. She looked behind her for a moment before moving herself in that direction. She could hear the two behind her skidding as they tried to readjust themselves. They weren’t delayed for too long when as they continued down, trying to get to her, shouting along the way.

Ms. Saffron realized that it was over for her. These two were making so much noise that others were going to hear and know what she had done. There was no turning back now after this point. There was no way for her to dodge the guilt now. Word will spread fast and Mr. Cosmo will know what was going on. The only thing that she could possibly do now was keep going and hope and pray that things work out for her. Otherwise, she was in big trouble.

Ms. Saffron noticed something odd about what was in front of her. But despite this oddness, she still felt drawn towards it. It wasn’t like she had any other choice. She gritted her teeth and she kept going right towards it, feeling her mind swirling about in her head.

sss

As much as he tried to ignore what happened, he still couldn’t get Ms. Saffron out of his head. That encounter hadn’t been something he was expecting. It was so out of the blue and so out of nowhere, that he was still reeling from it.

It wasn’t that he was upset that she asked him questions. But a part of him wondered what was the point now? She had already gotten herself deep into this, already established herself as a worker for Mr. Cosmo. She had never tried to truly reach out to him before, to try to understand. It just felt...strange that she would wait until now to do this.

But was he just being pessimistic? Snap wasn’t exactly in the best of moods and he was aware of that. He was still fighting bouts of fear from what Mr. Cosmo had done to him along with trying to handle the pain of his feet and the pain of being betrayed by Spy Fly and all that other stuff that piled on. Could this be having an affect on his thoughts with Ms. Saffron? Shouldn’t he be happy that she was at least trying to change?

At the moment, however, he just couldn’t feel cheered up by that. He doubted that Ms. Saffron, even if she wanted to, would be able to help him get out. She probably wouldn’t be able to slip under Mr. Cosmo’s nose and pull off something huge like getting him out of this building. Not that he wouldn’t appreciate the gesture, but he just doubted that Ms. Saffron could do anything anytime soon.

He kind of...missed her. He hated to admit it. He did feel some sense of shock that he had even thought of cuddling up with her. But after what he had been through, something like that was just… There were so many words that could describe it, yet he couldn’t think of a single word to say. Either way, it was a relief at least, and it helped him relax just a tiny bit.

For the time being, he tried to force himself to relax. It was a hard thing to do, especially in a place like this. But regardless, he needed to try something. He couldn’t stay up and be tense the whole time. Even though he could not escape, even though most of his choices were stripped from him, he still had some choices that he could make. And one of them was whether or not to he should let himself remain trapped in fear the entire time. No matter what Mr. Cosmo did, he could not take that choice away from him. He was not going to allow it.

But he didn’t even get a chance to try to relax. After only a few moments of sort of peaceful silence, he could hear the sound of footsteps coming closer. He felt his head swerving towards the door. He could feel his heart clenching tightly as he recognized the heaviness and pattern of those footfalls. He felt himself swallow hard, nervousness crawling through his head.

Mr. Cosmo...

Snap immediately tried to get up onto his feet to face the man....only to immediately stumble back onto the bed, crying out in pain. He looked at his feet. Though they were covered in bandages now, he could still see the redness seeping through. He could still see in his mind’s eye just what had happened to them. He stared at them for several long moments before looking back at Mr. Cosmo, gritting his teeth.

The man was approaching him slowly. There seemed to be something glinting in his eyes. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but he didn’t want to sit around to find out. He didn’t want to give this man any sort of chance of getting at him. He wanted to get up and run if he could. But since that wasn’t an option...

Snap started to curl himself into a more defensive posture, similar to what he had done with Ms. Saffron before. He formed fists with his hands, ignoring the pain in his sliced up one, kept his teeth showing, and continuously growled. He doubted that it was going to be enough to deter the man. But at least he was sending a clear message: he wasn’t going to get to him easily.

Mr. Cosmo seemed to smile at this, as though it were humorous. Snap ground his teeth together and tried to resist snapping at him. The two remained silent as they stared at one another. Everything else appeared to fade around them. Soon, Snap was only aware of his own tremblings and the presence of Mr. Cosmo standing before him.

Snap soon couldn’t take the silence anymore. It wasn’t that he wanted to hear Mr. Cosmo, but he did want to know what the fuck was going on here. There was a reason that this man came over here and he was going to find out what the fuck it was. With his teeth grinding against each other, he spoke in a low, hoarse voice.

“What do you want?”

That felt like it had been repeated way too many times. More so than Snap would have liked.

Mr. Cosmo just smirked at him. “I decided to come visit. Is that so wrong?”

Snap turned his head to the side, staring at him warily. “When it comes to you, there’s always a reason.”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled softly. “My, you are a perceptive one...” Mr. Cosmo started to move in closer. His shadow slowly casted upon Snap’s body. His blue-grey eyes seemed to pierce right through his soul. “Maybe even a little too perceptive at times...”

Snap could feel something stinging in his chest. He realized that fear was rising up inside of him, becoming increasingly prominent. He realized that it was starting to show through more. He could feel his face softening up slightly and twisting in a different direction. He fought againts this, but it was not enough to keep himself from showing some tinge of fear before the man. He shuddered when he could see how the man’s eyes twinkled even more, as though relishing in his fear.

Mr. Cosmo stopped walking forward. But even when he did that, it still felt as though he was coming in closer, invading his space, making him cower. Snap did his best to keep his shaking under control, but he found it impossible to stop completely. He wasn’t sure what the man was up to. But a part of him had a feeling that he was doing this on purpose.

Mr. Cosmo leaned a little closer, reaching his hand out towards Snap. The zoner released a low growl. When Mr. Cosmo didn’t take the hint, the zoner struck at him. Mr. Cosmo moved back, avoiding being hit entirely. Snap remained where he was, trembling. He darted his eyes towards the open door. Oh how tempting it was to take it... But he had to remain here. Not unless he wanted to get dragged down by this man taking advantage of him trying to run on hurt feet. Snap couldn’t believe the situation that he was in. But you know what they say. Sometimes life is a bitch.

“You’re still too feisty for my liking. I think I should do something about that...” Mr. Cosmo said. He raised his hand up and looked at his flexing fingers. He let out a small scoff. “I know I told that boy I don’t want to kill zoners anymore....but I never said I wasn’t going to use them to my advantage.”

Snap cringed at this. He didn’t like where this was going. “And what exactly do you want with me?” He couldn’t help but speak in some level of fear of that. He could feel a headache radiating from the nail in his head. “Are you going to try to get Rudy to side with you? I’m telling you, he isn’t going to listen.”

“Perhaps not.... Even after hurting you, he didn’t seem to turn.” Mr. Cosmo commented. It almost sounded as though he was agreeing with Snap. But the small blue and white zoner had some doubts about that. He remained silent as he listened to the zoner continue to speak. “But I still think there is a chance that he’ll come around. He just needs more...persuasion...”

“And you’re going to use me for that, aren’t you?” Snap spoke as he tensed up. “You’re only going to make Rudy angerier. And you don’t want to see him angry.”

Mr. Cosmo chortled at this, as though amused. “Well I have something a little...different in mind... At least, from what you would expect, dear Snap.”

The blue and white zoner blinked in confusion. What could this man be talking about then?

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head up a little, his eyes nearly glowing “Before I proceed, however, I think I should make sure that you are....receptive..” Snap’s eyes widened at this. “Yes, I’m talking about you. I need your absolute cooperation, and I think I know how to get that.”

Snap could detect the tone of the man’s voice and he felt his eyes widen. Suddenly, a wave of several ideas of what the man was hinting at came over his head. Not one of them was anything pleasant. And as Mr. Cosmo started to come over closer, Snap could feel himself moving further back in the bed, falling onto his back as he looked up at the man in fear.

Mr. Cosmo seemed to enjoy this. The red-haired man came in even closer and before Snap could react, Mr. Cosmo grabbed a hold of his arms and pinned him down. Snap let out a pained grunt and twisted and turned, but he could ultimately do nothing to stop the man from what he was about to do. Mr. Cosmo spent a bit of time just staring at him before he began to adjust himself, as if to get comfortable. And then...

“Wait, stop! Please don’t hurt me!” Snap cried out. Memories flashed back through his head, flooding it. He could see images before his eyes and he shut them, trying to tune them out. He forced his head to the side as he shouted, “N-Not again! Please!”

“Again...?” Came Mr. Cosmo’s voice, a hushed whisper. “What are you talking about?”

Snap looked up at him, confusion being written over his face. He could feel his eyes narrow as terror took him over. He motioned his hand towards the man, his body trembling. “D-Don’t lie to me! You came in here about an hour ago and you had.... Y-You tried to...” His voice trailed off as tears poured from his eyes. Soft whimpers continuously escaped his throat.

Mr. Cosmo was silent for several moments. He didn’t say a word and that was making Snap grow even more nervous. He wondered if something was going on, if the man was just waiting for the right moment to strike. Snap forced himself to open up his eye and look up at the man as he waited for the inevitable.

But instead, Mr. Cosmo was just staring at him, blinking his eyes slowly. He looked a little confused by what he had just said. Snap could feel himself getting confused as well. He wondered just what was going on in Mr. Cosmo’s head. Why was he looking at him as though he had grown a second head?

Then, as soon as he thought that, Mr. Cosmo leaned in forward. It was so fast and the man had gotten so close that Snap thought he was about to be crushed. He let out a yelp and leaned further back, hoping to get away from him. Snap wriggled around in an almost violent way, hoping to get himself free from the man’s grasp. Mr. Cosmo remained like this for several long moments before he opened his mouth to speak.

In an airy voice, he said, “...tell me exactly what happened.”

sss

What the…. Just where did this come from? Why hadn’t she noticed it before..?

Oh who cares? Right now, it was the only thing that was going to protect her from those two trying to catch her. Without thinking much, Ms. Saffron twisted herself to go in a different direction. She dashed towards the door before her and went right through, slamming it shut behind her.

She didn’t know where this door had come from or why it was in such an odd place. It was practically pushed up against a corner and the door itself was not very obvious. It was almost like someone had been deliberately trying to hide the door, though for what reason, she wasn’t sure. Either way, it was the only place for her to hide. So she held onto the doorknob tightly and pressed herself against the side beside the door and waited.

She was grateful to have gotten further ahead from Mrs. Panthea and Mr. Nicolas. But she wasn’t sure just how much further she was. And she didn’t know how long she was going to keep this lead. She wasn’t even sure if those two had seen her go into this room. All she could do was just hang on and wait and hope that things would turn out all right in the end. Hopefully they will bypass her completely and not realize that she was even in here. Hopefully…

She could hear them approaching. She gritted her teeth tightly as she waited to see what was going to happen. She tried her best not to be too obvious or make any noise. She tried not to let out any sort of sounds of fear as those footprints got closer and closer. She could hear their mumblings get progressively louder and she felt her teeth pressing into her lip.

“Where is she?! I know she came this way!”

“It looks like she has given us the slip.”

“We need to keep looking! If Mr. Cosmo finds out, he’ll…”

“Well if we do want to find her, we should just keep going.”

“Yes, perhaps… But which way could she have gone?”

“Perhaps over there?”

Ms. Saffron wasn’t sure which direction they were going in at first. It all sounded so equally loud, and it sounded as if it were coming from all directions. She curled herself inward instinctively, her breathing getting increasingly heavy.

After a few moments, she began to realize that the foot falls that she was hearing were getting a little fainter. She didn’t want to get her hopes up just yet though. She wanted to wait and see where this was going to go first. She didn’t want to end up relaxing and getting up, only for the door to open and she was grabbed onto. So for the next several minutes, she remained still and quiet, nervously waiting to hear what was going to happen.

Sure enough, the two people had walked away. They must not have noticed the door hidden in the corner. They must not have heard her heavy breathing or the couple of coughs that she had been forced to release. They were going somewhere else to look for her. And this meant that, for the time being, she was safe.

But she couldn’t feel relieved for too long. Just how long was she going to be safe like this? They were eventually going to come back and double check this place. And if they come back, they might see that there was a place here that they could have looked in. And then they would have spotted her in this small room that was…

...filled with monitors…?

Ms. Saffron felt her mouth dropping open when she realized where she was. She was so worried about hiding and trying not to get caught that she hadn’t taken the time to see just where she was. She took a look around, letting the image before her sink into her head.

With all all the monitors and the buttons, the constantly switching images, Ms. Saffron realized that she was in a security room. One with both monitors to keep an eye on things and buttons to control what she guessed were likely various traps to prevent people from breaking in and trying to take something.

...or to keep people from leaving.

Ms. Saffron tried to shake that thought out of her head as she moved in closer towards the monitors. She took a look around to see what was going on. She could see Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea talking with some other coworkers about something. Most likely her whereabouts. Then she could see other workers moving quickly. It was hard to tell if they were looking for her or doing something else of urgency.

She froze at the sight of Mr. Cosmo interrogating Snap. The man had the zoner pinned down and looked like he was yelling at him. But at the same time, there was something strange about the look in his eyes. He looked...horrified. But by what, exactly? Snap couldn’t have done anything to him. Was it something the zoner said? She…

Suddenly, she could see some kind of blur on the monitor. She swerved her head over to try to catch it. But by the time she moved her head, the thing was gone. She furrowed her eyes slowly, licking her lips. She had only noticed something kinda yellowish about the blur, but nothing else. Or perhaps she was just seeing things. Yeah, she was probably just so nervous that she was hallucinating a little.

Turning her gaze back to the monitors, one screen in particular caught her attention. She instantly recognized Draow. There was no mistaking that big ball of fur and wings. But when she saw what he was doing, she put her hand to her mouth and gasped in horror.

Draow had Rudy pinned on the ground and he looked like he was going to tear into him at any moment. His jaws were wide open and close to Rudy’s head. Ms. Saffron could see the look of terror in Rudy’s eyes. The boy was struggling and writhing and pushing up against the massive zoner. But nothing he was doing was working. The beast was just too heavy for him and there was no way that he could dodge any oncoming attack.

Ms. Saffron felt her heart pumping quickly. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Did Mr. Cosmo permit this? He must have; Draow rarely did anything without a direct order from Mr. Cosmo himself. But why would Mr. Cosmo let Draow hurt them? Although she had heard what he said before, a part of her had been hoping she was only mishearing it, having misinterpreted it somehow. Turns out that wasn’t the case, and her blood chilled at the realization.

Sure she had helped knock out Rudy’s parents and get them taken away. Sure she made sure that they would not remember precisely what happened. But that was only because they weren’t going to be hurt. She had only agreed to help kidnap Rudy because Mr. Cosmo said it would help change the world for the better. He had promised her that Rudy would come to work for them and it would not be an issue.

But after what she had seen…

Ms. Saffron felt bile rising up in her stomach. This is not what she had signed up for. This is not what she had wanted to be a part of. She didn’t want to hurt the boy.

Slowly, she narrowed her eyes into slits. She needed to do something to help Rudy. She had to act fast before Draow could do anything drastic. She just wasn’t sure how she was going to do it, but… She looked all around the buttons and controls and monitors. Surely, there should be something here that could help her.

sss

Rudy looked up at Draow in fear. He could feel adrenaline pumping through his body as the beast kept pushing up against him. Rudy had wasted so much energy just trying to get away. But even after wriggling about, even after he tried to escape, it just wasn’t working. Draow was too heavy and too strong for him. Not even adrenaline-pumped muscles were enough to save him.

Rudy could feel tears moving down his face as he realized that, if Draow wanted to, he could easily kill him right then and there. Mr. Cosmo probably wouldn’t like that, but this beast likely didn’t care about that. It was clear that Draow was fully capable of reasoning and thinking on his own. Rudy was still reeling from the fact that this thing could even talk, and that shock was intermingled with the raw terror of potentially being ripped open.

It soon dawned on Rudy that if Draow could speak, then he must be capable of some real cruelty. He must be capable of purposely causing pain just for his own pleasure. This realization made Rudy’s blood chill and suddenly things around him got a whole lot darker, a whole lot more terrifying.

Just what was Draow capable of to his fullest extent? What would he do? Was he just as bad as Mr. Cosmo? Was he worse than that man? Rudy shuddered to think of the second possibility. He was in unknown territory now. He had no idea what to expect with Draow. He could only get ideas, and honestly ideas alone were often worse than reality. But then reality could always be worse than just mere thoughts.

Rudy flinched as he could feel Draow snorting against him. He leaned back and turned his head away. He didn’t move fast enough to avoid smelling the creature’s breath and he nearly gagged. It smelled like rotting flesh in there, making Rudy wonder what exactly Draow is fed.

Then when he forced himself to look, he took notice of some faint blood around Draow’s lips. His eyes widened as he recalled something.

“Penny…” Rudy whispered softly. Draow turned his head to the side and stared at him quizzically. Rudy repeated, “Penny… What did you do to her?!” Rudy’s voice raised up, pushing back his initial fears.

“Rudy, don’t agitate him.” Warned Mr. Wilter.

Rudy just continued to glare at Draow. “I know you had attacked her! Don’t try to deny it!”

Draow spent a few moments staring at Rudy almost blankly. It was hard to say if he even was taking him seriously. Then slowly, his lips curled upwards, exposing his teeth as he grinned at Rudy. It was an unsettling thing to witness. Draow still had an animalistic face, and to see something like that smiling this way, with those sharp teeth exposed… Rudy tried his best to ignore his feelings while he stared Draow down. He didn’t want to give him the faintest hint of what his emotions presently were.

When Draow started to speak again, it still took Rudy by surprise. That deep, rumbly voice would take a while to get used to hearing. Especially after being used to Draow as a talkless zoner. “She was fun to toy with.”

Rudy could feel his blood boiling at this statement. But he managed to hold his tongue, just barely.

Draow, seeming to like Rudy’s response, took a step closer and dipped his head down a little, putting it close to Rudy’s face. The fifteen year old was treated to an up close and personal view of Draow’s teal-colored eyes. “You should have heard her scream, boy. My claws teared through her flesh like butter…”

Rudy’s breathing quickened, becoming hoarse. “Y-You…”

“Call me what you like, boy.” Draow’s tail swished from side to side. “It won’t change the fact that the girl will die.” Rudy’s eyes widened at this, horror becoming plastered to his face. Draow’s smile broadened. “I cut her deep. She was so fragile. And then she fell into a vent. I doubt she would have gotten help in time.”

His mind whirling, the teenager stammered, “B-B-But M-Mr. Cosmo said..”

“Oh I’m sure you told you things. But here’s a nice little tidbit I think you should know.” Draow leaned in closer, licking his lips in hungrily, disgustingly. “He was the one who gave me the order to kill your friend.”

Rudy felt the color drain from his face.

Draow lifted his head up, turning it away while his eyes still looked down at him. “Oh yes, you can ask your friend if you do see her before she dies. She can vouch for me. She knows Mr. Cosmo wanted her dead. He wanted to remove her as an obstacle so he could focus on you. He wanted to make it easier for you to turn to him.”

Rudy couldn’t believe it. His mind felt frozen solid. He could hardly hear anything else going on. He was hardly even aware of Mr. Wilter yelling at Draow or took notice of Draow’s smug chuckles. The only thing that he could concentrate on at the moment was the fact that Mr. Cosmo had actually ordered Penny to be killed.

But...why? How would that benefit Mr. Cosmo? Rudy could see him killing zoners as the man obviously doesn’t see them as equal to humans. But when it came to doing the same thing to a fellow human… Didn’t Mr. Cosmo see the danger of that? Why would he take such a huge risk?

And why Penny? What did she do to deserve that? Penny would never have… She just wasn’t… Rudy’s thoughts faded rapidly into a burning darkness as emotion began to pile on.

He glared intensely at Draow, feeling his blood coming to a sharp boil. He could feel thoughts increasing inside of his head, his vision starting to darken a little. But it wasn’t Draow he was angry at, despite glaring at him. It was Mr. Cosmo. It was that man’s fault that this had all happened. It was his fault that Penny was hurt. He was the one who took that course of action. If Rudy ever saw him again, he’d...

Rudy shook his head once and shut his eyes tightly, trying to push those thoughts out of his head. He shouldn’t let himself fall into that. He wasn’t going to make things better. He wasn’t going to be able to do much of he became blinded by his emotions. As hard as it was, he had to force himself to come out of that.

Rudy could feel his eyes moving down to where Draow had snapped his jaws before. He noticed how the rope was torn up a little, just on the edge. Rudy bit his lip as he stared at it. If only Draow had come a little closer, he might have been able to weaken the rope enough to escape. Rudy furrowed his eyes at this as he tried to think of another solution. Surely there was something that he could…

“Raaaawrrr!”

Rudy was startled when Draow suddenly let out a loud, pain-filled screech, rearing his head back and shaking it violently from side to side. Rudy could practically feel a weight being lifted up from him. The teenager turned his head up to see what was going on and he caught a glimpse of something big and teal holding onto Draow.

“Rudy, it’s that..” Mr. Wilter called out. He paused for a moment, as though trying to think of what to say. “..that jellybean!”

Rudy blinked at this before realizing what Mr. Wilter was referring to. He tilted his head up and sure enough, he could see Skrawl hanging on. The jellybean-like zoner was clawing into the neck of the bigger zoner and was holding on quite well. Draow was swinging his head from side to side, his back parallel to the ground, his body bending and swaying about. He tried to bit at Skrawl, but he simply just couldn’t reach.

Normally, he would have been a bit awe-inspired by what was happening. He would have been at least momentarily enthralled with the fight. Or even just excited that he wasn’t the center of Draow’s attention anymore. But right now, his mind was too locked in shock to think of that. He instead had many questions filling up his mind.

Like just why was this happening? Where did Skrawl come from? What purpose did Mr. Cosmo have in making Skrawl attack Draow? Rudy got a headache from trying to understand.

Draow reached over and tried once more to bit Skrawl. The jellybean zoner responded with biting into Draow’s thick neck. This made Draow let out another screech, one loud enough to nearly make Rudy’s and Mr. Wilter’s eardrums begin to bleed.

Draow retaliated a few seconds later by charging in one direction and diving into the ground. He then turned himself onto his back, looking kind of a bird on the ground. This forced Skrawl to move back. Draow pulled back his feet as Skrawl tried to jump at him. The bat wolf launched a foot forward and grabbed onto his body, the talons squeezing around them tightly. Skrawl let out a yell and struck down with his own claws. Draow flinched, but still held him up like this, baring his teeth at him and snarling loudly.

The only thing that caused Rudy to look away from this was when he felt something push agaisnt his chair. He realized that he was rising up and soon the chair had been set the way it was before. Rudy took a few moments to try to realize just what had been going on. Turning his head over, he could see a flash of blonde and that was all that he needed to see to know who this was.

“Ms. Saffron…” Rudy bared his teeth. “What are you doing here?”

Ms. Saffron moved around to his front. She reached over and she started to undo the ropes. “What do you think I’m doing? I’m getting you out of here.”

Rudy could feel his eyes furrowing deeper. “Why should I believe that? After what you’ve done…”

The blonde woman lifted her head up swiftly and glared at Rudy. “Do you mind waiting until after we’re out of here before you ask me anything?”

Rudy grumbled at this. He eventually nodded slowly, but he still glared intently at the woman before him. He could not bring himself to fully trust her. Something about this whole thing felt suspicious. He couldn’t feel entirely comfortable with this. Yet he knew that, at the moment, his only option was to give her a chance. It was either that or get torn apart by Draow.

Once he was free and able to pull his arms outward, Ms. Saffron immediately went over to free Mr. Wilter. While she did that, he looked over and flinched as he saw Skrawl being pushed against the ground by Draow. He had a feeling that they didn’t have much time.

sss

“I-I swear it’s all true!” Snap wailed loudly, his body shaking. “I’m telling you the truth! Th-That’s what happened! Please don’t…”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes as he glared down at the zoner. He took a few moments to process his words. There was nothing about the zoner’s behavior that suggested that he was lying. He was in too much pain to really attempt to use any of his zoner tricks. So he was forced to believe that he was being honest.

The zoner honestly thought that he had been in here before, hurting him. The zoner had truly believed that he was previously trying to bring harm to him. But Mr. Cosmo had not done anything that he had just described. He was busy elsewhere. This led him to believe that something else was going on, but he couldn’t think of just what that was.

He would have interrogated the zoner further, but he highly doubted that he was going to get anything else out of him. Snap looked like he had said enough already. Mr. Cosmo was going to have to try talking to him later. Oh well, he was certain that the truth would make itself known sooner or later. He just needed to be patient, that’s all. He had been patient for years regarding ChalkZone. He could be patient for this as well.

“A-Are you going to leave now…?” Snap whimpered softly, looking up at the man in fear. “D-D-Did you get everything that you wanted..?”

Mr. Cosmo was about to reply when he felt his teeth suddenly clinch together tightly. He looked down at Snap, pondering both what he said and what he had initially come in here to do. He could just get up and leave and deal with this mysterious problem first. He did want to eliminate any unknown factors that could get in the way of his plans. And if there was someone going around hurting Snap and then blaming him for it, he should find out before it intervenes with what he was trying to do.

But at the same time, he also had other things to worry about. He actually didn’t believe that Draow could keep Rudy and Mr. Wilter there for long. He was actually banking on them getting free. Mr. Wilter understood him well enough that he might already see a way out. And if even that wasn’t the case, there was still Ms. Saffron, whom he had started to become suspicious of. The fact that she neglected her duties twice warned him that something was going on with her. So he was going with the belief that one of them was going to disrupt Draow and that would allow them to get away.

That was why he had come here to meet with Snap. He felt that Snap was still the key to stopping Rudy. But perhaps he had been going about it the wrong way. He had already tried hurting Snap a little to get Rudy to cave, but that backfired.

But what if Rudy were forced to take action…? If he were forced to fight his friend...

Mr. Cosmo gave the zoner a broad, creepy smile. This caused Snap to cringe away from him in fear. “Actually, there’s still something I need from you…”

“Wh-What could that be..?” Snap whispered softly.

“You’ll see.” Said Mr. Cosmo as he reached out towards Snap. The zoner cringed down, pressing his stomach against the blanket underneath him. Mr. Cosmo ignored the zoner’s wide eyes as he grabbed him by this cape. He lifted him up easily and smiled into his eyes. “Let’s go. It won’t take long. I promise.”

With that, Mr. Cosmo turned and walked out of the room, carrying Snap with him.


	32. Questioning Loyalty

“Okay, we should be fine in here. Go ahead and take a rest. We’re done running.”

Rudy was not going to argue with that. He put his back to the wall and slid down. He took in heavy breath after heavy breath, trying to calm himself down. He had never run that fast for that long before. Despite his youth, his heart was struggling to keep beating. Looking over at Mr. Wilter, he could see the old man had it worse. He had his hand to his throat and his mouth was wide open as he struggled to breathe properly. Rudy did not envy him.

He took a few seconds to look around the room to see where they now where. He recognized this as some kind of a security room. He hadn’t expected it to be here, at this angle. Yet here it was. Ms. Saffron insisted that they come here to rest. Apparently this room was well hidden or something. Or at least, not easily detectable. She wasn’t sure how long they could stay here, though, so she suggested they leave whenever they can.

The teenager wasn’t really sure what to think of Ms. Saffron at the moment. She had helped out Mr. Cosmo before. She had dragged him into the room, helped to lock him up. She had knocked out her parents. He just wasn’t sure if he could trust her. She might have saved them from Draow, but that did not mean that it completely offset what she had done before.

But for the time being, Rudy tried to focus on just being grateful. He was out of that horrible situation and he and Mr. Wilter could finally at least take some kind of a break. They needed to relax after what had happened to them. This was their only chance to do so before Draow or Mr. Cosmo tried to find them. Who knows how long that was going to be? Rudy did not want to take chances. He presumed that at least five minutes would be safe, but after that, it was a gamble.

He found himself looking back at Ms. Saffron as he pondered what could have changed her mind. If she were telling the truth and she really did want to help them, what compelled her to do so? What caused her to decide to turn against Mr. Cosmo?

For him, it was just way too sudden. There had to be an ulterior motive behind this, shouldn’t there? Like, Ms. Saffron had her own agenda, or Mr. Cosmo was using her to try to trick them, or...

“Why are you doing this?”

Apparently, Rudy was not the only one who was having his own suspicions.

Ms. Saffron, who was presently sitting in the only chair available in the room, turned to look at Mr. Wilter. “Why am I doing what, exactly?”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes. “Don’t try to play smart with me. You know exactly what I meant.” He leaned in a little closer. Though he was pretty far off, it almost looked as though he could reach over and grab Ms. Saffron from that spot. “Why are you helping us?”

Ms. Saffron blinked a few times. She looked a little confused, as though she did not expect anyone to ask her that question. She stammered a little as she struggled to think of a response. For Rudy, this was a red flag. But he wanted to wait first and see how things go before he would jump to any conclusions. In a soft voice, Ms. Saffron said, “Was I not supposed to...?”

Mr. Wilter pointed an accusatory finger in her direction. “After how you’ve been working for Mr. Cosmo, we have reason not to trust you.”

Ms. Saffron stared at Mr. Wilter for a few moments before she narrowed her eyes slowly. “....Didn’t you used to work for him?” She tilted her head to one side. “Does that mean that you are untrustworthy and that no one shoud listen to you?”

Mr. Wilter opened his mouth to speak. But instead his eyes widened and he let his mouth shut completely. He knew that Ms. Saffron had a good point there.

Ms. Saffron continued, “And anyway, it shouldn’t matter who helped you. At least you are out. If you think this is a trap, then tell me. How is letting you out of there and placed in the most secure location in the entire building..” She spread her arms outward. “...the fucking security station...” She lowered her arms to her side. “...be a trap?”

Mr. Wilter still remained silent for a bit. He did manage to say something, but his voice was rather low and soft. “...I’m sure you could find a way..”

Ms. Safforn narrowed her eyes at him, but she didn’t focus on him for too long. Instead, she turned to look over at Rudy. When their eyes locked, Rudy felt himself go rigid, unsure of what to think of her expression. It was like she was feeling guilty, yet he could detect other things in those eyes of hers. Just what could that be?

Rudy licked his lips nervously as she said, “What do you want from me...?”

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “Nothing. What makes you think that I want something?”

Rudy shrugged. “I don’t know. It just...feels a little weird that you would help us after all that you have done.”

Ms. Saffron’s expression softened up a little. “Yeah, I know. And I do want to make it up to you.” Rudy and Mr. Wilter both exchanged skeptical looks at this statement. They didn’t go unnoticed by Ms. Saffron. “I’m telling the truth, but okay... I get why you don’t trust me. At least....try not to let this get in the way of getting out of here.”

“...all right.” Rudy said softly. He looked over at Mr. Wilter.

The old teacher responded, “Okay, I’ll do my best. But I cannot guarantee for certain.”

“Of course not.” Ms. Saffron said, rolling her eyes a little. She did not instigate any further than that, which Rudy was happy for. Instead, she leaned back in the chair and turned towards the monitors. “Let me just check a few things and we should get on our way soon to our next destination.”

Rudy wasn’t really sure if he wanted to ask. Especially considering he had no idea if he could trust her or not. Most parts of him were warning him to be wary. Yet there was a small minority in his brain that was urging him to give her at least one chance. Considering his circumstances, it would be better if he just gave this woman the benefit of the doubt, as she was their only way out at this point.

“What would this destination be?” Rudy found himself asking the woman.

“Why, finding your friend, of course.”

Rudy felt his eyes going wide at this. He turned to look at Ms. Saffron, wondering if he had misheard her. Nothing about the woman’s statement indicated that it was a lie. He felt his throat going dry as he whispered, “S-S-Snap....?” He sounded so hopeful.

Ms. Saffron didn’t hesitate to nod her head.

Mr. Wilter spoke up. “How can we be sure that you really want to help? How do we know that this isn’t some kind of a trap?”

Ms. Saffron turned to stare at the man. “And how do you know if you don’t at least try to give me a chance?” She looked back at Rudy with one eye. “I promise you, boy, I can take you to your friend. I can help you get him out of here.”

Rudy wasn’t sure what to say to his. Everything just...became a swirling, confusing mess.

sss

There. The work had been done. There was nothing left to be worried about for now regarding this. Rudy would eventually have to come into a situation where he’ll need to deal with him. Then it was just a matter of trapping him and forcing him to do something that would terrify him. Snap was all set as well. It should be easy to pull off. Was he going a bit too far with this? Perhaps, though he’s already crossed the line before. Besides, that boy was not so entirely innocent, either. After all, if he had just listened to him, this would have been avoided.

Mr. Cosmo wasn’t going to try anything else with him just yet, though. He still wanted to take care of something else first. He remembered Snap’s words and he really thought about them as he headed down the hallway. And he was starting to realize just what might have been happening with him.

And it all stemmed from those marks he had seen on Snap. Marks that the zoner claims to not remember how he had gotten them. Two small holes placed close to each other.

Mr. Cosmo recognized them.

With his eyes narrowed, he continued heading down until he was able to reach the location that he wanted. The same room where he had caught Ms. Saffron in. The same room that housed a creature that he had tried to keep away from the others. Approaching this room always filled him up with anxiety. But he still made his way over, anyway, his narrowed eyes concentrating as he slowly opened up the door.

Immediately, he could see a small mass of yellow and red uncurling itself to look over at him. When those green eyes set upon Mr. Cosmo, he felt himself flinching a little and he froze for a few seconds. He then shook his head and he forced himself to move in closer to the beast. He curled his fingers inward and did his best not to let his fear show. He knew how Bardot was. He knew that he should and should not do. And giving him any leeway into his emotions was a bad idea.

“Bardot…” Mr. Cosmo whispered softly. Anger melted into his voice as he tried to calm himself down. But if this zoner did what he thought he had done… “I need to talk to you.”

“Oh but of course..” Bardot said softly as he pushed himself up from the ground. “Anything for you, dear.”

Mr. Cosmo froze at this. He then growled, “Don’t call me ‘dear’.”

“Noted.” Bardot said as he put a paw to his chest. Then he lowered it down and leaned in a little, turning his head to one side. One eye watched the man carefully, as though he were silently judging him. Mr. Cosmo had no idea how to feel about this. “What did you wish to speak about?”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes slowly. “Have you been getting out of your cage?”

That caused Bardot to pull his head back sharply and his eyes widened big. He stared at the man as though he had grown a second head. Bardot stayed this way for several long moments before he leaned in once more, frowning, cocking an eyebrow. “Are you being serious right now?”

Mr. Cosmo nodded his head. “One hundred percent.” Mr. Cosmo folded his arms to his chest, glaring intently at the zoner. “Now answer my question.”

Bardot blinked a few times before closing his eyes and chortling. “Oh Teddisson… You know the answer to that.” He reopened his eyes partway and stared back at the man. “You should know that I cannot get out of here.” He raised his paw up and lightly tapped against the bars. There was a small spark of electricity that rang through the bars, showing that there was indeed a barricade. “How do you think I could go through there? And what of your security system?”

The green-suited man did have to admit that Bardot did bring up some things that made sense. If one looked at it on a surface level, it did really seem like Bardot would have little chance of doing much. He was trapped in this cage with electrified bars and there were cameras. It would have been hard for him to bypass all of that.

Yet he knew Bardot. He was his creation, after all. He made this thing. He knew what he was like. And if there was one thing that was true about Bardot, it’s that he always found a way. He thought back to Snap’s words and he knew that Bardot could have pulled it all off. Perhaps if he told the hybrid zoner about it, he will do something to give himself away.

It was worth a shot.

“I was informed by Snap that he thinks that I have been hurting him during times when I’m not. I’ve also noticed some puncture marks in him that I know I did not give him.” Mr. Cosmo leaned in closer towards Bardot, doing his best not to show any fear. “Do you know anything about that…?”

Bardot spent a few more moments looking at him like he was nuts. But it was clear that something about what the man said had peaked his interest. His ears had flicked forward and his eyes glinted. Mr. Cosmo took note of these actions. While it might just be that Bardot was interested, it could also mean that he was involved with this. He just needed to wait and see.

Bardot remained silent at first, as though trying to ponder what kind of response to give. He stared unblinkingly towards the man. He didn’t say anything for what felt like several long moments. Mr. Cosmo did his best to remain patient, not wanting to do anything to provoke the zoner. He did not really expect the zoner to outright admit anything. But he could still find ways of getting the zoner to confess without him even realizing it. It was just a matter of knowing what to say and what to listen for.

The yellow and red zoner soon tilted his head to one side, almost looking like an owl when he did so. He sneered through bared teeth, releasing a few chortles through his partially open mouth. “If I did…” He licked his lips slowly, concentrating on his fangs. “...what would it be to you?”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this. While he could not take this as a full on confession, it was still a red flag. Bardot had ways of giving himself away without really meaning to. But he wasn’t going to jump to conclusions just yet. First, he needed a bit more information. “I have my own plans. I don’t need you to mess them up.”

“Hmph..” Bardot frowned more deeply, though the smile still remained on his face. “You’ve hurt Snap already from what I’ve heard. Why do you care if I potentially messed with him.”

“Because he still has a use and I would rather have him only worry about me and Rudy. Another factor like you could disrupt things.” Mr. Cosmo took a step towards the cage. “If you’re really finding a way out of that cage, Bardot, I will find out and I will punish you. Do you understand me?”

Bardot laughed at this. His mouth opened wide, letting the man see the interior of his mouth and how the light glinted off the tips of his long, sharp fangs. “Oh my, aren’t you funny?” Bardot’s smile grew broad and twisted. “You trying to punish me?” He grinned almost insanely, his gums exposed. “Are you sure you want to try that, little Teddy..?”

Mr. Cosmo felt a flash of chilled ice in his chest and stomach at this. “D-Don’t call me that…!”

Bardot just chuckled at this, clearly having a good time. He sat up like a dog sitting down for a treat and wagged his tail around from side to side slowly. He stared unblinking at the red-haired human, his pupils shrinking slightly and his teeth remaining bared in a grin. He looked like he was ready to jump through the cage at any moment, yet he still just sat there on his haunches, enjoying himself.

Mr. Cosmo couldn’t stop glaring at the zoner, feeling too afraid to even look away. What if the zoner just launched himself at him and bit down onto his leg if he tried to get away? He knew that the chances of that were low, but that didn’t mean that Bardot wouldn’t try to pull some kind of shit like that. He was just the type of zoner to do something like that.

He wasn’t really sure if there was anything else that he could say at this point. He had his doubts that the zoner was going to give him any more information. Any further attempts were just going to lead to nothingness, and that was if he were lucky. Unlucky, he would be taunted further or given disguised threats. He wasn’t going to be able to handle talking with Bardot for much longer. His body was already starting to shake. Perhaps now was the time to leave.

Yeah, that would be a good idea. He had better things to do than just stand here and talk with Bardot.

“Aww leaving so soon? But I was just starting to enjoy your company!”

Mr. Cosmo shuddered when the zoner spoke to him as he was trying to leave. He did his best to ignore it as he started to force himself to keep walking forward. Just ignore him, he told himself over and over again. Just ignore him and eventually he’ll stop trying to….

“I do hope you prepare yourself, Teddisson Cosmo.” Bardot jeered at him. “This is….what some would say….the fear before the fall..”

Mr. Cosmo felt his eyes widen at this. Just what did Bardot mean by that?

sss

So this is what things have come down to. So this is the fate that he was going to have to suffer. Well so be it, then. It wasn’t like there was anything that he could do at this point. He could only just sit back and try to ‘relax’. He had no more choices here. There was nothing left that he could do. Might as well just accept it.

This was a far cry from how Snap used to be when he first came in here. He had wanted to remain more positive and believe that his friends could save him. But that was all rapidly falling apart. He forgot how long he has been in here, but it felt like it was long enough. He could not even remember the last time that he had eaten, yet his mind didn’t really fully register that he was hungry. He could only just draw in a blank as he stared out ahead at nothingness.

He could feel a stronger pain coming from his forehead. He had Mr. Cosmo to thank for that. The man had decided to do something with him in order to create some kind of an effect on him. The man wanted make some adjustments to him and use him for something different. He did not explicitly state what he wanted with him. But Snap guessed that it had something to do with Rudy.

Knowing this did not fully alleviate his disappointment in Rudy earlier. He still, at least a part of him, felt like Rudy really did leave him. He hated to feel like that, but he couldn’t think of any reason for Rudy to just leave him there when he had the chance to grab him. The boy could have at least tried to get him to safety. He had heard him scream. Why wouldn’t he have tried to help him?

But Snap still didn’t really want to believe Rudy did that on purpose. There had to be a reason. He kept trying to tell himself over and over again. There had to be some kind of reason that he was missing or overlooking. There had to be a cause of Rudy not being able to help him. Perhaps whoever else was there dragged him away without him being able to do anything? Or was there something else going on?

It did hurt Snap to think that Rudy abandoned him. He wanted to have more faith in his friend. He knew how this place was, how Mr. Cosmo was, and he knew that tough decisions had to be made. There was more going on than what he was seeing, he knew. He was just...blind to it somehow. Surely, if he thought long and hard enough, he could figure out the reasoning behind what happened earlier and….

Oh well, there was nothing that could be done about that, now was there? All the zoner could do was just curl up into a ball and wait for whatever was to happen next. He could not climb out of here. It was designed to keep him in. The walls were wet with something and they burned at the touch. The only place that was safe was the platform he was put on.

Or rather, chained on. He had a cuff going through one of his legs. This added to the pain from before, but he hardly moved, hardly made any pained sound. It was like his brain had just numbed him to the pain. It was like it wasn’t even there. And his leg was just...laying limp, like he had lost control over that limb entirely.

There were several things going on above him. He could hear the sound of construction going on. He guessed that Mr. Cosmo wanted something built for whatever he was going to come back to him again. The zoner didn’t really have any clue of what it was. And at the moment, with his mind locked to protect him from an overflow of fear, just couldn’t bring itself to really care about that. The zoner just shut his eyes and tried to leave the world for even just a little bit.

But even with that, he still felt himself pondering what was going to happen. He was still, even just by a little bit, curious of what was going to happen to him. But his mind did not let him dwell on it for too long. Soon it felt like his mind had just shut down, feeling as though a rock settled in his head and made him feel heavy. Snap reopened his eyes for a few moments before letting them shut again. He took in a deep breath and he let out a small sigh.

His thoughts went over to Ms. Saffron. She did look as though she had genuinely started to care for him. He wondered how she was doing since their last encounter. Was she doing okay, or had something bad happened to her?

With all the luck going around lately, he silently hoped that she was all right.

sss

Mrs. Sanchez did feel a little nervous about going over to visit Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie. She knew that they were feeling tense at the moment. This was something that she had did her best to hide from her daughter. It wasn’t something that she particularly enjoyed doing. But she did feel it best that Penny not be stressed as much as possible. She didn’t want her body’s healing process to be slowed down by what was going on.

But she knew that, sooner or later, Penny was going to find out that Rudy was missing. At least she didn’t have a television up there in her bedroom, or else she would have already found out. Mrs. Sanchez herself had done whatever she could to keep Penny shielded from this dreadful news so that her body could focus on healing.

The same couldn’t be said about Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie, however. Her two friends were distraught over what had happened. They had already contacted the police and they were trying to find the child. It’s been a day at least already and so far, nothing. Mrs. Sanchez wasn’t really expecting anything to happen that fast. But she still hoped for a breakthrough soon.

She didn’t decide to come over because she had any sort of news or anything. Although that would be nice. She’d love to brighten their day with information regarding Rudy. No, she came over to try to keep them company. They had only each other; having a friend over may help cheer them up a little bit. Though she had nothing that she could tell them, she could at least try to act like a friend.

Even as she stood in front of the door, though, she still felt nervous. A part of her feared that she might be interfering with them in some shape or form. She knew that she was welcome here and she could walk in at any time. Yet a part of her still held back, still worried that she might be overstepping her bounds if she just rushed on without really knocking first.

She tapped against the door lightly yet firmly and waited for a response. When she didn’t get any, she tried again. This time, a little more firm and harder. Yet still no answer came. She narrowed her eyes slightly before she hit really hard on the door. She didn’t like being this loud, but she also didn’t want to be too soft and not be heard. But even this louder pounding did not yield any results. Slowly, her eyes softened up as she realized that something was going on here.

Mrs. Sanchez looked down at the door knob, furrowing her eyes. It didn’t look like it had been unlocked by anything. She was still compelled to try to pull it anyway. She grabbed on and turned it....and the knob gave way immediately. It wasn’t locked. Mrs. Sanchez felt her teeth pressing into her lip. What was going on here?

Slowly, the woman made her way into the house. She felt awkward about doing this, even though Joe and Millie were her dear friends. She still would have preferred them letting her into the house instead. But she couldn’t walk away now. She needed to know what was going.

Nothing around here seemed to be out of the ordinary. Perhaps Joe and Millie were just resting? No, that couldn’t be it. Still not quite dark enough to be heading into bed, although since Rudy was missing... Oh, could they be in mourning? Maybe they were in their bedroom trying to comfort each other and they just didn’t hear her. That was another possibility and....

...she could have used the doorbell. Mrs. Sanchez slapped herself in the face for forgetting that detail. Oh well, she was already in, so that didn’t matter anymore.

So far, she didn’t see any signs of the two. She furrowed her eyes in confusion. They didn’t seem to be anywhere on the bottom level, where she thought they would be first. Could her thoughts of them in mourning in the bedroom be right? She looked up the steps and felt caution overtaking her. She really didn’t want to do this unless she had to. But since it was the only place left, she walked up the steps slowly.

Standing outside the bedroom, she bit her lip and then lightly knocked on the door. “Hey... Are you two in there? It’s me...” She didn’t hear any answer. Perhaps they were sleeping. But didn’t Joe usually snore? She could hear none of that. She could feel her heart start to clench as thoughts rapidly formed in her head. She knocked louder. “C-Come on... I know you’re in there... Please answer me.”

But when there was still no response, Mrs. Sanchez could feel her heart skipping a beat. She didn’t want to think that something was wrong, but for neither of them to even stir.... She narrowed her eyes and felt her muscles tightening up. She ignored the thoughts crawling in her head as she rushed in over and opened the door swiftly.

Her eyes widened and she felt her body go stiff at what she was seeing before her eyes. She put her hands to her mouth and she let out a loud gasp.


	33. Liar Maybe

Mrs. Sanchez couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She kept her hands placed against her mouth as she stared out ahead of her. She struggled to keep breathing, each breath getting harder and harder to make. Her mind spun around in circles and she could feel her vision blurring a little. Adrenaline pumped through her body, causing sweat to pour down her face. It got to the point where she just couldn’t hold back anymore and she let out a scream.

“Joe?! Millie?!”

The two adults didn’t answer her. Not that she was surprised, considering their position. The two adults were laying on the ground near their bed. There didn’t seem to be any obvious signs of injury. But the vet could tell something was wrong with them.

They weren’t moving. They were face down. They looked as though they had been trying to get somewhere and they just...collapsed. Mrs. Sanchez took a look around to see if there was an obvious sign of struggling anywhere. She didn’t see any, but that did not mean something didn’t exist. She felt her teeth gritting tightly as she slowly made her way towards the two fallen adult humans.

Once she got to their sides, she dropped down onto her knees and looked them over. She grabbed onto their shoulders and shook them to see if they would respond. When nothing happened, she forced them onto their backs and took a look at their faces and overlooked their bodies for any hidden injuries.

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie both looked peaceful….for the most part. There was a slight hint of some pain showing up, but it was a little hard to see at first. Mrs. Sanchez was not exactly comforted by this. Something happened to these two and she had no idea what it was. There hadn’t been anything wrong with them before. What could have caused them to collapse like this? How could they have been fine on the phone earlier today only for something like this to happen?

Mrs. Sanchez furrowed her eyes deeply. She knew that something was seriously wrong here. For these two to just collapse in just a span of about ten minutes… She could feel her heart rate speeding up as she did her best to keep her breathing rate at least somewhat normal. Although she was a vet who worked on animals, she did know enough about people to know when there’s a serious problem.

If she didn’t get Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie some help fast, they could… She swallowed bitter bile at this thought as she tried to fight it off. She shook the thought out of her mind as she took action.

Although she didn’t want to leave them, the woman ran down the steps as quickly as she could. She nearly fumbled a few times, but managed to get to the bottom with little other issue. She then grabbed onto the bars to fling herself in the right direction and she went over towards the phone. She immediately grabbed it and she started to dial a number.

After it rang a few times, she could hear a voice on the other line. “911, what’s your emergency?”

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t hesitate to reply. “Help! My two friends have collapsed and I have no idea what’s wrong with them!”

sss

Rudy watched in silence as Ms. Saffron typed away at the keyboard situated in front of her. The loud tap-tap-tap sounds made it difficult for him to relax. He couldn’t stop staring at her, a part of him expecting some kind of result as quickly as possible. He had a feeling that he was only making things worse. But he just...couldn’t help himself.

If this woman could really help him find Snap… Though he was still unsure and he wanted to be cautious with this woman, she was still his one shot at saving his friend. Snap was around here somewhere, he knew. Most likely still alive as he was certain Mr. Cosmo had some use left for him. The thought sickened him, but at least this meant that Snap had a chance of being alive still. That was more than enough to give him some inkling of hope.

But he wondered how long it was going to take. He forgot how long Ms. Saffron had been sitting there, typing away at the console. He didn’t really get what she was trying to do. She claimed that it was important, but it had been going on for about fifteen minutes now. Didn’t she say that they should get going? Whatever happened to that? Just what was it about this that made it so damn important?

But despite his growing frustration, he still kept himself silent. Ms. Saffron was his only big chance at the moment. As much as Mr. Wilter could be helpful, he had never been in here before, and he’s never fought Mr. Cosmo in the Real World and he hadn’t seen him in years. Ms. Saffron on the other hand, well she had the experience. Surely she would be able to lead them to some kind of a victory.

Or it would be just another layer of disappointment…

Rudy tried not to let himself fall too far down that path. He licked his lips slowly and swallowed hard. There was still a chance for that woman to prove herself. He tried to hold onto the hope of that instead of going down into despair. Snap wouldn’t want him to do that. Snap would…

“Just what are you doing, anyway?”

Rudy was a little startled by this sudden statement ringing out. He hadn’t expected Mr. Wilter to say anything. So far, all that this man had done lately was just be quiet and glare. It was as though he didn’t trust Ms. Saffron, which seems very well to be the case. Especially with the tone of voice that he used and how he was staring at her.

Ms. Saffron still typed away as she answered, “I’m trying to see if I can disable security to buy us a little time. I don’t think I can’t turn it off for long, but..” Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes a little deeper as she began to type a little faster. She leaned in a little closer, her face looking as though it was going to become glued to the screen in front of her. “I’m sure I can figure something out. I just need to…”

“And how do we know that we can trust you?” Mr. Wilter asked, cutting the woman’s sentence off. “Yeah, I know this was brought up already, but I still don’t think we should be this trusting of you.” Mr. Wilter kept the same glare on his face as before, showing no signs of relenting. “If what Rudy said about you is true, why should…”

Ms. Saffron slammed her fingers against the keyboard, creating an unpleasant sound that tore through the minds and hearts of both Rudy and Mr. Wilter. They both watched with wide eyes as the woman turned her head over to glare at them, her teeth becoming a little bared. It was obvious that she wasn’t very happy. Rudy wondered just how close she was to slapping the old teacher across the face.

“Right now, I’m your only chance. And yes, I know I’ve worked for Mr. Cosmo and I know why you might seem skeptical. But I’ve already told you, I….”

“That isn’t good enough. How do we know that you’re even trying to disable security? What if you’re just trapping us in here so that the others can find us?”

“Why would I trap myself?!”

“I don’t know. You tell me, lady.”

Rudy flinched at this. He had seen Mr. Wilter upset before. But with the way that he was acting now, and with how he was treating Ms. Saffron, Rudy just….wasn’t sure what to think. He could understand the old man’s suspicions. He himself wasn’t really completely siding with Ms. Saffron, either. But now wasn’t the time for this. Why couldn’t he wait until later before expressing his beef with the woman? What was this going to solve?

Mr. Wilter kept silent for the next few moments. Perhaps a part of him was realizing how silly he was being and perhaps he was now finally going to keep his mouth shut. Maybe he was going to let the woman get back to work and give her a chance before immediately writing her off.

Or perhaps that was just wishful thinking.

Mr. Wilter lowered his head slightly, looking a little annoyed that the woman had yet to respond to his latest retort. With his lip curling up slightly, he hissed, “Is that a confession that I’m hearing?”

Ms. Saffron growled through clenched teeth. “I didn’t even say anything!”

“Exactly!” Mr. Wilter pointed an accusing finger at the woman. “If you were innocent, you would have tried to stand your ground! Instead, you just go quiet like the smug snake that you are!”

“Only because you are trying to box me into a corner!”

Rudy couldn’t keep himself silent for much longer. He had hoped that these two would stop acting this way so that they could concentrate on getting out. But all they were doing was wasting precious time. If this were to be kept up…

“Will you two just stop it?!” Rudy shouted. He felt himself inflate and deflate rapidly as the two startled adults looked over at him, obviously not having expected him to shout like that. “How is this going to solve anything?! You’re wasting time!”

The two adults didn’t say anything. They glanced at one another before staring back at Rudy. The fifteen year old struggled to catch his breath before he tried to say anything else.

“Ms. Saffron, you said that there wasn’t much time and that we should get going soon. Why are you getting distracted by Mr. Wilter when you should be trying to disable that security system?” Rudy then looked over at Mr. Wilter. “And as for you… Don’t you think that pestering Ms. Saffron right now, while she’s trying to work, is going to just increase the chances of us getting found and caught? Do you really want something like that to happen?”

“I-I…” Mr. Wilter’s voice trailed off.

“I didn’t think so.” Rudy said as he narrowed his eyes. He then shifted his gaze between the two, noticing how they were cringing a little and showing some signs of regret. Rudy could feel himself starting to calm down a little at this, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from bringing up one more thing. “If we all want to get out of here, shouldn’t we work together? And shouldn’t you two actually behave like adults?”

Mr. Wilter and Ms. Saffron gave each other sideways glances when Rudy said this. They still remained silent, but it was clear, from the way their eyes gave a small spark, that something was getting through in their heads.

Rudy let his tense body relax and his gaze softened up considerably. “So can’t we just focus on what’s important right now? You two can set aside any animosity like adult, mature people, can’t you?”

Ms. Saffron glanced at Mr. Wilter for a second before she locked her eyes onto Rudy once more. She pressed her teeth against her lip and her gaze became downward. She looked like she was really struggling to find something to say. Then, with her voice sounding as though it cracked slightly, she said, “Yeah, you’re right. I do apologize for that.”

“I...do, too.” Mr. Wilter rubbed the back of his head nervously. “I know I had said before that I would try to give a chance and…” He lowered his hand and arm as he stared at Rudy sadly. He then looked over at Ms. Saffron, forcing out a long, deep, heavy sigh. “I….uh… do have some suggestions that might help…”

Ms. Saffron cocked an eyebrow. “...what kind of suggestions?”

Mr. Wilter took a few steps towards her. “If you want to disable security, I know of a way you could do it.” He paused for a moment, then added, “Well a few ways. Perhaps one of them will work?”

Ms. Saffron gritted her teeth as she leaned away from the man. “Why should I trust…” She stopped when she looked over and noticed Rudy’s glare. She shuddered for a moment, bringing herself out of her previous thoughts. She then cleared her throat and spoke again, this time in a gentler tone of voice. “I-I mean…what idea do you think will work?”

Mr. Wilter didn’t answer right away, much to the others’ confusion. He remained frozen for a bit before he came over, finally turning himself into something that wasn’t a mere statue. He strode over slowly, his eyes at first looking at Ms. Saffron. But upon closer inspection, it was noted that he was looking over at the controls. His face furrowed a little and it looked like he was going to take control away from Ms. Saffron.

Rudy prepared himself for the worst, but he felt himself relax when he man simply stood next to Ms. Saffron. The woman leaned away as though the man had gotten too close. But other than that, she did nothing to try to usher him away, much to Rudy’s relief. She just stared up at the man, her eyes slowly blinking as though she was wondering what he was going to do.

Mr. Wilter appeared to realize how nervous the woman was getting with him so close. He readjusted himself quickly, standing further back. He was still close enough so that he could see the monitor and the keyboard. He raised his hand up slowly and he pointed towards the screen.

“Why don’t you try entering this command that I….” Mr. Wilter started to say.

“Command? You’ve done this before?” Ms. Saffron asked, staring at the man in disbelief.

Rudy also looked at Mr. Wilter with wide eyes. He wasn’t really sure what to think of this. Mr. Wilter took notice of how they were looking at him and he bit his lip firmly. He then shook his head once before leaning back into action.

“Nevermind that. Just… try entering this in…” Mr. Wilter reached over and attempted to type on the keyboard. Of course, given his angle, he wasn’t able to do much.

Ms. Saffron pushed him away. “How about you tell me what to type in and we’ll go from there? And will it actually work?”

Mr. Wilter brushed himself off. He glared at the woman for only a split second before nodding his head slowly. Any ounce of anger or annoyance that he had previously faded away. “Yes, just follow my instructions. It should work if you enter it all correctly.”

“Well okay..” Ms. Saffron seemed a little hesitant at first. But she soon seemed receptive. She cleared her throat as she moved her hands over the keyboard once more. “Tell me what to type in.”

Rudy watched in silence as Mr. Wilter started to recite a string of words and symbols that he could not understand. He couldn’t help but feel startled by this. It was the kind of technonological babble that he would have expected from Penny. Yet here was Mr. Wilter, talking as though he, too, had a degree in computers. It certainly didn’t mess entirely well with his image of the man before. He wasn’t really sure how to feel about that.

Ms. Saffron remained silent as she listened to the man’s words. She typed away at the keyboard, creating more loud tap-tap-tap sounds. Rudy tried his best to ignore it as he focused on the woman’s work. His wide eyes focused intently on the woman’s hands typing and the increasingly long command, row after row, appeared on the screen. He waited and held still, his lips being slowly wetted by his tongue, a nervous habit that he just could not stop.

Then Ms. Saffron pressed a single key firmly, thudding it in a way that told Rudy that she was done. “There, it’s entered. Now all we can do is wait.”

“Just give it a little time.” Said Mr. Wilter softly. “We should see some results soon.”

Ms. Saffron stared at him sideways. “I sure hope you’re right. I don’t even know if you know of this sytem or not…”

“It’s the same type of system I’ve seen before. It only looks different. But the same basic functions are there.” Mr. Wilter’s voice was firm and sure. “It will work. I promise.”

The three humans fell silent as they waited for the computer to activate the command. Although it couldn’t possibly take that long, they still found themselves watching nervously, feeling as though time slowed down all around them. They all knew that if this command failed, it could sound off an alarm, forcing them to flee. But if it worked…

Rudy tilted his head up as a loud click sounded out. He turned his head around as he tried to figure out what that was about. And then he heard a few more clicks. And then another, and another. A series of clicks dominated his ears as well as the two adults’. When he looked over at the screen, he could see the computer was spouting out some kind of long string of command, white text against a black background. Rudy had no idea what specifically was happening. But even he could tell that the computer was responding to the command in some way. Whether or not it was a good reaction, he wasn’t yet sure.

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened big as she watched the code going by. It was hard to tell if she was fearful or just impressed. Her eyes moved from bottom to up in a repeated fashion. It seemed to go on like this for a while with no end in sight. And then, without warning, Ms. Saffron move back, nearly falling out of her chair.

“You just…” She stammered.

Mr. Wilter gave her a small smile. “You wanted the systems off, right?”

“Yes, but..” Ms. Saffron’s voice trailed off.

“Well, now they’re off.” Mr. Wilter said. He sounded so confident that this is what had happened that he was already moving towards the exit. He paused and looked over at Ms. Saffron and Rudy. He flinched slightly at how they were looking at him. He turned his head away and he watched them with one eye. Then he forced himsef to turn his head to face them completely and he licked his lips slowly. “Okay, I get it. You don’t need to keep looking at me like I’m splitting down the middle or something like that.” He motioned his head towards Ms. Saffron. “You said you knew where his friend was…?”

Ms. Saffron blinke at this before shaking her head. “Oh, yes, right. I do.” Ms. Saffron headed towards the door, getting in front of Mr. Wilter. “Follow me, you two. It shouldn’t be too far.”

sss

It still came as a surprise to her that the code had actually worked. She didn’t think that the old man would have known what to do. He did not come across to her as someone who knew anything about machinery, electronics, or just computers in general. But it did seem to work; she recognized those clicks anywhere.

But Ms. Saffron wasn’t going to let her guard down. Despite Mr. Wilter’s help, she knew that there was only a limited amount of time before the system would turn itself back on. It was a safety feature. One that she had to make sure was implemented in the code before it was sent. If the systems stay off for too long, somebody was going to notice. But if it were only off for say...fifteen minutes, at most twenty, then that gave them a window of opportunity to get Snap and then get out of here.

Thankfully, the room where Snap was being held in wasn’t far. Not too much time was wasted as she went over there with the other two. She knew these hallways like the back of her hand. She kind of had to memorize them after the zoners were taken. Out of all of them, Snap was the one that she remembered the most.

“He should be around here.” Ms. Saffron said. “Just keep close to me.”

“That’s what we’ve been doing the past few minutes, Ms. Saffron.” Mr. Wilter said. “When are we actually going to get there?”

“Yeah. You said it was close.” Rudy spoke up, who had been quiet this whole time. “Are we going to get to Snap before anyone sees us here and…”

“Of course we are! The monitors showed no one was close to here. They are spread out. We have a little time. Don’t you worry, kid. We’ll get your friend pack and then we’ll get out of here.” Said Ms. Saffron abruptly as she continued down the hallway. She tried to sound as confident and sure as she could. But there was still a part of her that worried that something might go wrong.

No, she couldn’t let herself think like that. There was still a chance that things will be fine. If she thought too hard one what could go wrong, then it would all fall downhill from here. She licked her lips slowly as she narrowed her eyes in determination. She kept her posture straight and true, making herself look as much of a leader as she could.

She could see the destination ahead. She recognized that door. She recognized the position that it was in against the wall. She bit her tongue lightly as she continued on forward, moving at an increasingly fast past. She covered ground in long strides, attempting to speed up the process of getting to that particular location. Eventually, she managed to arrive in what she guessed was half the time it normally would have taken. She stopped and waited for the others to catch up to her. Only once Rudy and Mr. Wilter had arrived did she attempt to open up the door.

She wrestled with the lock a little bit. She noticed it seemed a little sticky. She applied extra pressure, feeling her heart rate going a little faster as she did so. Then finally the knob turned. Slowly, she was able to open it up, pushing it inward to reveal….

Nothing.

Ms. Saffron immediately stiffened at this, her heart clenching tightly. She looked in the room, walking in part way and turning her head left and right rapidly. Where was that zoner? He should have been in here. This room was too small for him to have hid and he was too badly hurt to…

“Where is Snap…?” Rudy growled behind her.

Ms. Saffron struggled to keep breathing. She sucked on her lip a few times, her mind swirling about. “I-I don’t get it… He was right here… I swear to you!” Ms. Saffron moved further into the room and she started to grab the blankets and toss them aside. Surely Snap must be in here somewhere… “I was talking to him not long ago! He should be in here!”

Mr. Wilter growled lowly. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you.”

Ms. Saffron whirled around to see Mr. Wilter and Rudy glaring at her. The two slowly moved in towards her, causing her to back up. She could feel herself pressing up against the bed. Still the two drew in closer, both looking absolutely furious. Their teeth were bared and their eyes looked like they were glowing brightly. Breathing in and out rapidly, she called out, “B-But I’m telling the truth…! Please.. You’ve got to believe me… I-I didn’t…”

But Mr. Wilter and Rudy were no longer interested in listening to her. They kept moving in towards her, forcing her to lay flat on the bed. They hovered over her and grabbed her arms to pin her down firmly. Ms. Saffron kept pleading with them, but neither of them were willing to give her another chance.

sss

Despite the woman’s claims of innocense, Mr. Wilter knew better. He refused to let Ms. Saffron go. She might have managed to dislodge Rudy, but she was not going to have the same amount of luck with him. He would be sure of that.

Ms. Saffron looked up at him in fear, her pupils having shrunk into dots and her teeth gritted. Good, she should be afraid of him. She had her chance before, but she made the mistake of trying to get the better of him and Rudy. She thought that she could get away with it. Well she was wrong, and he was proving that to her right now.

Although he didn’t know Snap, he did feel for Rudy. The boy was sitting in the corner, looking rather depressed. He could see the pain in the boy’s eyes and it reminded him of the losses that he himself had suffered in ChalkZone. It also reminded him of his own guilt. He was the one who had decided to let Mr. Cosmo into the school in the first place. He should have realized that it was all a trick. How could he have been so easily fooled?

Well not anymore. Ms. Saffron had tried to trick them, and he did have a lapse again. But now that he knew better, he could try to force information from her. She had nowhere to go and no place to hide. Her only option was to listen to him and answer his questions.

“Just what were you planning to do with us?” Mr. Wilter demanded. His cutting voice forced its way above Ms. Saffron’s pleas. It was enough to make the woman stiffen up slightly, almost as though she thought he was going to hurt him.

“I told you. I wasn’t going to do anything. I swear!” Ms. Saffron said to him desperately. Mr. Wilter just frowned at this. “I know what it looks like, but I swear I’m telling the truth!”

Mr. Wilter turned his head to the side. He glared down at her with a single eye, his grip on her shoulders tightening up. He was surprised that they hadn’t broken through the skin yet. “Look, I’ve dealt with Teddisson before. I know what to look for in someone who decieves people. If you want me to believe you...” Mr. Wilter slowly turned his head back to face her head on. “..you will have to do much better than that.”

Ms. Saffron shivered a little. She looked at the man for several moments before increasing her struggling, wriggling herself from side to side. Mr. Wilter struggled to keep her pinned down, using what body weight that he had to keep her pinned. The fact that she was taller than him did make it a little more difficult, but he did ultimately succeed. He was stronger than he appeared.

Ms. Saffron soon had tears forming in her eyes. Mr. Wilter could feel an eyebrow being cocked up. This wasn’t the kind of response that he had thought he would get from her. But he still wasn’t going to let her go. He tightened his grip even further and pushed her down even harder. Ms. Saffron still struggled on instinct, but her attempts were weakening. Mr. Wilter hoped that this meant that she was going to actually cave in and give some real answers. But he wasn’t going to get his hopes up.

“You lied to us. You tricked us into trusting you and bringing us here. I’m sure at any moment, Mr. Cosmo is going to come in and see us in here.” Mr. Wilter bared his teeth firmly, his eyes blazing. “You horrible woman....” His voice grew dark and growly. “If you don’t tell us what’s going on here, I’m...”

Ms. Saffron pulled her foot back and kicked Mr. Wilter in the stomach. The man let out a pained gasp as he staggered back. He was then pushed away by the blonde woman as she got up from the bed and moved towards the door.

“Mr. Wilter!” Rudy cried in shock.

Mr. Wilter held onto his stomach, eyes shut and teeth bared as he tried to ride out the pain. Then he reopened his eyes and whirled around to glare at Ms. Saffron. He was quick to rush over and grab onto the woman’s arm. She let out a squeak of fear as she was yanked back and pushed against the nearby wall, the man using his arm and elbow to keep her pinned there.

“Not so fast, you bitch.” Mr. Wilter spoke, seething. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Ms. Saffron stared at him with wide eyes and bared teeth. “I told you, I’m not...!”

“Well, well, well... Ain’t this such a pleasant surprise...?”

Mr. Wilter stiffened up at this, feeling his blood going cold. He felt his head snapping over so quickly, he hardly noticed the transition. Mr. Wilter let out a small gasp when he saw who was tanding in the doorway.

Mr. Cosmo...

Not just him. Standing behind him were two employees, a man and a woman. He didn’t recognize who they were, but it meant that escape was now rendered impossible.

Mr. Wilter couldn’t bring himself to say anything as Mr. Cosmo took a few steps in, his arms folded behind his back. He looked around the room, taking silent note of everything. Then his eyes locked onto Ms. Saffron and he gave a small smile, chuckling softly.

“Congratulations, Ms. Saffron. Good work. You’ve caught them.”

Mr. Wilter and Rudy both shot a glare at Ms. Saffron when the man said this. That confirmed their suspicions.

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “I-It’s not true! I...”

Mr. Cosmo interrupted, “Mr. Nicolas... Mrs. Panthea...” Pointing, he added, “Take them away.”


	34. Another In Charge

Bardot’s ears flicked up at the sound of someone coming over in his direction. He turned his head over to see who it was. He watched intently, his green eyes slowly blinking, searching out carefully for whoever it could be. The scent was not Mr. Cosmo or any of the humans. But he could still recognize the smell. And when the individual came in and showed who they were, he was not at all surprised by who it was.

“Ah… Draow…” Purred Bardot, a smile spreading along his face. “So good to see you...again.”

Draow stared over at Bardot, his head lowering in submission. Bardot liked this. Draow had learned the hard way not to mess with him. Everyone in this blasted company knew not to mess with him anyway. But Draow was the only one who had sensed more of what he was capable of.

That was why Draow had fled before when that woman had arrived. Bardot had smelled him coming and he could hear his fleeing footsteps. Draow did not want to interact with him no more than necessary. This time, he wasn’t running but approaching him deliberately. Draow must want something, and this want must be important enough for him to even consider coming close to him. Especially after what had happened.

Draow opened his mouth part way for a moment before closing it again. He gritted his teeth, part of his fangs showing. Despite his massive size, he still hesitated to come closer. Draow knew that this was one situation where his strength was not going to help him much. After all, there were other factors that came into play when it came to combat. This was something that the massive zoner could not simply deny.

Draow stopped walking, now positioned about teen feet away from the cage. It looked as though he wanted to get a little bit closer, but he stopped himself. He let out a low, soft growl as he hunkered his body down slightly, swaying from side to side. Draow’s teal-colored eyes were clearly trying to hide his fear. But Bardot didn’t need to see his eyes in order to smell the fear radiating off of his light brown body.

Draow eventually got himself to speak. “...y-yes… It has been a little wh-while…” His deep voice sounded so broken. It was a bit of a surprise to hear someone as big and strong as him to speak like that to a comparatively tiny zoner. At least, to anyone watching. Bardot just sneered at him. “I...came to talk.”

“About your injuries?” Bardot motioned a three-clawed paw at Draow. “Kind of looks to me like you’ve had quite the trouble.”

Indeed, Draow was not exactly looking very well right now. His body had a lot of dirt marks and blood stains and gashes, mostly in pairs of three. It was obvious that he had been fighting against something. The bite marks indicated something larger than what the claws indicated. Either this was a weird zoner or there had been two assailants. Either way, it was pretty amusing to Bardot see Draow like this. Was this the reason Draow crawled his ass over here?

Draow’s ears lowered a little and he grumbled, “Not my fault. Stupid zoner would not hold still. It was hard getting him off.”

“So why did you come here?” Bardot rested his chin on his paw, the digits curled downward in a posture of curiosity. “You wouldn’t have come all the way out here to see me unless you had a reason. You say you came to talk. Just what about?”

Draow looked left and right slowly before turning to stare at Bardot more intently. He swallowed hard as he made his way a little closer, his stomach nearly scraping the ground as he did so. “You were right…”

Bardot cocked an eyebrow up. “About what, specifically?”

Draow growled softly, as though annoyed that he had to repeat himself. He snorted a little before getting closer, his nostrils flaring. “About Teddisson Cosmo… You were right about him.” Bardot tilted his head upwards slightly at this. Draow’s ears lowered once more, this time going further. “He really is...fixated. Perhaps a little too much.”

Bardot lifted his head and turned it to one side. “See? What did I tell you?” He moved his head a little ways back, his snout pointing towards the ground. One eye looked over at Draow. “Of course, you had a hand in helping him become like that.”

Draow gritted his teeth. “It is not that I do not care for him. I don’t have any shame in helping him. But…” Draow sighed heavily as he looked away, staring into nothingness. His tail slowly swished from side to side. He appeared to be contemplating just how to continue. Soon he turned his head to look back at Bardot. “Perhaps it is time to try something a little different.”

Bardot grinned at this, pulling his lips back into a smile. “Oh but of course it is. And you shouldn’t be surprised by this. We both know that dear Teddisson’s mental state is...something to be desired. However, all is not lost. We can still make this work. But perhaps it’s high time that we decided to get our dear creator to….step down.”

Draow’s eyes widened at this, his ears moving straight up. “Y-You are not….suggesting that we..”

Bardot shook his head. “Of course not. He’ll still be alive.” He closed his eyes softly. “But you cannot deny that his plans are hindered by himself.” He reopened his eyes. “Perhaps they could succeed...if someone else took over.”

Draow cocked an eyebrow a little. “You want to do what he does?”

Bardot let out a series of small chuckles. “Teddisson had vision, I give him that. But he fell short in the way of how it would work out.” Bardot lifted up his paw and flexed his thick claws, staring at them intently. “No...I have my own plans for that world.” Bardot hissed as he stared at his claws, seeing his reflection shining back at him.

Draow seemed to detect the tone of voice that Bardot gave off and lowered his head. “M-Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.” He whispered as he took a step back. “I’ll just be….”

“Oh but you can’t run away from a deal with me, Draow. You came here. There’s no turning back.” Bardot growled, causing Draow to let out a soft, barely audible whine. “You know I’m not bound by these bars. You know about what I’ve done to Snap. Do you think that you are immune?”

Draow stammered. “I-I.. No, I..”

“Perhaps you need a reminder of who is really in charge here…”

Bardot didn’t bother giving Draow a chance to respond. With his eyes narrowed, the yellow and red zoner climbed up to his feet. He then began to make his way over towards the bars. He didn’t other to stop. It was as though the bars weren’t even there. He only stopped once he was within a few centimeters away. He remained like this for several long moments, the seconds ticking by loudly in his mind. He growled lowly, narrowing his eyes into slits. Then he began to move back away slowly, lowering his haunches a little, part of him simultaneously raising up. With his eyes flickering, he suddenly took off.

The yellow and red zoner moved as quickly as he could, his feet pounding the ground heavily, his mouth open and panting. He felt his body’s speed increase incredibly, going from zero to what felt like sixty or more in a matter of seconds. Was it that fast? Probably not, but that did not matter. He just focused in rushing towards the bars. Everything around him, naturally, became a blur.

Then, once he got close enough, he concentrated and his body turned flat while in midair, a feet that took him a while to master. His now flat body moved through the bars and practically floated its way out. The hybrid zoner moved in a few circles due to the low gravity that he had, and after twisting around a bit, he shut his eyes and returned to normal, creating a popping sound that made Draow jolt and move back. Bardot stood there for a few moments, shaking his head, before turning to smirk at Draow.

“Did I surprise you..?” Bardot said with a purr. He strode towards Draow slowly, his tail raising up in confidence. “Now, about that lesson..”

Draow scrambled to get back, his talons scraping along the ground. He could feel himself nearly fall down as a result, the claws making their mark on the stone hard floor beneath him. Draow’s pupils shrank as he stared at Bardot, specifically his fangs. His eyes seemed to somehow get even wider and he shook his head rapidly. “N-No, it’s fine! I-I understand now! Please just don’t…” His voice trailed off. He raised his wing up and moved it over his head, as though hoping to block a blow from Bardot.

Bardot just smiled at this. “Now that’s a good doggy…” Bardot took a few steps closer, soon taking a stance a little ways from the beast. He smiled at him, his head turned to one side. “And don’t you worry, Draow. This will benefit you as well.”

Draow did not respond. He just stood there, his tail practically between his legs. He gave off what sounded like a whimper as Bardot placed his paw against him. Bardot relished in the sharp flinch that Draow had made. This assured him that the wolf bat wouldn’t easily pull a fast one on him. As he gently patted Draow, a single thought raced through his mind.

How much more would it take to get Snap to see things his way?

sss

The woman’s eyes remained wide in horror as she watched the two being dragged down the hallway. She could do little more than just stand there, feeling her heart pounding against her chest. She could feel her stomach churning, guilt washing over her. She should have been more careful. She should have been more cautious. She should have…

“That takes care of them.” Mr. Cosmo’s voice spoke up, cutting through the air.

Ms. Saffron looked over at the man. The same man that she had once admired. Even if she still struggled with those feelings, they were overridden, weighed down, by the anger that started to boil in her stomach. She could feel her body trembling and she licked her lips slowly, seething. She had so much that she wanted to say to the man, but for the time, she couldn’t get any words out.

Mr. Cosmo just stood there for several moments. His hands were still locked behind his back. And he still hadn’t looked over to see Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea taking Rudy and Mr. Wilter away. He was just staring into nothingness, as though his mind had drifted elsewhere.

Seeing Mr. Cosmo like this did unsettle Ms. Saffron. He was deep into thinking, she could tell. And she had to wonder just what he had planned on doing next. Was he going to order her to do something else? Just what was he going to do with Mr. Wilter? And what of Snap? What did this man do with him? Snap couldn’t have been….

Could he…?

“Ms. Saffron…” Mr. Cosmo stated as he slowly turned his head to look at the woman. Ms. Saffron felt herself jolt a little as she noticed how the man was looking at her. “Do you mind telling me just how you got those two in here in the first place…?”

Ms. Saffron took in a few deep breaths, her eyes narrowing slowly. “S-Sir, I told you… I-I didn’t… I wasn’t trying to…”

Mr. Cosmo gave her a small, one-sided smirk. “Oh I know.”

“And you...wait...what?” Ms. Saffron spluttered. She stared at the man with wide eyes as she comprehended what he just said. She remained silent for several long moments, licking her lips slowly then biting them. “Y-You know, sir..?”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes seemed to twinkle a brief black as he shifted his body around to face her. With his head holding so still, he almost looked like an owl observing prey. His smile remained firm but somehow seemed to grow insincere despite not having changed its shape. “Of course I did. I already knew that it wasn’t what you were planning to do. But I still wanted to thank you for the help. If it hadn’t been for you, I might never have gotten those two before they managed to escape.” He straightened himself a little. “I will make sure that they can’t escape this time.”

Ms. Saffron tried not to respond to that. It wasn’t like she had much innocence of her own. She did help kidnap Rudy, after all. So she couldn’t really say much to Mr. Cosmo about what he was doing. In a way, she was no better than him.

But that didn’t mean that she enjoyed it. She still felt guilt for getting involved at all. She had been so caught up in everything, in Mr. Cosmo’s praise and her admiration of him, that she had just… Or was it even admiration at all? The blonde woman could feel her head buzzing in confusion as she tried to comprehend what had been happening with her.

She didn’t get a long time to do this, however, before Mr. Cosmo started to make his way towards her. Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened as she saw his face had turned into a frown. It was clear that the man was not amused and he was looking right at her, piercing through her soul. Ms. Saffron felt herself backing up against a wall, staring down at the man in confusion.

“S-S-Sir..? What’s wrong..?” Ms. Saffron found herself asking. When the man didn’t answer, she said, “I-I was just…”

“Trying to help them escape.” Mr. Cosmo said, his voice cooled.

Ms. Saffron widened her eyes. “What? Wh-Why would you think that?”

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head down a little. He gave her an upward stare, one that made her blood turn into ice. “I saw you through the monitors. You had shirked your duty yet again. And I spoke to Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea and how you ran when they tried to confront you.” He moved a little closer. “That’s...very suspicious, dear Rebecca…”

Ms. Saffron shuddered at how the man used her first name like that. It wasn’t often that the man would call any of his employees by their first name. It was usually their last name he’d call them by. She realized that, him calling her by her first name, it meant that something was up. And it was probably going to be worse than what she had expected. Swallowing hard, she pushed herself even further back into the wall.

“You’ve been a naughty woman, Rebecca. I have to wonder what caused you to change. You used to be so good.” Mr. Cosmo reached up to cup Ms. Saffron’s chin. “Why the change of heart, dear? Did you already forget what I am to you?”

Ms. Saffron jerked her head away, freeing it from the man’s grasp. She glared back at him with one partially narrowed eye. She didn’t attempt to say anything, not wanting to provoke the man. But she also made sure that he was well aware that he couldn’t just touch her like that.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t seem too troubled by this. If anything, it was almost as though he was expecting this kind of behavior. He smiled gently at her, his demeanor becoming almost...peaceful. The only thing that gave away the fact that it was anything more were his eyes. They still had something sparkling in them, and she knew that this couldn’t have meant anything good. Something was going on inside of his head and she wasn’t about to let him get the better of her that easily.

Mr. Cosmo drew in even closer. Ms. Saffron could feel herself being pushed back into the wall behind her. She tried to wriggle herself free, but Mr. Cosmo gave her no room to move much. When she attempted to push back against him, he grabbed her arms and pushed her more firmly into the wall. He held her there for several long moments, smirking at her, doing a poor job with hiding his anger from her.

“Dear, why did you betray me?” Mr. Cosmo cooed. Ms. Saffron just looked at him with a mixture of anger and fear. “Are you really going to do to me what Horace did to me so many years ago?” He chuckled softly, bitterness on the edge of his voice. “I sure hope not. I want to believe that you would be smarter than that, Rebecca.”

Ms. Saffron hissed through gritted teeth. She turned her head to the side and put her hand against the man’s upper chest, pushing him back a little. “I didn’t know I was going to be involved with this! Y-You never told me that I was going to be…”

“Oh I see…” Mr. Cosmo spoke. It was a little hard to tell if he was being sincere or not. “It’s a shame. Horace had a hard time choosing as well.” Mr. Cosmo turned his head to one side. “I always thought of you as smarter than he… Someone who would see the benefit in what I’m doing…”

“Y-You tried to kill someone….!” Ms. Saffron shouted. When Mr. Cosmo cocked an eyebrow, she growled, “D-Don’t lie to me! I know what you did! H-How could you have….”

“You helped me.” Mr. Cosmo said flatly.

Ms. Saffron’s blood went cold at this. Memories flooded back to her. She could feel her body shaking. No.. she couldn’t have…. But the memories were so real. There was no way that they could have been faked. And that meant that she truly had…

Oh gawd no…

How was that even possible? What would have possessed her into doing something like that? Why would the other employees even be in on something so dreadful? They wouldn’t have helped kill another human just to please Mr. Cosmo….would they? Ms. Saffron was so distracted by her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed Mr. Cosmo leaning in towards her.

That is, until his lips pressed against hers. The woman’s body immediately jolted, something shooting through it in response to the unexpected kiss. Ms. Saffron struggled only for a moment before she could feel herself starting to relax. There was just something so soothing about this. She didn’t know what it was or why she was relaxing now after being angry and frightened before, but it…

...it was too strange. A part of her mind that was still aware of what happened clicked in. She could feel a burning feeling, the same one from before, starting to fight back against the soothing sensation that was trying to take over her body. This became increasingly difficult as the man pushed harder against her, using one hand to stroke along her face. Ms. Saffron couldn’t deny how good this was starting to make her feel, despite it all.

Then with another click of her mind, her eyes widened in horror and she realized just what was going on. Her mind flashed back to how the man’s eyes looked when he came over here. She recalled how they were glowing black. Her mind reeled when she remembered Mr. Cosmo talking about black chalk before and how it can help people ‘see’.

...that’s what’s been happening.

Mr. Cosmo had been manipulating her with the black chalk.. That’s how she had..

With a jolt exploding in her chest and stomach, Ms. Saffron rammed her knee into Mr. Cosmo’s stomach. The man’s eyes widened and he let out a scream of pain, dropping down onto his knees. Ms. Saffron didn’t waste any time. She just immediately bolted out of the room. She could hear Mr. Cosmo behind her breathily order someone to capture her.

sss

Pain swirled throughout his body. He could feel the blood still draining from the various cuts that he was now adorned with. He could feel the bruises still leaking on the inside, making him feel more sore, more painful. His breath was dragging along, and he had to use more and more force to keep going.

Yet that didn’t stop him from keeping on going. He had to keep going. He didn’t have any other choice. If he stopped now, if he tried to rest while that...that thing was coming after him…

Skrawl felt a sharp pain in his forehead, as though someone had taken a gun and shot him there. He put his hand over it, feeling more warm blood moving through his fingers. He pulled his hand back and stared down, feeling his body trembling. He fought against the tears that formed in his eyes, threatening to choke him. His mind filled with memories of the recent fight and he had to struggle to keep himself from getting overwhelmed by them.

He had no control over his body during that fight. Someone had...programmed him to attack. He couldn’t do anything to change what was going to happen. All he could do was just watch as his own body did the work for him. He recalled how he was tossed and turned all over the place, how that big wolf zoner attempted to bite him, how he had succeeded at least once, how his organs and bones were ruptured….

Skrawl gritted his teeth against one another. What probably hurt him the most was the fact that he had been helping Rudy. He had wanted to just let the big zoner decide his fate instead of getting involved. He had been curious as to what these people wanted with the boy. But instead, he was denied that by being forced to save him. He could feel a level of disgust boiling in his stomach and he could easily taste bile in his mouth.

The only good that came out of that incident was the fact that the giant wolf zoner managed to pull out his nail for him. It was excruciating, as though someone took a torch to his forehead that also electrocuted him. He was never going to forget that pain. But at least he didn’t have to worry about the nail anymore. He was free.

...or at least, as free as he could possibly get in this situation. He wasn’t even sure how much of a good thing that was. He didn’t know his present location and he didn’t know when that bat wolf thing was going to show up again to finish the job. He could practically hear his low growls emanating through the hallways, chilling his blood. Skrawl forced himself to keep moving.

Putting his hand against the wall, he continued to drag himself over, breathing in and out heavily, his mind swirling about. The loss of blood started to get to him. He could feel the back of his head growing increasingly fuzzy and his vision started to blur a little bit. He swayed from side to side, a bit of sweat pouring down his face. And the pain, oh gawd the pain… It just got worse with each step. His limbs grew shaky and he could feel himself slip, the pain controlling him in a way, preventing him from just bolting into a run.

Skrawl needed to rest. He couldn’t keep this up for much longer. He couldn’t just keep running like this; he was rapidly running out of energy. If Draow managed to catch up to him while he was like this…

His chest burned in fear, an emotion that he couldn’t deny any longer. He licked his lips slowly, nervously, knowing that he was in big trouble. He had been put into a situation that was more than he could handle. And he no longer could just act as if nothing was wrong. For the first time, he let himself start expressing that fear. His eyes widened, his breathing became shaky, and he had to fight back the tears.

How could this have happened to him? What did he do to deserve this? All he wanted to... 

The zoner seethed as pain shot through his body, as though to prevent himself from thinking too far into that. A part of him already knew the answer, even if he wanted to deny it. He could try to act all innocent, but in the end, this was nothing more than just karma striking back at him. Was he having a moment of weakness? Perhaps, but he couldn’t deny how he was feeling now. He just….

Suddenly he felt something give way on the wall that he was leaning towards. He was aware of being engulfed by darkness. And then just...nothingness.

sss

A part of her realized that this might not be the best decision she’s made. A part of her knew that she was probably making a huge mistake and that she should turn back. She could feel her body wailing at her, telling her to sit down because of all of the pain that she was feeling. The medicine did not diminish the pain that far and all this walking around was causing it to come back to her ten fold.

But despite that, she still kept going. She moved through the open plains of ChalkZone, breathing in the air heavily. She didn’t encounter any zoners; most of them were hiding out of fear of Draow. Had any more zoners been taken? It was a possibility. She silently hoped that this wasn’t the case. But even if it were, there would be little that she could do about it until she figured out a way to function with these injuries better.

She glared out ahead of her, keeping her focus on her destination. Even though she couldn’t see it, she knew that it was there and that it was going to be coming up soon. She just needed to be patient and keep persevering. All this pain and suffering was going to amount to something. Despite all of the slipping and sliding, it was going to be worth it.

Penny still feared that she might already be too late. She hadn’t seen her friends since she was dragged away. No, even before then. It’s been a couple days at least, or has time been too muddled for her? Either way, she hadn’t seen them in enough of a time span that she legimately worried for their safety. She wondered what could have happened to them and what Mr. Cosmo planned to do to them. Were they even still…

Penny wanted to shake the thought out of her head. She wanted to believe that Mr. Cosmo would not kill Rudy. Snap would be one thing as she could see the man as seeing zoners as lower creatures. But for him to kill a human….

But he tried to do that to her, didn’t he? She could feel her earlier fears coming back. The same ones that kept her up last night and made it hard for her to sleep. She had little reason to assume that Mr. Cosmo would not get rid of Rudy if he gave him enough reason to.

It was this that was driving her to keep moving forward. The fear for her friends. She had a feeling that her plan might not be that great. In fact, it would be very risky. But she needed to at least try it out. It might be worth something. She didn’t have many other options and she was growing desperate. She imagined that Snap and Rudy would think of her as insane for doing this. But they would understand given the circumstances, wouldn’t they?

Penny raised her head up a little and she could see her destination in front of her. Upon seeing the Chalk Mine, she increased her pace, trying to get over there as quickly as possible. She could feel her leg muscles burning as she increased her speed. This also caused her injuries to sting harder. Penny staggered a little, seething as she hovered her hand over her bandaged areas. Then she drew in a deep breath, exhaled, and continued on down.

As she approached the Chalk Mine, she could feel her head going through different thoughts of what she was going to ask Biclops. How would the conversation go? She had a feeling, a good strong feeling based on Rudy’s early interactions with the giant zoner, that Biclops was not going to like what she had to say. In fact, if she did not prepare properly, he might even shoo her away before she had a chance to finish.

But it was still worth a try. If it had the potential of bringing Rudy and Snap back, if it had a chance to help save the other zoners, then she should at least give it a go. It might seem a bit….unorthodox, but they were dealing with Mr. Cosmo here. Since when did he ever play fair?

Penny shuddered as she remembered the story of Mr. Cosmo that Biclops had told her and Rudy. She could still see those horrifying images of dead, bleeding zoners, as well as some children, that had been killed in the war. The one that Mr. Cosmo had instigated when he was a child. The one that had gotten creators banned from ChalkZone due to how horrifying that it was.

Just how the man had went from being a regular child to suddenly, in a day, lashing out at everyone in ChalkZone and trying to kill them all… She had no idea how that was possible, but at the same time, she didn’t care. At least, not right now. She was focused on something else at the moment. And that was speaking with Biclops on a potential way of getting help to Rudy and Snap. She knew that Biclops would be willing to try to find some way to help. It was just a matter of how that was going to be possible.

Penny could soon feel her feet touching the ground in front of the Chalk Mine, the structure looming over her. She stared at it for a few seconds and then looked around. She didn’t see the giant on the outside like she normally would have. Perhaps he was inside making something to eat? Or watching something, or even exercising? Biclops was not always on the outside.

But should she just go in? Biclops did have a rule where only Rudy was allowed in. While she had been in there a couple of times, it wasn’t really that often and she still felt nervous about breaking the rule. Biclops likely would understand the need for it, but she was still quite uncomfortable over the whole thing.

Thoughts raced through her mind. What if Biclops mistook her for an enemy? What if Biclops got pissed off at her and immediately pushed her away? What if he blamed Rudy? What if…

No, Biclops wouldn’t do that. He might be a bit upset, but surely he would understand the need if she were to just talk to him about it. There was no need to get all uppity about this. She just...needed to relax and tell Biclops exactly what she needed. He would understand.

Penny hesitated for a few more seconds before she got herself to go into the Chalk Mine. She entered very slowly, taking her time to look around and make sure the coast was clear. She still didn’t see the giant, but she could see the massive overhanging of white chalk above her. She stared up at it, still finding herself in awe and amazement of how beautiful that it looked. She had to tear herself away from the sight so that she could continue on down, venturing deeper into the mine to look for Biclops.

She could hear something coming from one of the tunnels. She turned her head, staring at the various tunnels that were available to her. Just which one was the sound coming from? And just what was it, anyway? It almost sounded like scraping, but also crunching too? And then a sizzle and pop…. So many various sounds playing at once and it was faint and it almost sounded as though it was coming from all directions. She could feel a headache forming as she tried to think of what she was going to do.

The sounds got louder and more clear as she headed towards one of the far tunnels on the right. So it must be coming from there, she deduced. Penny started to make her way over. She kept her arms and hands huddled to herself to keep from accidentally pushing anything that she didn’t need to, or wasn’t allowed to. She stared out ahead, straining to see any sign of the giant. He was down here. She just knew it. All she had to do was…

“Penny Sanchez? What are you doing here?”

The loud, booming voice caught Penny completely off guard. She could feel herself jumping into the air before grabbing onto her pounding heart. She felt her throat going dry immediately before turning her head to see Biclops standing there. In the complete opposite direction than the sound she had heard. Had her mind been playing tricks on her?

“B-Biclops! I-I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to… I was trying to.. and I..” Penny stammered. She felt like such an idiot. She had an idea of the conversation in her head that she worked on for the past several minutes and she botched it up in like two seconds. She then found it impossible to speak normally afterwards and just kept tripping over her own tongue. She only stopped when Biclops spoke up.

“It’s….quite all right.” Biclops sounded a little forced there, a little rigid. Penny pressed her lips together firmly to keep herself from talking. Biclops took a few seconds to shift his vertical eyes to scan the room, and there seemed to be a click as he realized that someone was missing. “Where is Rudy Tabootie?”

Penny flinched at this, gritting her teeth. She could feel a whole sea of emotion coming back to her, reminding her of what had taken place. She felt her heart skipping a few beats and she had to turn her head down in order to being processing anything.

Here it came. The hardest part of coming here. But Biclops did deserve to know, right? And if anyone could help her, it was him. He was the only zoner that she knew of who had faced Mr. Cosmo before. He knew what he was like, what tricks he had up his sleeve… It was true that he hadn’t faced him in a long time. But he would still have some important information to tell her. He was her best chance.

Furrowing her eyes, Penny gave Biclops a single statement that was all that he ever could need to hear to know what was going on.

“Mr. Cosmo has taken Rudy.”

sss

“Get in there and stay in there!”

“Yeah and don’t you dare think of trying to leave!”

Rudy let out a pained grunted as he was pushed into the ground. He could feel dust and dirt getting into his mouth. He hissed at this and quickly spat out whatever he could, getting that horrible taste out of his mouth. He wiped it and proceeded to look around at the room that he was now stuck in.

Beside him, Mr. Wilter laid there, groaning in pain. He had been pushed even harder. He wasn’t sure if it was a byproduct of them knowing what he did to Mr. Wilter or if it was incidental. But in the end, it still amounted to the old man just laying there, hissing and gritting his teeth, trying to recover from his rough treatment. Slowly, Mr. Wilter got up to his feet and started to look around slowly.

“Where are we..?” Rudy found that these words were the first to leave his mouth once it was opened. “This place is...well it’s a lot smaller than the massive room he took me in. But somehow this feels…”

“Busier?” Asked Mr. Wilter.

Rudy nodded his head.

Mr. Wilter let out a small huff as he looked around, studying the room carefully. “This room looks like it was made of slicker stuff than the rest of the place. There’s lines all around, which I guess are more than just for decoration. I’m not seeing any creases like I normally would with a normal building. It’s like this place was carved out of the ground almost and…” Mr. Wilter snapped his fingers. “Of course! We’re pretty lower into the ground, and chances are, we’re near an underground water source, which would explain why the floors feel slightly damp.”

Rudy looked at the ground and he noticed how the floor was a bit shiny. He lowered himself down to tuch it, carefully moving his finger along it. He lifted his hand up and stared at his finger, narrowing his eyes softly. Mr. Wilter was right.

But why would…

“And these walls…” Mr. Wilter cut him off from his thoughts as he went towards a wall and put his ear to it. “I’m hearing some electrical current going on in there. A slight buzzing sound…” Mr. Wilter’s voice trailed off as he tried to think of what to say next.

Rudy could feel his eyes narrowing slowly. He contemplated the old man’s words, but he still couldn’t make sense of it. Why would Mr. Cosmo design this area like this? It didn’t make much sense. Wasn’t he worried that he might electrocute someone by mistake? The man didn’t say anything about eliminating him or Mr. Wilter and he knew that the man, at least so far, still wanted to try to sway him to his side. So there had to be more going on here than what was being shown.

But just what that could be, he had no clue. Nothing was adding up. He felt as though a great mystery had been handed to him and he had no idea of how to solve it. He felt his teeth gritting in frustration. Just what did that man have planned for them…?

Unable to think of anything else, Rudy turned to Mr. Wilter and asked, “Do you think that this is a pretty dangerous for us to be?”

Mr. Wilter put his hand on the wall and tilted his head up. He looked from left to ride, then lowered his head. He remained like this for a little it, making Rudy wonder what was going on inside of his head. Then the man turned to look at Rudy and shake his head. “No, there is still enough insulation to keep most of the electricity out. This setup appears to be keeping just a mild current flowing. It shouldn’t bother us; it’s not powerful enough to cause any real problems.” He placed his hand to his forehead. “But it might screw with us a little. Maybe give us a headache or make us hear things.”

“Well that doesn’t seem flat out awf….” Rudy suddenly froze, his eyes widening in shock and horror.

“Rudy…?” Mr. Wilter asked, concern rising in his voice. “I-Is something wrong..? Rudy…? Hello?”

Rudy hardly paid attention to the large hand moving in front of his eyes. His mind had shot elsewhere and he could feel his throat going dry. Seeing Mr. Wilter with his hand to his forehead, it reminded him of a sight that he would have liked to forget.

Snap with the nail in his forehead.

He could still see horrible images of Snap thrashing on the ground, trying to fight off against the agony that he was forced to endure, the arches of electricity moving along his body. In a matter of seconds, the young teenager sifted through images of that and Mr. Wilter’s actions, the man’s words echoing in his head. Suddenly everything made sense. Everything had clicked into place in his head and he could feel his stomach churning and twisting in disgust.

Mr. Cosmo would be just the sort of disgusting madman to do something like that...wouldn’t he?

“Rudy?” Mr. Wilter tried one more time. And now finally, Rudy turned to stare over at the old man. “What’s…” But he never got a chance to finish.

Off to the side, they could hear the sound of something creaking loudly. There was a wobble and then a crack and something began to slowly rise up. The two humans froze as they saw the sparks on the side, a result of the friction between the two. Something was rising up from the ground. Something tall and cylinder shaped. The two glanced at one another before looking back, wetting their lips in nervousness.

Then the thing began to open up. They could hear the sound of whirring as the metal sides opened up and spread apart, a feat that neither human had expected as there had been no obvious creases or indentations to show that they could open up like that.

But that isn’t what Rudy had been paying attention to. His eyes were more focused on what the large cylinder had let him see. Something had been exposed to him as they had opened up, and he could feel his hand shooting to his mouth and he let out a gasp of horror.

“S-Snap…?”


	35. Blocked By Pain

Rudy stared out in horror at what he was seeing before him. He could feel his heart racing against his chest as he struggled to comprehend this. A part of him wondered if it was some kind of a horrible dream or what. This...couldn’t be happening, could it? He was just not seeing this. There was no way that..

But he knew that it was true. He could pinch himself multiple times, but it was still going to result in the same kind of response. He could not deny the situation that he was seeing playing out right in front of him.

There, laying on a large circle platform made of metal, was Snap. The zoner hadn’t taken notice of him yet. He was just curled up in a small ball, trembling slightly. But the sight of Snap being so scared was not what upset Rudy the most, although that in of itself hurt him. No, it was what was done to him that had him ready to scream in terror.

Snap had been shackled to the ground. At least one of his legs had an obvious cut around it. No, he corrected himself. It went right through him. He could see the blood even from over here. Rudy’s face began to lose some color as he realized that this had been done intentionally. Someone, most likely by order of Mr. Cosmo, had forced that cuff through Snap’s flesh to keep him from being able to go 2D to escape. The realization that Snap was being forced to endure this forced Rudy to keep his lunch in his stomach.

It got even worse when Snap sensed that someone was there, that he had been moved, and he tried to get up. When his leg started to tug upwards, the zoner immediately let out a scream of pain and collapsed back down. Snap released a series of small, heart-shattering whimpers as he laid there, shivering even harder. More blood seemed to pour from that cuff. Rudy feared of what would happen if Snap yanked too hard and tore it out.

At least Snap knew better than that. The zoner stopped trying to pull and he just sat there. After a few moments, the zoner tilted his head up and stared over at where Rudy was. The sight of how his eyes looked caused Rudy’s heart to sting. But what hurt just as much, if not more, was how Snap reacted to seeing him.

At first, Snap did look surprised, and a little happy. There was some sort of sparkle in his eyes, as though he could not believe that he was here. This lasted for a few seconds before the zoner’s eyes started to darken a little. They began to narrow and within a few seconds, any amount of happiness that the zoner had was gone. It was replaced with something more bitter. Something reminiscent of…

“Hey, that’s your friend, right?” Mr. Wilter said as he took a few steps forward. Rudy looked up at him and silently nodded his head. “He...doesn’t look very happy, does he?”

Rudy looked back at Snap. The zoner was still glaring at him. It wasn’t an intense, hateful glare. But Rudy could still see the look of disappointment on his face. His mind went back to that nightmare and he was reminded of how he was forced to leave Snap behind. Taking full notice of Snap’s expression made Rudy wonder if Snap was… That had to be it, didn’t it? There was no other explanation for how he was looking at him.

And that brought about more feelings of guilt. Rudy had hoped that Snap would have understood. But if his guess was right, it would seem that Snap was more bitter abut this than he had first realized. Rudy drew in a shaky breath as he took a small step back. Snap never tore his eyes away from him.

“What did you do to him that he’s so upset with you?” Mr. Wilter asked. He had been observant enough to realize that something was going on between the two of them. He looked down at Rudy with concern, reaching his hand out to touch his shoulder. “Did you get into a fight or…”

Rudy jerked himself away from Mr. Wilter and glared at the man.

Mr. Wilter asked, “Rudy? What’s wrong?”

Rudy bared his teeth, unable to believe that Mr. Wilter had actually forgotten already. He could feel himself burning up inside, and he was honestly surprised that his blood hadn’t boiled out of his body yet. He could feel his teeth grinding against each other as he took a step forward and pointed at the man, trembling almost violently. “Y-You’re the reason that he’s angry at me!”

Mr. Wilter took a step back, raising up his hands as he looked at the teen in confusion and some faintest hint of fear. “What are you talking about? What could I have done to….” The man’s voice trailed off as his eyes widened in horror. “.....oh….” That was all that he could manage to say before going silent.

“Oh so now you remember.” Rudy hissed bitterly.

Mr. Wilter bit his lip nervously. “Rudy, I’m sorry, but… you know we didn’t have a choice. If we had stayed any longer…”

“We still could have tried to save him! We could have grabbed onto him and ran!” Rudy called out to his teacher. He had forgotten that Snap could easily hear what he was saying. His focus was only on Mr. Wilter, his rage at the man’s earlier actions overwriting whatever else he was feeling. He would feel guilty about this later, he knew. But right now, he just wanted to let Mr. Wilter have it for what he had done. “Don’t try to tell me that we didn’t have time! If you had time to run over and grab me, then we had time to grab my friend!”

“Rudy, it wouldn’t have worked. I barely had time to get you out.” Mr. Wilter tried to explain, spreading his hands out as he tried to talk to Rudy. “Please just listen to me…”

Rudy snarled at this before folding his arms to his chest and turning his back to the man. “Give me one good reason why I should listen to you.”

There was a bit of silence, and Rudy had hoped that this meant that the man was done talking to him. A part of him was aware of how immature he was being, but at the moment, he just didn’t care. All that he knew and cared about right now was the fact that Snap was angry at him and that it must directly correlate with Mr. Wilter dragging him away and leaving Snap behind. Rudy wasn’t upset with Snap for being angry at him. It was Mr. Wilter’s fault that this happened. If he hadn’t…

Suddenly he could hear a loud gasp from beside him and he was aware of a few small footsteps. And then he could hear Mr. Wilter speak in a soft, faint voice.

“I think one good reason to listen to me would be if you were interested in getting out of this without any of us getting hurt…”

The softness and urgency of that statement, an odd combination, made Rudy’s chest burn a little in curiosity. He slowly turned himself around to see what the old man was talking about.

And he stopped dead in his tracks.

Snap was rising up from the ground. And when Rudy looked down at where his feet where, he could see that the shackle was disconnected. Rudy had been so focused on Mr. Wilter that he hadn’t realized that Snap had yelped in pain. He could feel his head hurting with guilt at this realization, wanting to kick himself for doing something so stupid. But at the moment, there was nothing that he could do about that. He could only just stare as Snap looked ath im with eyes filled with horror.

That’s when it hit Rudy with full force. He recalled his thoughts earlier before they realized Snap was in here. The water on the ground, the electricity buzzing everywhere, Mr. Wilter’s words about too much electricity interfering with the mind...

Snap was not under his own volition anymore. Control had been taken away from him, and now...

Rudy felt his blood turning into ice as Snap started to make his way towards them. He was being forced to walk on his feet, the ones that were still burned and bandaged. Each step looked like it was taking away a lot of willpower from Snap and Rudy put his hand to his mouth as he tried to stifle a gasp of horror.

Snap started to stagger towards the wall. Rudy figured that this was not intentional, but that did not diminish the horror that he was feeling right now. Snap could barely keep himself standing nor could he get himself to go in a single direction. He continued getting closer and closer to the wall before suddenly letting out a scream and scrambling to go in the opposite direction.

It had been easy for Rudy to figure out what had gone on with Snap there. He had hoped that he had been wrong and that he was just seeing it incorrectly. But there was no denying what had happened to his best friend right before his eyes. Rudy could feel a few tears strolling down his face as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened.

“Th-The walls.... They’re keeping him in....” Mr. Wilter whispered softly, echoing what Rudy had already known. He stared out ahead towards Snap, watching the zoner intently as Rudy was. An expressio of sympathy dawned upon his face. “So that’s how the zoners here are being kept in line.... It’s the walls...”

Rudy shuddered at this realization. In that very moment, he couldn’t remember if Mr. Cosmo ever hinted at something like this or not, but regardless, he now knew about it. And what he knew disgusted him.

“I never thought that he would....” Mr. Wilter stopped. “Who am I kidding? Of course he would do something like this. It fits him perfectly.” The old man grumbled. “He’s been obsessed with controlling zoners for years. Of course he would find a way to get fucking progressive about it and create something that lets him do it wirelessly.”

Rudy was still feeling peeved with the old man, but seeing Snap coming towards them, he knew that something had to be done. Turning his head to Mr. Wilter, he called out, “Do you have any idea on what we should do?”

Mr. Wilter stammered and stuttered. “W-Well.. we don’t have many options availabe t-to us, I’m a-afraid.”

Rudy could barely respond or have time to react when he could feel Snap finally colliding with him. He could feel the air being pushed out of his lungs as his best friend rammed up into him, striking him in the stomach. Rudy staggered back, struggling to keep his feet from slipping out from underneath him. He failed and soon his back met with the hard, slightly moist ground beneath him.

“Rudy!” Mr. Wilter cried out as he reached his hand towards the boy. “Are you okay?!”

Rudy couldn’t think of answering the man. He was too busy trying to push himself back to his feet. But his progress was hindered when Snap pushed against him, keeping him back down. Rudy soon found himself with Snap on his chest and stomach, his gloved hands gripping his arms and pinning them down. Rudy stared into Snap’s large white eyes as he struggled on the ground. He was unable to break free.

Snap was staring at him with an obvious glare. But it was not a genuine glare. Rudy had come to know his friend’s expressions and he knew that this one was forced. Snap didn’t really want to do this, but something was making him do it. Rudy knew that if they could just find a way to block the signal going into his head, they might be able to free him.

But how were they going to do that? He couldn’t think of what way that this could be accomplished. Tearing out the nail was the ideal solution, but he would wind up hurting Snap even more if he did that. Plus, he had no idea if it was going to be fatal or not. It was best to just play it safe and find another way to stop the signal without resorting to that. But figuring something out while being forced to fight his friend was not going to be easy.

Rudy let out a scream when he could see a fist coming towards his head. He jerked his head to one side, just barely missing getting hit. He could hear the ground cracking near him. It was slight and more like the tiniest, faintest hint of a dent. But considering how hard this floor was, Snap had to have been hitting with a lot of force. No surprise given that he was stronger than he appeared.

Noticing that Snap was forced to punch with his damaged hand made Rudy flinch. It made him think back to when he put his own hand underneath the door. He looked down at his own injured hand for a moment and then looked over at Snap. The zoner was getting ready to strike again, with the same fist as well. Rudy caught a glimpse of the zoner’s fearful tears before he struck down again. Though Rudy did manage to dodge this one as well, he had to wonder how many times he could keep this up before he tired out.

“We have to get him off of you! That thing controlling him, it won’t tire out! It’ll just keep going!” Mr. Wilter’s voice was filled with terror.

And it chilled Rudy’s blood, especially with what he had said. He didn’t know why he didn’t realize it before, but it made absolute perfect sense. If Snap were controlled, and he was, then this controller would not just wear out that easily. It would keep going, even when Snap’s energy was drained. Potentially, Snap could be made to fight even with a broken leg. He was already being forced to walk on his burnt feet, so it made sense.

Rudy struggled to think of what he could do to free his friend. There just had to be something that…

He was cut off from his thoughts when he could feel one of Snap’s punches connecting with him. Rudy felt himself howling in pain as agony spread throughout the side of his face. Rudy looked back up at Snap with one eye. Yet another punch was coming for him. Thinking fast, Rudy lifted up his leg and kicked it against Snap’s body. This was enough to make Snap fall backwards, giving Rudy just enough time to get back up to his feet.

Rudy wobbled a little but managed to stay up on his feet. He looked over at Snap, his back hunched a little in a defensive posture. His eyes widened in fear and concern as he stared at Snap getting back up. Snap was in clear pain and doing this was taking a lot out of him. But Rudy knew that Mr. Cosmo did not care. This was just a sick, twisted game to him.

Realizing that he had no choice, Rudy forced himself to run towards Snap. Maybe if he knocked him out, he might be able to prevent the thing from using him. Maybe, just maybe, it only worked while he was awake. Rudy had no idea if it would or not. But it was the only thing that he could think of right now. And so, staring over regretfully at his friend, Rudy tensed himself up before rushing right at him.

Rudy could see that Snap was already gearing up for another attack. It also looked as though he were trying to speak to him, but no words would come out. It was as though something was preventing him from speaking. Rudy felt his heart sting at this for a moment before he brought his own fist down towards Snap. He struck against his chest to push him back a little. Then, after dodging the zoner’s other attack just barely, he struck against his stomach. This caused Snap to fall into the ground.

The fifteen year old teenager immediately launched himself at Snap when this happened. He used his body to try to hold him down, his elbows bent as his hands gripped the zoner’s arms. Snap made a few primal yells as he struggled to get free. Or rather, the device in his head was trying to make him get free.

Rudy continued to hold on despite how much Snap was really starting to struggle. He could feel the zoner thrashing from side to side, trying to rip himself away from him. Rudy could only just hold onto him as hard as he could while he tried to think of what the best way to go about this was. He gritted his teeth tightly as he realized there was only one way to knock out Snap. He was going to hate himself for this later, but it was for Snap’s own good. Better he get knocked out this way than be a slave to Mr. Cosmo.

Tightening up his fist as hard as he could, Rudy lifted it up and placed it above Snap’s head. His other hand held onto his neck now to hold him still, his knee helping out as well by pressing into the zoner’s stomach and chest. Before Snap had a chance to strike out at him, Rudy did the only thing that he knew he could do.

He struck Snap right on the mind control nail.

The result was instantaneous.

“Aaaaaaahhhh!”

Rudy could feel his heart skipping several beats as he listened to his friend screaming out like that. The sound echoed across the area that he stood in, piercing through his heart and practically making it shatter. Rudy could do nothing but stare as his friend staggered backward, his eyes going wide. And then, with the zoner giving him one last look, Snap just collapsed into the ground.

Rudy stood there in silence for a few long moments, comprehending what he had just done. He recalled the bloodcurdling scream that still echoed in his head. He recalled the look of pain in Snap’s eyes when he struck him there. He could see how the zoner’s body still twitched, clearly reacting to the shockwave of pain that he was forced to experience. Slowly, Rudy looked at his fist and realized, completely and utterly, that he had caused this to happen. Guilt rose up inside of his chest and he was unable to stop himself from reacting to his deed.

“S-Snap…! I-I-I’m so sorry!” Rudy rushed towards his friend’s side, bending onto his knees beside him. He looked down at Snap, looking for any signs of life. “Snap… Please…. I…”

But Snap wasn’t responding. Even when Rudy tried to shake him a little, the zoner didn’t reply to him. Snap was just laying there on the ground, unmoving. His eyes were open but they were unseeing. His mouth was open but no words were coming out, and Rudy could only just barely detect any sort of breathing from his friend. It didn’t take the boy long to realize that he had succeeded in knocking his friend out. Though he had managed to get Snap in a state where he, hopefully, couldn’t hurt anyone, Rudy still felt enormous guilt for what action he had to take.

“Rudy… What have you done..?”

Rudy flinched as he heard his old teacher asking him that question. He looked over his shoulder, staring back at Mr. WIlter. He couldn’t bring himself to answer the old man. How could he? He knew that Mr. Wilter was right to be upset with him. Rudy already felt his own guilt weighing down upon him, nearly causing his back to break from the pressure.

Silence fell upon the room as Rudy did the only thing that he could think of doing. He scooped Snap up into his arms gently and held onto him. He supported him, one hand behind his head and the other wrapping around his body. He remained like this for a few moments before he shut his eyes and he started to cry.

sss

Mr. Cosmo furrowed his eyes at what he was seeing. He had hoped that the monitor was just being glitchy, but he knew that this was not the case. He could only just accept what had happened, no matter how frustrated that it made him feel.

It would seem that Rudy managed to stop Snap without resorting to surrendering to him. The boy had knocked him out, punching him right on the nail. Despite not caring about Snap, the red-haired man still found himself flinching at the sight. He instinctively covered his own head, a part of him wondering just what that must have felt like to the zoner, and how Rudy had felt doing it.

Well considering that Rudy was now holding Snap in his arms and crying, not responding to Mr. Wilter’s attempt to speak with him, it was a safe bet that Rudy was devastated by this. Mr. Cosmo no longer felt something like this for zoners, but he did clearly remember when he had, so many years ago. He felt a level of disgust with himself, but he couldn’t deny his past emotions. Even now, a small part of his stomach stung in familiarity as he recalled his original relationship with zoners and…

Mr. Cosmo shook the thoughts out of his head the best that he could. He couldn’t let himself get caught up in that again. It had hurt him knowing, finding out what zoners were actually like. He did not regret changing his stance against them. He would rather die than go back to that again.

Shifting his mind back to the current situation, Mr. Cosmo recalled Snap’s words. They echoed in his head, providing a reminder of what was going on. Didn’t Snap say that Rudy would never join him, no matter what he tried? This served as proof of that. Even seeing how badly hurt Snap was, with his burned feet, the cuff in his leg, the damaged hand, Rudy still fought back against his friend and stopped him in a rather harsh way instead of giving in and begging Mr. Cosmo to give him another chance like he had been hoping.

The red-haired man furrowed his eyes deeply. Rudy was indeed more resilient than he thought. Rudy clearly cared for Snap, but he would rather knock Snap out than relent to the green-suited man’s demands. Rudy didn’t want his eyes to be opened to the truth because he wanted to cling to false hopes and a false relationship. Rudy was aware of the changes that would happen once he used the black chalk directly.

But of course, there were other ways of handling the situation.

The black chalk did help him convince his employees to aid him in his quest. It hadn’t just been Bardot who made that possible. The black chalk didn’t need someone to hold onto it in order to help them see the truth. He had seen this for himself in action. It was not as strong or as convincing as physically touching was. But if it was enough to help sway his employees to his side, then surely it would be enough to get Rudy to at least try using the black chalk.

But it was possible to resist it. Ms. Saffron had done so earlier. Normally she would have given in, the small amount of black chalk enough to get her to obey him. But she had managed to break free and run off. He had no idea if she had been caught yet or not, but he was confident that she would not be able to get away. In the end, though, this still served as a reminder to him that this method simply wasn’t good enough. At least, not as a viable, long term solution.

His employees would be taken care of later. They would be easy to convince. But as for Rudy? The teenager was still under the zoners’ control. He was still convinced that they were somehow the good guys. The blasted white chalk was clouding his vision, his mind, and making him believe in such fairy tales. He would have to do something about that soon. The white chalk was conniving and difficult to break. But...it was not impossible. He just had to think of a way to get Rudy to become subdued long enough to touch the black chalk. And then, the boy would finally be free.

He looked back over at the monitor, curling his lip up in disgust as he saw that Rudy was still going at it. He was still treating the zoner like a friend. Mr. Cosmo did feel some temptation in trying a feature of the mind control device and make Snap fight even while unconscious. But he decided against it. It might prove fatal and Snap needn’t die just yet. He still needed the zoner alive. At least, until he can figure out a way to get Rudy to give into him.

The red-haired man could feel himself growling in frustration. The others hadn’t been so difficult to convince. They leaned into him just from seeing how dangerous zoners could be. Bardot was all that was required to convince them. But they hadn’t encountered zoners before and never had a preconceived notion about them. Things were different with fellow creators. It had been a long time since Mr. Cosmo needed to shift the mind of a fellow chalk user. And if his old friend Horace was anything to go by, he knew that it would be difficult.

But it had to be done. He needed to figure out a way to do it. He must….or else everything was going to fall apart.

sss

So here he was, back down in this place, surrounded by glass tubes holding zoners. All sorts of zoners, many of which he recognized. They all looked as though they were sleeping, possibly lulled by whatever their chambers were filled with. Exactly why the other zoners were being held like this, he didn’t know. And a part of him honestly didn’t care.

Skrawl lumbered forward, trying his best to ignore his throbbing pain. He kept putting his hand towards his head only to yank it back. It was the same thing that he had tried to do before and he still kept it regardless of how he was feeling. He couldn’t help it. This darn thing was going to get in the way of things.

But even through his pain, he was able to see everything around him plain as day. He could still tell what was going on and what it all meant. He could tell that these zoners were being used just like he was. A part of him smirked at the thought.

While it wasn’t really related to what happened to him, Skrawl still felt as though this was all perfect karma for what these zoners did to him before. They had made him feel worthless. They had pushed him away. They had driven him to do this. It was only fair that they got locked up like he had been and controlled like the puppets that they were. It was a...what did they call it… an eye for an eye.

Skrawl continued to limp through, looking left and right. It was getting a little difficult to keep moving and he could feel himself staggering about. He struggled and he forced himself to keep walking, despite the pain clamoring around him and trying to drag him back down. He could feel his lips stretching out, exposing his teeth more and more in satisfaction. Catharsis was a delight to feel, and it was no different in this situation.

But there was still some part of him that wondered if it was really fair for the zoners to experience this. He himself knew what it felt like to have a nail in your head. His throbbing skull was a testament to that. Was it truly fair to let this continue?

...of course it was.

As far as he was concerned, he had been the real victim here. All he wanted in the past was to fit in. The zoners had denied him that. He then felt that maybe things would have been better if he had taken over ChalkZone to rule it. That way, he could have made sure that zoners like him were treated fairly. But no, the stupid zoners just had to sic Rudy on him each and every time. They never gave him a chance, even when he wanted to make things better.

So why the fuck should he care what was happening to them? They deserved this kind of fate. They deserved to be locked up in these tubes while he roamed around free. Rudy deserved to be held hostage by another creator. What perfect irony…

And then after all was said and done, Skrawl could go back into ChalkZone and he would be able to take it over unhindered. He would finally be able to bring about the world that he truly wanted. Then he could finally make a difference. One that would benefit him specifically. It was just a matter of taking care of some things.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of someone approaching. He turned his head around and he gritted his teeth, feeling his blood take on a strange sensation when he saw shadows moving along the wall. Gritting his large yellow-stained teeth, the jellybean zoner looked around for a place to hide. He was quickly able to notice that his tube was still empty. Thinking fast, Skrawl limped his way into it, but he kept the glass wall all the way down. Perhaps they won’t notice that it’s down still. The other glass looked very clear. So maybe….

Skrawl stopped his train of thinking when he finally took notice of whoever was walking in. Two of them. Skrawl recognized the large light brown wolf as the one who took him here in the first place. But that yellow and red zoner...just who was he…? Skrawl remained silent and as still as possible as he listened intently to the two zoners.

sss

Draow’s ears flattened slowly, a low growl emanating from his mouth. His eyes did not leave the smaller zoner, giving a look that Bardot thought was amusing. “Are you sure that this is a good idea? I’m not…”

“I know it’s a bit of a different idea and I can get why you’re being so skeptical. But at least consider the possibilities.” Bardot replied. He made his way further down the hallway, lined with the tubes filled with various zoners. Bardot looked left and right, grinning at the sight of the unconscious zoners. “Think about the possibilities…”

Draow let out a low hiss. “I’m still not sure.”

Bardot turned his head to stare over at Draow. “You still feel something for Teddisson Cosmo, don’t you?”

Draow opened his mouth to speak, but he soon shut it. Bardot let out a small series of chuckles at this. Just the sort of reaction he would have expected. He shut his eyes and turned his head away.

“Oh that’s quite all right. He is your creator. I wouldn’t really have thought anything less of you.” Bardot reopend his eyes and gave the wolf bat zoner a backwards glance. “But please rest assured that if you do what I say, things will be so much better.”

Bardot noticed a change in Draow’s expression, his teeth partially exposed and his tongue moving along his lips. Draow was contemplating what he was saying, but not fully buying it. Bardot was not surprised by this. With what he had planned, it would require Draow being able to act against his creator. And despite Draow’s growing disappointment in Mr. Cosmo as of late, that didn’t mean that he could just turn on him that easily. No, that would take time.

Bardot felt his mind falling into thinking of the past. He tried to fight against this, but he couldn’t help but remember how he was created and what Mr. Cosmo wanted to use him for. The human really didn’t think of the consequences and foolishly thought that he would be obedient. Bardot felt indignant that the human wanted to use him. Especially for something as risky as that… So he decided to use him back.

But his motivations went outside of Mr. Cosmo. He had other ideas in plan. Despite what it might seem, he was not consumed by an overwhelming need to get revenge against Mr. Cosmo. That was just the icing on the cake. No, he had bigger fish to fry. He had his own plans. And Mr. Cosmo has been trying to stop him this entire time.

“So…” Draow spoke up. Bardot looked behind him, seeing the winged wolf hunched a little, his wings out and slightly curved inward, his tail touching the ground. He looked like he was caught between standing and sitting. “...you want to use these zoners?”

Bardot nodded his head once. “That is correct. Mr. Cosmo is afraid of zoners, right?” He tilted his head up to one side, a smile spreading along his face. “You and I both know that is true.”

Draow’s ears dropped down a little. A soft whine escaped his mouth. He looked like he was going to hesitate to respond, but a low growl from Bardot made him reply. “Y-Yes.. He is… Even with me…”

“Oh isn’t that interesting? I’m not really surprised.” Bardot chuckling softly. “Don’t you think that this would be fun to exploit? Why should you obey him if he is afraid of you? Haven’t you ever thought about that?”

“....hrm… No, I never did consider it.” Draow admitted. He frowned a little, shifting his head to one side. It was clear that he was thinking about what the yellow and red zoner stated. “That is...quite interesting…”

“Indeed. Isn’t it worth thinking about?” Bardot took a step towards Draow. He didn’t really think that he could turn him now. But he could plant more seeds of doubt in the massive zoner. “Haven’t you ever thought about being the one in charge, Draow…?”

Draow flicked his ears a little bit as he listened to this. His eyes seemed to glint a little, as though he was really starting to consider this. Something about what Bardot just said peaked his interest. He straightened himself up and it looked like he was going to respond with a ‘yes’...

...only to lower his head once more and look away. There was no response. There didn’t need to be in order for the golden zoner to realize what was going on. Despite the tempting offer, Draow was still hesitant. He was still not really sure what to make of this. He was still caught in his conflicting emotions. It would still take longer before he could successfully get Draow to see things his way.

Oh well. He had time.

Bardot turned his head to look at the zoners still in the tubes. He couldn’t help but smile twistedly, knowing how much control he really had over them, over the situation. It was going to be so easy to…

Suddenly, something caught his attention. A small whiff in the air. He flared his nostrils as he tilted his head up. He sniffed a few times and then straightened his head out, releasing a low growl. Something didn’t feel right here. Something was slightly off. He narrowed his eyes a little as he looked left and right carefully. He realized that something had been changed. Exactly what, he didn’t know. But he wasn’t about to let this mystery linger on for much longer. Slowly, his body becoming a little hunkered down almost like a curious cat, he walked forward.

“What are you doing?” Asked Draow.

Bardot hissed in a low voice, “Someone is here.”

Draow cocked his head to one side. “But...there’s a lot of zoners here.”

“No! I mean…” Bardot bared his teeth slightly. “....one of these zoners is still awake.”

Draow widened his teal-colored eyes at this. “What? They are? I didn’t…” Draow stopped himself before turning his head and sniffing at the air himself. Once more his eyes widened, but this time in realization. “You weren’t joking.” He lowered his head and looked around, his ears lowering. “It seems we have a spy in here…”

Bardot nodded his head. “Help me flush the little creep out.”

And with that said, Bardot and Draow moved along the pathway, sniffing at each tube carefully, as well as trying to take note of any sign of fleeing. They were going to find out who who had dared enter this place without their permission, and they were going to make sure that they paid for doing so.

sss

Skrawl could feel his blood starting to chill. He struggled to keep himself as still as possible. But he had a feeling that it wouldn’t work. He could already feel himself sweating and there was no stopping it. He never felt this damp before outside of falling into water.

He had been spotted...well almost. These two zoners know that someone here was spying on them. They knew that at least one zoner was awake and it would not be hard to figure out who it was. They could smell it in the air. They were going to smell it on him. Skrawl could try to hold still all that he wanted to, but it wasn’t going to be affective enough.

He wouldn’t even be able to hold still no matter what he tried. Just a simple nudge at this point would be enough to have him react and show that he was in fact awake. And that is presuming that it’s all they were going to try. He had a feeling that these two zoners were going to try other methods of getting the reactions that they wanted. From kicking to biting to throwing to making loud sounds… There was just so much that could be done that would give him away. He was not going to be able to hide forever.

There was really only one choice that he had.

And that was to run.

But would that be a good idea? The two zoners were right there. They weren’t that far. They both had large ears and would most definitely hear him if he tried to flee. Attempting to move from this spot, even if they somehow didn’t see the movement out of the corner of their eyes, they would still notice the sounds. Skrawl bit his lip firmly as he tried to weigh his options.

Holding still was not going to help him, either. It really did become a situation where he either could get caught now or later. And with the running option, at least he had a chance to escape. He might be able to outrun these two and get to safety. He might have a chance. He might…

...just get himself caught anyway. How could he get away with his injuries? He wouldn’t be able to get far. He would be limping the entire time. It would be just suicide for him to try to run off like this. If he ran out there right now, he would be stupider than the time when Rudy drew a destructive robot on the chalkboard and released it before he gave it a purpose. Skrawl recalled overhearing that about three years ago, and he was still in shock about it.

He shook the thought out of his head and looked down the hallway. He frowned as he took notice that the two zoners were looking away. Their attention were fully focused in sniffing and examining each zoner carefully. Skrawl had to admit that the sight of it creeped him out, but he still managed to tear his eyes away. If he was going to take the chance to flee, this was his only time to do so. His eyes narrowed slowly. It was now or never.

Taking one more look, the jellybean zoner slowly stepped out of the tube. He backed away a little bit, making sure that the zoners would not see him. Then, while holding his breath, he turned around and he started to rush down the hallway, moving as carefully and fast as was possible.

sss

Mr. Cosmo made his way down the hallway slowly, his eyes narrowed and staring intently at his destination before him. A part of him hoped that something would change when he walked in. But he knew that this would be a fruitless effort. Of course nothing would change. Such stubbornness wasn’t so easily countered, something that he learned years ago.

Mr. Cosmo still prepared himself for at least some good news. Perhaps he would be on the verge of seeing a breakthrough. Maybe he would finally not have to worry about that stupid little zoner anymore. And just maybe it was possible that his greatest threat would be removed.

Such childish thinking… He cursed himself for believing in that. He knew just how complex things really were and how much harder it would be to get what he wanted. He couldn’t just wave a magic wand to have everything spoon fed to him. He would need to earn it. And knowing what he did about Rudy and Mr. Wilter, he just might have his work cut out for himself. Things were going to get...a little interesting, he was sure.

Once he reached the door, he grabbed it open and went inside. His moves suggested such great confidence, but really, he was keeping an eye on things. He did have security set up to make sure that they couldn’t get away. It was off for a little while earlier, but it thankfully turned on. He suspected that Ms. Saffron was responsible. He would have to make sure that she is properly dealt with. But in the meantime, he had bigger fish to fry.

He was not at all surprised to see Mr. Wilter glaring hatefully at him. His old, former friend had lost his vision long ago, tainted by the white chalk. Mr. Wilter wrongfully saw him as the bad guy and fought against him. It was his interference that lead to his defeat. It was a moment that Mr. Cosmo could never forget, nor would he ever forgive. Mr. Wilter had gone too far back then and even if he were to join him, he would make sure that he wouldn’t become a threat ever again.

Although most of the other creators were entrapped in ChalkZone until they, too, became zoners, an untold feature that helped further cement his distrust and hatred and fear of zoners, Mr. Cosmo had been able to get away. Him and a few others, if he remembered right. Mr. Wilter had been one of them. That’s right, the zoners were going to punish both sides, despite seemingly ‘loving’ those with white chalk. Zoners were just a bunch of lying hypocrites who just side with whoever would benefit them the most and then discard them.

The green-suited man had to be careful over the years. Putting his plan of revenge in motion and reclaiming ChalkZone, taming it so that humans would be safe, it was a many years long project and he only just now was able to move things forward. He had assembled a group of allies, had an understanding of zoner strengths and weaknesses, and found ways to control zoners, most notably the mind control nail that was placed in every zoner aside from Draow and Bardot, for different reasons. They had made great progress and he was not about to back out now.

“You…” Mr. Wilter growled, his voice cutting into the red-haired man’s thoughts. The older male human took a defensive stance in front of Rudy, as though hoping to keep him away.

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes a little further. “Oh hello there, Horace. Did you enjoy the show?”

“What the fuck kind of…” Mr. Wilter started to say.

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up. “Now now… No need to get all huffy. I just came to see how you two were doing.” He tilted his head to one side. “Looks like you’ve really enjoyedy yourselves.”

Mr. Wilter took a few steps forward. He looked ready to attack, his fists squeezing tightly against their palms. “Why you… I should…!”

“I would suggest that you hold back, old friend. Wouldn’t want anything unfortunate happening, now would you?” Mr. Cosmo chuckled as Mr. Wilter grumbled softly. “I know you are upset, but even you must see the necessity in this.”

“In what?! Making him fight his friend?!” Wailed Mr. Wilter, his voice tinged with horror and rage. “Of all the disgusting things I’ve seen you do, I never thought that you’d stoop to this level!”

Mr. Cosmo cocked an eyebrow. “Me? Disgusting? How about you? Toting around the white chalk like it’s some kind of deity, and then him…”

Mr. Cosmo took a moment to look at Rudy. The teenager hadn’t really noticed him yet. He was too busy holding onto Snap, cradling him against himself. The boy was crying like he had lost someone near and dear ot him. But when in reality, he was holding just a piece of chalk and nothing else. Sure the chalk could talk, but that didn’t make the chalk a good person. In that sense, Rudy was far more treacherous than Mr. Wilter thought he was.

“...he is placing value in something that would rather see him die.” Mr. Cosmo growled softly. This did get him a tearful glare from Rudy but not much else. Mr. Cosmo released a small chuckle at this, laced in bitterness. Then he shifted his gaze to Mr. Wilter, lowering his head slightly while his eyes still looked upward and stared sharpened knives directly at the man. “Even you should realize how wrong this picture is.”

“Regardless of any thoughts or opinions that I might have…” Mr. Wilter began. “...it’s still unfair to…”

“But you know what I’m talking about, don’t you? You know how the zoners reacted to you. You know what they tried to do to you.” Mr. Cosmo took a few steps forward, staring intently at the older human. “You can’t tell me that you did not feel betrayed by them.”

“I-I…” Mr. Wilter’s voice trailed off and he just looked off at him wide-eyed.

Rudy looked up at Mr. Wilter, his facial expression missed. Mostly confusion, but other emotions lingered as well. It was obvious to Mr. Cosmo that Rudy was facing a confliction of his own. This could prove to be useful….if used in the right way. “Mr. Wilter? What are you…” He stopped and then his eyes went wide. What was that? Familiarity? Had Mr. Wilter already hinted at something like this? How interesting… “You mean that…”

Mr. Wilter looked over at Rudy and flinched. Something seemed to have crawled into his head. And now he could not escape it. “Rudy… It’s… it’s not that I hate zoners, don’t get me wrong..” He raised his hands up slowly, as though to try to show the boy that he wasn’t attempting an attack. “But they did still…. After I had helped them...they still…” His voice trailed off.

Rudy frowned at this for a second before softening up his expression. “....yeah, but you do understand why they did it, right?”

Mr. Wilter was silent for a few moments. He stared at Rudy intently as he contemplated an answer. Then the faintest hint of a smile spread along his face. “Yeah, I do.”

Mr. Cosmo frowned at this. Seemed that this idea fell flat on its head. He was going to need to try something else.

But before he could even get anything out edgewise, before he had a chance to speak, there was the sound of a footstep, claws tapping against the ground, and then a low growling grunt. Mr. Cosmo stiffened up. Both Mr. Wilter and Rudy, who was still crying for his fallen friend, showed surprise and confusion at this, especially when they saw the man’s expression. Slowly, Mr. Cosmo looked behind him to see what was going on.

That was when something large and heavy was tossed in his direction. Mr. Cosmo let out a small cry as he jumped to one side, barely missing getting hit. He skidded along the ground and, panting heavily, whirled around to see what it was.

“S-Skrawl?!” Rudy choked out as he pulled Snap closer to him. Clearly addressing Mr. Cosmo, he said, “What did you do to him…?”

Although Mr. Cosmo would have loved to claim responsibility for this, he just couldn’t. “It wasn’t me…” He whispered as he stared back where the battered and bruised and bleeding zoner had flown from. He narrowed his eyes into slits as he watched carefully.

Slowly, something moved in from the shadows. Something distorted at first, but soon everything became clear. Mr. Cosmo could feel his eyes widening as he saw who it was walking forward. He wanted to pretend that it wasn’t possible and that this was just a dream. But he couldn’t deny the reality before him.

He had been right.

Bardot had gotten out of his cage.

sss

Biclops tried to open his mouth to speak, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do anything. He could only just stare at Penny as everything began to dawn on him slowly. He could feel his mouth shutting tightly and he tried to think of how to respond to this. But how could he? He didn’t even know where to begin. He never thought that he would be dealing with this kind of situation.

Why did Penny want to do that? It was such a huge risk. A part of him wanted to slap her for even suggesting it. One of the biggest things holding him back was the fact that she was injured pretty badly. He feared that he would end up making things worse...no, he would. He wouldn’t even want to strike her anyway, even if out of anger or disbelief. He might have done that years ago, but he wouldn’t dream of doing it to Rudy or Penny.

But that didn’t ease his shock all that much. Penny had suggested something so shocking that he was surprised that he was still standing up. While he could understand where she was coming from, a part of him just...felt too unsure of it. He knew how dangerous and risky it was to…

But he also knew that Penny had a good point. They were indeed running out of options to stop Mr. Cosmo and Rudy and many zoners were missing and in trouble. They likely wouldn’t have time to rush over and save them. They wouldn’t be able to come up with a foolproof plan. If what Penny said was true, then it would be dangerous to send zoners out to infiltrate the building. Even a large group could easily be incapacitated...killed….by Real World traps, especially those involving water.

That was why Penny suggested something that was so backwards, so unbelievable, and yet made sense in its own right.

Allowing Mr. Cosmo to come back into ChalkZone.

“I know it sounds crazy, and believe me, I didn’t want to tell you this idea, either.” Penny admitted. “I had thought of several ideas and this one seems to be the best bet, but also the biggest risk.” Penny placed her hand to her chest, flinching from the pain of the covered wound there. “I recall you telling me and Rudy before about ‘chalking up’. We could use that to our advantage.”

Biclops furrowed his eyes at this. “Well it is true that some of the creators were dealt with using this method. But it would require finding ways to keep them in this world. And it’s not as easy as you might think. Even if they are locked up, you have to remember human saliva can melt away chalk. Sure it would take a while, but it’s still a method.”

Penny nodded her head slowly. “Yes, I get that. And that’s why I suggested the Chalk Mine as the place to do it.”

“I still don’t like it. That would make it way too easy for him to grab a piece of chalk.” Biclops pointed out.

“But the magic chalk would still draw him to it. It would be easier luring him in there.” Penny pointed out, raising a finger upwards. “And didn’t you say that there are a lot of hidden tunnels in there? Ones that twist and turn and take you to hidden places?” Penny spread her hands outward slowly, still showing some signs of pain, but determination was still overriding her current thought process. “We just need to get Mr. Cosmo to think there’s a hidden chamber, perhaps even have an empty one available, and then trap him in it.”

“It might work….” Biclops scratched his chin thoughtfully.

“It would be perfect! The rocks in the tunnels are too thick for him to just lick his way through. You could keep an eye on him. He would be stuck in a network of tunnels that would take him a while to navigate out of successfully. And when he does change into a zoner, you have him already in custody.”

Biclops had to think about this for a few moments. He still wasn’t sure about this plan. While he could see where Penny was coming from, it was still a huge risk that entailed a lot of danger. If it were screwed up, Mr. Cosmo could be back in ChalkZone with magic chalk. The only thing that would delay this is the fact that Mr. Cosmo had, when he turned, refused to use white chalk or any other color chalk aside from black. But had he even kept this same motto nowadays? There was no way to tell.

Yet at the same time, he still saw potential in Penny’s ideas. Taking a high risk plan like this might be what they needed to stop Mr. Cosmo for good. But it would be tough to carry out the plan. It would require good planning and forethought. And that is precisely why Penny had come to him for help.

“Do you have any ideas on how we can go about this, Biclops? Anything at all? I mean, you did fight this guy before, right?” Penny asked as she motioned towards the giant. “Weren’t you at least involved with him?”

Biclops shuddered, trying to keep old, horrible memories from climbing up into his head. He shook his head once before looking at Penny and saying, “I would rather not go into detail about that. But...yes, I have….interacted with him before.”

Penny nodded her head solemnly. “He was your creator.”

“Don’t remind me.” Biclops shuddered. He soon cleared his throat and moved in a little closer to Penny. “I’m still not sure about this. But if it helps, I can tell you more of what I know and give any advice that I can come up with.”

“Thank you, Biclops.” Said Penny.

“Just please be careful, all right? You’re still hurt and I don’t want you to…” Biclops swallowed hard, unable to get himself to finish that sentence. He stammered for a few moments before saying, “Just watch yourself, all right?”

Penny gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing. I… Ouch!”

Biclops widened his eyes in shock as Penny staggered a little. It didn’t last too long though and she did seem to right herself soon after. She brushed it off, acting like it was nothing. But Biclops knew better. He was already questioning his decision to help her with this.


	36. Proof Of A Dangerous Creature

Mr. Tabootie tossed and turned on the bed. His eyes were shut tightly, his teeth gritted. He was sweating profusely, looking like he had just hopped into the shower and got out without a second’s notice. And his wife was not doing much better. She was releasing several loud moans and it was a surprise that her voice hadn’t given out at this point.

The sight of it was just dreadful. Not only was this worse than before, but Mrs. Sanchez still had no idea what was wrong with them. There had literally been no warning when this had happened. There had been nothing to indicate that this was happening. She was stumped, confused, and terrified. A part of her just wanted to reach out to them and try to help them feel better, but she feared that she would wind up making things so much worse.

She bit her lip as she watched them struggling in the hospital beds. It was as though they were trying to fight against something that existed solely in their minds. They were acting like they were the victims of some unforeseen violence that she didn’t understand. They had been fine before, and now they were hospitalized, and even needed to be restrained in the beds.

None of the doctors knew what was wrong with them. They were just as puzzled as she was, and just as scared. They were doing all that they could to try to resolve the situation. But so far, not one of them had been able to think of a possible explanation for their sudden drop in health, or whatever was going on.

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t want to give up on her friends. She wanted to believe that there was something that could be done to help them. But for now, she was just helpless as her friends thrashed on the beds. Horror climbed up in her body and she couldn’t stop herself from shaking nor could she stop the tears forming in her eyes.

Her mind went back to Rudy and how he was still missing. Joe and Millie had no idea where he was or how he could have disappeared. But one thing that Mrs. Sanchez noticed is that they also seemed to have forgotten about what they were doing that day. She recalled Penny mentioned a meeting with Mr. Cosmo, but neither parent seemed to remember that particular meeting. It was all so suspicious.

Was it possible that this was connected to that? Was Rudy’s disappearance somehow related to what was happening to his parents right now?

The idea did seem a little….uncertain at first, but it would make sense. It would explain quite a bit. But it still would not explain why Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie were reacting like this now. If the kidnapper already had Rudy, what was the point in doing anything to the parents again? Or was this to slow them down? Or was something else going on? So many thoughts crammed into the woman’s mind and it was hard to keep track of them all.

Whatever the case might be, she did decide that it was better to focus on the present for the time being. As much as she would love to figure out what happened to Rudy, right now, she had Joe and Millie suffering before her and she didn’t know a thing of what was going on with them. If they were to...die….then what would happen to Rudy…?

“No… Get away…. Just get away!” Mr. Tabootie suddenly called out. Mrs. Sanchez raised her head up, staring hopefully at the man as he tossed and turned his head swiftly. “I-I don’t want this…. I…” Suddenly the man released a scream and jolted up in his bed...or at least he tried before the straps forced him back down. “Help me!”

Mrs. Sanchez had to push aside her elation at the sight of her friend being awake as she rushed over and she put her hands on him, carefully pushing him down. “No, don’t move too much.” She gently whispered to him, even through his yellings. “It’s all right now. You’re safe. No need to fret.”

It took more than that to get the man to calm down. She continued to whisper soft, gentle words to the man, cooing gently, trying to help the man settle down. She wasn’t sure how long she had been doing this, and she didn’t know how long she stroked his hair for, but it did eventually seem to be working. Slowly the man started to settle down and his movements became less thrashy. His eyes opened up more and he looked around, and it seemed like, for the first time, he was actually seeing her.

But he didn’t speak right away. He let out a squeak when he made the effort. He then laid back down, breathing in and out heavily as he stared up at the ceiling. He had something of a disbelief look in his eyes, like something happened and he was wondering if this was real or not. Seeing that he wasn’t going to try to twist and turn again, Mrs. Sanchez slowly, carefully, moved her hands away from him, watching the man carefully.

For a few moments, silence reigned supreme in the room. Other than the sounds of breathing of the people in this room and the beeping of this equipment, it was just eerily silent, with neither party attempting to speak. It was as though their voices had been taken away for the time being, slowing down communication.

Mrs. Sanchez wanted to speak, but she wasn’t sure what to say. What could she say to a human that just woke up from being knocked out and then getting caught in some sort of twisted nightmare? She realized she would have to be careful before she could even think of attempting to talk to him. She might accidentally say something that…

She was suddenly cut off when Mr. Tabootie coughed and spluttered and then turned to look at her. He was looking at her strangely, a manner that she could not describe. It was enough to make her freeze as she wondered just what he was going to say.

And then, Mr. Tabootie finally spoke.

“Wh-Where is Rudy…?” The man choked out.

Mrs. Sanchez stiffened at this, swallowing hard. She tried to think of a reply, but nothing would come out. She honestly had no answer to his desperate question, and it broke her heart.

sss

Biclops watched as Penny started to limp back home. The giant watched her in silence, doing little to try to stop her. She did need to get home as quickly as possible. Her mom might have noticed her missing and they couldn’t allow that to happen. So Biclops waved to her and smiled as she left, trying his best to look at least a little happy.

But it was a lie. He didn’t feel that happy on the inside. And Penny knew it. Neither of them could just bounce back after what they had discussed. It had been a solemn, quite serious discussion, one that neither of them were going to forget anytime soon.

The details of what they were going to do were laid in place in their heads. They had not yet taken full on action, but they did discuss things so that they would be ready and waiting for it. They were not going to let this slip through their fingers. They just needed to figure out how they were going to lay down the trap. Then, so long as everything else pieced together as well, they may have found a way to stop Mr. Cosmo for good.

He still thought that Penny’s plan carried a lot of risk. He wasn’t really sure what to think about that. Penny did make some good points, but it wasn’t enough to lighten up his mood or make him feel better. If anything, it just made him more and more nervous. Penny’s plan of luring Mr. Cosmo into this world carried with it a lot of risk. Penny understood this as well. She knew just as well as Biclops what would happen if Mr. Cosmo were able to escape and get a hold of some magic chalk. It would be….disastrous to put it mildly.

He could still remember what happened when Mr. Cosmo was allowed to roam free. He still remembered what things were like when he and the zoners had to live in fear of him. The boy might not have been around for too long. He would say the war itself lasted a week perhaps. Maybe a week and a half. Either way, it wasn’t that long, but to him and the zoners, it felt like forever. And in that deceptively short time, so much death and violence had taken place. The world was not recognizable back then.

It was amazing just how naive Rudy and Penny were to the mess. They, along with the younger zoners such as Snap and Blocky and Rapsheeba… They had missed out on a terrifying war. And Biclops did not feel that they should be envious of this fact.

Biclops recalled how long it took him to trust Rudy. When the boy had come in, due to his curious nature that was not unlike Mr. Cosmo’s, he immediately grew suspicious. There was little about Rudy that proved to him that he was a good person at the time. It took him about a full year before he realized that Rudy might not have been as bad as he thought. And it took him even longer before he even tried to communicate with him. Although saving him and his friends from the waterfall in French Fry Falls was not exactly how he had thought their first contact would have gone.

But though he was ashamed to admit this, a part of him feared of what would happen if Rudy went down the same path as Mr. Cosmo. The thought caused him to chill, especially since he and the zoners only had thoughts of what could have happened, but no proof. And it had happened so suddenly, too… While that hinted that it was a forced thing, that didn’t really lighten up his mood or help him feel any better.

Biclops tried to get his mind to rest at least a little it. He was not going to get anything accomplished if he just stood around here, thinking about this. He had to prepare himself for whenever they decided to spring the trap. So he was needed to stay within the Chalk Mine, near where Penny had placed the structure for a portal. It was presently inactive, but she did plan on continuing it and working on it a little bit more.

Penny already had an idea of how it was going to work. She planned on doing some kind of...looping thing and getting one portal to go right into this one even if it didn’t match the location and…. It gave the giant zoner a headache. Penny did promise to try to explain to him, but the way that Biclops saw it, as long as it worked, he was fine.

He did hope that it was all going to work out and he hoped and prayed that Mr. Cosmo would be contained before he could get out into ChalkZone. If that ever happened… Biclops knocked the thought out of his head with a single shake. No, none of that. Just keep focused and wait for Penny to return. The faster they go through with this, the faster they can save both worlds, and their friends, from this monster.

sss

What the…? What was going on here? He couldn’t recognize who this was. He had never seen this zoner before. Not from years ago, anyway. Maybe he was a new zoner? That was a possibility. New zoners were drawn all the time. So it wouldn’t surprise him if this one was drawn, like, two hours ago or something.

But something about this zoner seemed a little off. Mr. Wilter couldn’t really explain just what it was. He was just...off. Something about his design and overall appearance, it was just somehow not adding up.

But it didn’t really matter why he looked off, because first and foremost, he looked dangerous. And he most likely was. Mr. Wilter couldn’t tear his eyes away from the small yellow and red zoner, whose tail was swishing excitedly as though he were happy to see them all. True, he was looking mostly at Mr. Cosmo and that might have hinted that he was his enemy. Perhaps he was, but this zoner looked like he was ready to take them all on. This zoner was not a friend of theirs, that’s for sure.

Looking over his shoulder, he could see Rudy holding onto Snap even tighter now, more protectively. The boy’s eyes were filled with uncertainty and he was clearly ready to start running at any moment. He had his teeth bared, showing the yellow and red zoner that he was not going to allow him to get any closer.

But the little zoner didn’t seem to care all that much. This entire time, he had been smirking, chuckling even at how they were reacting. He looked thoroughly amused and excited to carry out something. It was as though he had plans that had been foiled until now. He looked like he had been waiting a long time for this. But just what ‘this’ is, he had no clue. He was thoroughly puzzled himself, and the longer that he stayed confused, the more tense he could feel himself getting.

Mr. Cosmo looked a little shaken by the creature having gotten out. There was a particular look of fear in his eyes. One that was far more noticeable and prominent than the other ones. It was a look that was similar to the one that he had given when he first attacked the zoners. This realization made Mr. Wilter hold his breath in horror. Was the man going to fall into that state of mind yet again?

Mr. Cosmo shook his head once, as though trying to snap himself out of his current state. He cleared his throat and then frowned intently at the zoner. He took a stance as he tried to make himself look tougher. But Mr. Wilter could see right through his ruse and he was certain that the yellow zoner could as well.

“What are you doing outside of your cage?” Demanded Mr. Cosmo. “You better get back into your cage or…”

“What do you think you’re going to do?” The zoner replied with a small grin spreading along his face. “It’s not like there’s anything that you can do to stop me.” He took a few steps over, each time his foot making a padding sound, echoing a little. “You have no authority over me and I think it’s high time that you truly realized this. You were never the one in control. Did you know that? I’ve been keeping an eye on things and it was I who helped shaped things as they are.”

Mr. Cosmo pulled his head back, his eyes widening a little. “What in the world are you talking about, Bardot? You’re just a…”

Bardot tilted his head to one side. “Don’t pretend that you don’t know, dear Teddy. You know what I’m talking about.” He raised his paw up and he pointed over at Snap. “You know what I’ve done to him.”

Rudy blinked at this before staring at Mr. Cosmo in confusion. “What’s he...talking about?”

Mr. Cosmo looked surprised by this. He then formed fists with his hands and gritted his teeth tightly. “So you really were trying to complicate things…”

Mr. Wilter didn’t expect Mr. Cosmo to be this upset by this revelation. Then again, Bardot must have interfered with his plans by doing...whatever it was he did to Snap. And from the mention of the cage and how Mr. Cosmo was speaking, it was clear that the man was not happy with Bardot and wanted to keep him restrained. This realization made Mr. Wilter swallow hard as he wondered just what kind of threat Bardot represented if even Mr. Cosmo didn’t want to have anything to do with him.

Then again, Mr. Cosmo didn’t want to have anything to do with any zoner, but still, that…

“You’re so cute in how you try to control me. You think that you can be allowed to experiment with me, and now that karma is biting you back.” Bardot’s voice deepened slightly. “That’s right, I remember what you tried to do.” Bardot had taken notice of Mr. Cosmo’s expression and now he was moving towards him slowly, his body slinking a little low to the ground. “You created me through an experimentation in hopes of creating powerful zoners to help you… Well congratulations.” He placed his three-clawed paw to himself. “You got me out of that mess….” He motioned towards the red-haired human. “...and look at where it’s getting you.”

Mr. Wilter blinked a few times at this. He wondered what the zoner could be talking about. This did not sound like a normal creation process. Indeed, Bardot made it sound like something else had gone down. Something else had taken place. Something like….

The old man felt himself stiffen when he looked more carefully at Bardot. He finally realized just why he looked so off from befeore. Bardot didn’t possess a normal outline like he would find on other zoners. It didn’t match what he had seen in the past. Instead, it was….broken in color. Not that zoners always had the same color outline, but with Bardot, it was much more apparent. He could see that there were bits of red embedded in his outline. Shiny sections of crimson that almost seemed to spark.

Just like the…

Mr. Wilter gasped loudly at this, putting his hands to his mouth. He lifted his head and saw that everyone was now looking at him, having taken notice of his reaction. Mr. Wilter took in a few shaky breaths before turning to glare at Mr. Cosmo. Struggling to control his voice level, he growled, “Y-You didn’t…. How could you have… You idiot!”

Mr. Cosmo curled his lip up slowly. “What did you think I did, old friend…?” His tone of voice was that of defense. That was more than enough for Mr. Wilter to conclude that his guess had been correct. Mr. Cosmo really had….

“You experimented with magic chalk, didn’t you?” Accused Mr. Wilter. “I never thought you would stoop that low.”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at this. “Mr. Cosmo did what…?”

Mr. Cosmo gritted his teeth tightly, releasing a low growl. “Don’t try to pretend that I didn’t have the right. After what those zoners were doing…. I needed to create something that would obey me! Something that would be strong and loyal!”

“And you chose to mix in red chalk?! Do you have any idea what kind of chalk that… How could you have been so stupid?!” Mr. Wilter wailed, raising his arms up. “The red chalk used creators! What in the world made you think that would have been a good choice to use?!”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened, as though he realized what he had overlooked. But rather than admit his mistake, he just leaned his head back, turning it to the side, and hissed, “Oh shut up. You just don’t understand. You…”

“As much as I would love to hear this continue, I’m afraid I don’t have that kind of time.” Bardot interjected, stopping the argument between the two male adult humans before it got any worse. Bardot took a stance that seemed nonthreatening, but it was easy to see the hidden tones underneath. “I should be getting going soon. My new...comrade is waiting for me. But before I leave, now would be a good time to demonstrate to you all exactly why I’m in charge. I think I will start on this big ugly zoner that you seemed to have forgotten about.”

“Skrawl? What are you going to do to him?” Rudy asked carefully, pulling Snap even closer to him.

Bardot tilted his head back and looked at Rudy out of the corner of his eyes. “Just watch and learn.”

Mr. Wilter went silent, as did Rudy, as Bardot walked closer to where Skrawl was. He took his time, as though he had no fear of repurcussions or anything. He wagged his tail slowly from side to side. It was obvious that he didn’t have much care in what he was about to do. No fears of being stopped, no fears of messing up. He was one confident zoner.

The old teacher’s thoughts momentarily went back to his recent discovery. Mr. Cosmo had done what? He...somehow wasn’t that surprised, but at the same time, it still disgusted him. He never thought that his former friend would have actually went this far. He never thought that he would have gone and played creator in this fashion. He already could bring zoners to life. Why did he need to actually create something like....a new type of chalk?

But he couldn’t think about that now. He needed to keep his mind in the present. He watched as Bardot now reached Skrawl. The zoner walked around him slowly, staring down at the fallen jellybean gleefully. Mr. Wilter thought of trying to do something, but Mr. Cosmo already beat him to the punch.

“Hey, whatever you’re about to do, don’t even think about it!” Mr. Cosmo leaned forward, pointing a finger at Bardot. The yellow zoner looked like he was only partially paying attention. “I swear to gawd, if you even try to...”

“Why do you care? He’s just a ‘lowly’ zoner, Mr. Cosmo. Just let me do my thing.” Bardot told the male human. He didn’t bother waiting for a response before turning back and smirking at Skrawl. He moved in even closer and then...

“What the heck is he....” Rudy whispered softly, his eyes widening slowly. “Is he going to...”

The old teacher was not able to respond to Rudy’s question. He wasn’t able to even try to look away as he watched the zoner raising up his paw slowly. The bits of red in his outline in that area started to glow brighter and give off a reddish hue. The zoner slowly placed it down towards Skrawl, right on his forehead. Bardot held there and just waited.

Slowly, the red mist started to seep into Skrawl, entering where his eyes were. Bardot kept this up for several moments, and the longer he didn’t let up, the more Skrawl seemed to thrash about. The only thing that ultimately made him stop was when Mr. Cosmo rushed at him and knocked the four-legged zoner away.

“Stop it!” Mr. Cosmo screamed loudly, his voice cracking slightly.

Bardot hit against the ground, concentrated on his shoulder. Bardot shook his head and glared at Mr. Cosmo before climbing up to his feet. His angered expression rapidly turned to one of cockiness. “You’re already too late, dear Teddy....”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flashed in horror before looking over at Skrawl. “You didn’t....” He stopped for a moment before swinging his head towards Bardot. “So that’s what you were doing to Snap!”

Bardot’s eyes glinted as he sneered. “Ain’t you the smart one?”

Before anyone could respond to that, Skrawl started to stagger up onto his feet. His body wobbled and shuddered for a few seconds before he shook himself once. His eyes slowly opened up, and while they looked normal for the most part, something about them just didn’t seem right. Slowly Skrawl looked around and when he did, something happened that no one, aside from Bardot that is, were expecting to happen.

Skrawl let out a loud scream....and then charged right at Rudy.

“Look out!” Mr. Wilter cried out to the frozen, startled teen, reaching his hand out towards him.

sss

“Rudy! Watch out! Get out of the way!”

The young teenager couldn’t move or even dare to breathe. His wide eyes stared out in horror at the sight of the massive zoner coming after him. He had seen Skrawl trying to get him many times before. But this seemed different. He wasn’t sure what it was, but in the end, he knew the effect that it had. Skrawl had suddenly become terrifying.

Rudy still didn’t move. He could feel his legs growing stiff. He could feel himself panting heavily, getting increasingly harder. He did the only thing that his body would allow and that was move himself over Snap’s still unconscious form to try to protect him. He had his doubts it was going to work, but it was all that he could think of to do. He shut his eyes tightly and waited for the blow.

Without warning, he could feel someone grabbing onto him. His eyes widened and he was suddenly lifted up from the ground. He didn’t have time to react before he was suddenly tossed to one side. He rammed into the ground, coughing and spluttering as he rolled around. He could feel Snap leaving his arms and he could feel himself starting to panic. He looked over quickly and his eyes widened as he saw Snap laying not far from him. He tried to get up quickly but he wound up slipping and falling back down to the ground.

“That was a close one, Rudy. Consider yourself lucky.” He could hear Mr. Wilter say. “One second longer and you would have been hurt.”

“Like yourself, dear old friend?” Mocked Mr. Cosmo. “That was surprisingly...noble of you, I’ll give you that.”

“Oh be quiet.” Hissed Mr. Wilter before he yelped in pain.

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror as he turned to see what the two men were talking about. Upon seeing the blood marks on Mr. Wilter, Rudy put his hands to his mouth and gasped loudly, horrified by this turn of events. In the process of getting him to move away from Skrawl, Mr. Wilter wound up getting hurt. And it was all his fault. Rudy felt wave of guilt climbing inside of him and he could feel himself becoming ill.

Rudy looked over to see where Skrawl was. The massive jellybean had come to a stop near one of the walls. He was just standing there for several moments, looking around as though confused. Then he shifted himself back and just loomed there, like a wrecking ball waiting to be shot.

That was when Rudy noticed something else off about Skrawl. But this one, unlike the others, was more obviously seen. And that was the sight of the bloody hole around his forehead. How….How did he not see this before….?

Rudy couldn’t tear his eyes away from the hole. It looked rather painful, as though the nail was ripped out by force. Did Bardot do it? Or did Draow? Or was it something else? The sight of it gave Rudy mixed feelings. On the one hand, at least he knew that the nails could be removed. But on the other hand, is that how he wanted them gone? Plus Skrawl was a huge zoner. What would happen if he did the same thing to Snap? The thought frightened him.

Bardot moved towards Skrawl, who still didn’t move. Bardot took position beside him, a little in front of him, and just smirked at the others. He almost looked like he was trying to show off something grand. Rudy bit his lip and did his best to be quiet. Oh if only he could wipe that smile off of his face and…

Wait, where was Snap?

“That was but a demonstration.” Chirped Bardot, who motioned his head up a little. “I’m sure you enjoyed that, didn’t you?” Bardot just laughed at the silence that he got. He raised his paw up and waved it slowly in front of him. “Yes, I get it. That was a little too simple.” Bardot struck at Skrawl and almost instantly, the zoner fell to the ground. It was hard to tell from this angle if he was knocked out or not. “Let me try something...harder.”

Rudy snapped his eyes wide open when he saw that Bardot was going towards Snap’s fallen form.

“I wonder what will happen if I tried it on him…” Bardot mused to himself. He stared intently at his feet. “Would he even still walk, I wonder..” He tapped a thick sharp claw to himself a few times.

Rudy could feel his blood running cold when he realized just what the zoner was up to. He wanted to yell at him to stop, but no words would come out of his mouth. He feared that if he tried to run now, Bardot would hurt Snap right then and there.

The others, however, weren’t so silent.

“Get away from him, you little monster!” Mr. Wilter formed tight fists with his hands. He staggered from the pain but he still managed to keep himself on his feet, baring his teeth at the yellow and red zoner. “I swear if you even dare try to…”

Mr. Cosmo pushed Mr. Wilter out of the way, heading for the zoner himself. He stopped about five feet away, putting his hands in his hips. He scowled at the zoner, almost looking like a disappointed parent. “I shouldn’t have to tell you to stop. You should know better than this.” He placed his hand to his chest. “I’m your creator! You should be doing what I say!”

Bardot cocked his head to one side and let out a small sigh, one filled with amusement and curiosity. He cracked a new smile, one that made Rudy shudder at the sight of it. Mr. Cosmo looked a little unnerved as well, but somehow still managed to stand his ground.

Rudy could see Bardot get even closer to Snap. Before Rudy had a chance to call out to him, Bardot already had his paw set on Snap. He pressed down firmly, and then took a look around. It was as though he was making sure that everyone in here was watching him. He grinned more broadly, small growls escaping his mouth.

“I think you all should listen to me instead… I have something I’d love to show you.” With that, despite cries of protest from everyone, even from Mr. Cosmo himself, Bardot raised his paw up and moved it towards Snap.

Without warning, a flash of red filled the entire room.


	37. Versus Friend

The red-haired man had to raise his arm up to shield his eyes from the bright light that filled up the room. He gritted his teeth tightly before getting himself to look over to see what had taken place. The red light had died down slowly, causing his eyes to take a while to see just what happened. But he already had a feeling of what took place and if it’s what he thought it was…

Mr. Cosmo furrowed his eyes deeply as he saw his thoughts become a reality. He could see the slight glow around Snap’s outline, making it look redder than normal. He could see the zoner climbing up to his feet despite the pain. It was reminiscent of what he did to Snap just earlier, but it had a creepier, more intense vibe to it. Snap wasn’t even reacting to the pain at all. His wide, white eyes almost seemed lifeless and he was looking right at Rudy, as though he was his first target.

Mr. Cosmo struggled to think of what he was going to do. He cursed at himself for not handling this situation properly. When he realized that Bardot was up to something, he should have taken action. He could have erased him and be done with it. Instead, he was foolish enough to allow the zoner to live. And because of that, he was seeing a dent being formed in his plans. This was not how things were supposed to go.

But what was he going to do in this situation? He had little reason to care for Snap outside of forcing Rudy to surrender. But after what he had seen earlier, it would seem the zoner was useless for that. Rudy managed to find a way to help his friend without giving into his friend. Rudy’s fears for the other zoners were getting in the way of striking a deal with him. Perhaps he should try getting the other zoners to attack?

...he should think about this later. Right now, he had a situation on his hands. He bared his teeth tightly and growled. If he allowed this to continue, then Rudy might be hurt. And he could not let that happen. Bardot needed to be stopped.

He reached into his pocket and he pulled out his whistle. He rarely used it, but in this case, he considered it a big enough of an emergency to blow into it. He took in a deep breath and then blew into it.

And then….nothing happened.

Mr. Cosmo blinked and looked around. Where was Draow? Why hadn’t he shown up yet? He blew into it again, this time more forceful than before. Surely the winged wolf had heard this.

But the longer he stood here, the faster he realized that Draow just wasn’t coming. He knew that Draow wouldn’t just stand there doing nothing during this. He knew what he needed to do when he heard the whistle blowing. For him not to show up, there was only one thing that he could think of that would cause this.

He glared intently at Bardot. He must have had a hand in this. There was no other explanation. But what could have he done to…

Bardot read his mind and laughed. “Oh you wondering where your precious doggie is? Well don’t bother!” Bardot shouted with glee. His eyes glinted brightly, nearly forcing Mr. Cosmo to look away. “You’ve got me to worry about anyway.” He turned his head to the blue and white zoner standing next to him. “Ain’t that right, Snappy boy?”

Snap just grumbled in response. No words, but they almost sounded like words. Somehow, that was creepier than him actually saying something.

Rudy took a step forward, staring in desperation. “Please don’t hurt him! He’s been through enough!”

Bardot tilted his head in one direction. “What makes you think I’m going to hurt him? If anything, you should be watching yourself.” Bardot took a step forward. “You’ve fought him before, right? You can handle a round two, am I correct?”

“I-I.. Please no…” Rudy stammered.

Mr. Wilter took a step in front of the small boy, putting his arm in front of him protectively. “If you even think about it….” He showed his fist to Bardot while making sure that his teeth were bared. “I swear I’ll tear you apart if you try to…”

“You? Tear me apart? I would love to see that.” Bardot turned around, showing his back to them, moving his tail from side to side. Mr. Cosmo frowned at this. It was like he was deliberately trying to prolong things. Perhaps he just wanted to see them suffering or getting frustrated. “But like I was saying before…” He lowered himself onto his haunches and moved his head back, looking at everyone with an upside down expression. “Me hurting him is not the thing that you should fear.” He moved his neck around almost like a snake and he grinned almost madly at them. “You should worry about what he is going to do to you.”

“What the….”

The sentence could not be finished before Bardot stomped his foot down near Snap. As if on cue, Snap, empowered by the redness in his outline, charged right for…

“Oh no… not again..” Mr. Wilter reached his hand out towards Rudy. “Move!”

Rudy, instead of standing there like an idiot like before, actually started to move this time around. He tensed his legs up before dodging to one side. The movement was fast enough that he avoided Snap’s attack. There was a haunted look in the boy’s eyes that Mr. Cosmo could not unsee. Not only did it tell him how scared Rudy had been before when he was first forced to fight Snap, but it reminded Mr. Cosmo of his own fears long ago.

And for some reason, it caused something inside of him to click.

Without realizing what he was doing, the man started to race towards Snap as the blue and white zoner was banking around to try to get at Rudy again. Mr. Cosmo launched himself at Snap and wrapped his arms around him tightly. He could feel himself collapsing into the ground as he held onto the zoner. He shut his eyes for a few moments as he tried to keep the struggling zoner from leaving. Then, as he heard a low, very non-Snap like growl, he opened his eyes up and stared at the zoner that he held.

He could see an up close and personal look at the zoner’s blank eyes, that hideous expression, all the features that made him who and what he was. And he could see the threats lying underneath all of that. Despite Snap not saying anything, it wasn’t hard to miss what that expression was actually saying and…

Mr. Cosmo could feel a flashback burning in his head. The fear and terror that he felt when he realized what the zoners were doing. The fear that he had built up for them… The dread of what they were going to do… It all came back here with no warning and culminated in him releasing a bloodcurdling scream before throwing Snap away.

“Aaaaah! Get it away from me!” The man shouted before he realized what was coming out of his mouth.

“Mr. Cosmo, what is…” Mr. Wilter started to say. But Mr. Cosmo did not let him finish.

But it was not with words that the man halted Mr. Wilter’s words. Instead, it was the action that he had decided to take. Giving one more look at Mr. Wilter and Rudy, the fear in Mr. Cosmo’s head took him over. He trembled as he looked at Snap, who was getting back up to his feet, and he looked at Bardot, who was approaching him slowly with a vicious, sharp-toothed grin. With his heart about to explode, Mr. Cosmo did the only thing that he could think of doing.

He ran.

sss

Mr. Wilter flinched when he noticed Mr. Cosmo running off into the distance, getting out of the room as quickly as he could. Mr. Wilter scowled at this. That little coward... Of course he would run off and leave him and Rudy to deal with his mess. That was just like him.

But as much as he would love to mentally scold the man, he had other issues to worry about right now.

Looking over at where Rudy was, his eyes widened when he saw that Snap was already upon the boy. After realizing that he couldn’t target Mr. Cosmo, Snap had decided that going after Rudy was a better bet, like he had initiall planned.

No, like Bardot had planned...

Mr. Wilter seethed as pain shot through his body. He moved forward, but wound up staggering. He held onto his side, growling as he could feel the blood moving down his body, dripping onto the ground below him. He looked down and his eyes widened at this.

“Aww you poor big baby. Do you need help with that?” Taunted Bardot. The zoner had clearly taken notice of the male human’s limp. His ears were pricked forward and his teeth became bared further, showing his gums rather clearly. Bardot released a few chuckles from his mouth like this, the sounds being muffled behind the teeth themselves, and he started to approach him. “I’m sure I can do something for you. Don’t you think so?”

Mr. Wilter felt himself struggling with figuring out what to do. Should he try to face off against Bardot or go after Rudy, despite his pain? He didn’t have much of an option of how to avoid more pain other than run off and hoping that Bardot wouldn’t catch him. But he had a feeling that this was not an option available to him, and even if it were, he didn’t think that he could just abandon Rudy like this.

Mr. Wilter looked over at Rudy struggling with Snap before looking back down to where Bardot was. He could feel a cold shudder racing through his body, burning him internally, as he remembered what this zoner was capable of. He realized that he had to be careful. Perhaps he had been a little too hasty before...

He quickly realized his folley in turning his attention away from Bardot even for a moment. He could feel something ramming into him and he staggered backwards onto the ground. He released a few soft moans as he laid there, his eyes shut for a few seconds and then he reopened them forcefully. He stared up at the creature, who now stood on his chest. He was surprisingly light for a creature of his size.

Bardot reached out and pressed his claw tip against Mr. Wilter’s chin. “So tell me, what exactly was your plan? Were you going to try to stop me? Do you even know what my plan is?” He turned his head to the side as he leaned forward, his paw returning downwards. “How do you even know I’m your enemy if you won’t give me the time of day to understand?”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes into slits. “You attacked us first! And you expect us to just trust you?!” Mr. Wilter wriggled around on the ground. The zoner’s sharp claws prevented him from trying to do too much. “What kind of backwards logic is that?!”

“Still...” Bardot raised his head up, snout pointed towards the ceiling. “It is a shame that you aren’t even trying to see things my way. You haven’t made the effort to realize what I’ve been doing. You’re too busy laying there, judging me so suddenly. I am hurt.”

“You hypocritical little....” Was that the right term? Probably not, but Mr. Wilter did not care. “You haven’t given me any reason whatsoever to trust you!”

Bardot stared at him unblinking for several seconds. While this happened, Rudy still tried to deal with Snap but was failing. “Shall I explain...?”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes into slits. Did Bardot really think that he was going to fall for these tricks? Did he honestly believe that he is supposed to just accept that he had some kind of noble deed to be had here? Well he certainly took after Mr. Cosmo, that’s for sure.

For a brief moment, Mr. Wilter felt himself flinching as he recalled his old friend and how he used to be. Even though it’s been years and the man was more or less dead to him, he still couldn’t stop himself from recalling the good times. Mr. Cosmo had once been someone that he could call his best friend. Despite being a few years younger than him, Mr. Wilter had still enjoyed his company as a kid. He was perhaps one of the few in his neighborhood that didn’t mind playing with someone that much younger than him.

Oh if only he had kept an eye on him that day... He recalled that Mr. Cosmo had wanted to go exploring on his own. Mr. Wilter had tried to insist on coming with, but the child-at-the-time refused, saying that it would be more fun if they did some solo adventures, and then tell stories of those adventures when they met up again. The idea did sound cool and Mr. Wilter decided that it would be something new and different.

But he had been wrong. When Mr. Cosmo came back, he was not the same anymore. Then everything went downhill after that.

He still blamed himself for what happened. He truly believed that if he had just tried harder, he could have prevented whatever had happened. He didn’t have proof but he still thought, at least a part of him, that the black chalk was responsible. After all, that was the chalk that his friend had used to attack the zoners, and he had never seen black chalk before then.

He had tried to find where this black chalk came from, but he never did find it. The short-lived but brutal war kept him too busy to search. And when Mr. Cosmo was defeated, all the surviving creators were banished. Mr. Wilter tried to plead with them, especially that giant zoner Mr. Cosmo drew, to let him stay and look for the source of Mr. Cosmo’s corruption. But it would seem that the zoners decided that the best way to stop this from happening again was to banish all creators. Mr. Wilter was still bitter about that incident and Rudy’s cartoons reminded him of that.

But still, it’s not like he could blame the zoners. After all, Mr. Cosmo had been sweet similar to Rudy prior to whatever happened to him. Okay so he wasn’t completely innocent. He couldn’t completely vouch for him. But the man was certainly not on the same level as Reggie Bullnerd and he wasn’t the violent type. For someone that the zoners trusted would not hurt them to suddenly turn on them like that...

“Are you ignoring me? How rude...” Grumbled Bardot. “Perhaps you need me to teach you some manners. Like... you shouldn’t ignore someone trying to talk to you, or did you not know that?” Bardot tilted his head to one side, raising a paw up to put against himself. “Here I am trying to tell you something important and you just push me away. How....human of you.”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes once more, his lips curling back into a snarl. “I’m not buying anything you say, you little hybrid freak!”

Bardot’s ears twitched a little. “A little freak, am I? Well then, why don’t I show you just how ‘freaky’ I can be....” The hybrid zoner’s voice almost seemed to echo at this.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened when the yellow and red zoner suddenly started to rush at him, dropping all ‘good intentions’ pretensions from before. Mr. Wilter saw this as proof that Bardot could not be trusted. He tensed himself up and got ready for a fight.

sss

Rudy looked up helplessly as he tried to get Snap to hold still. He couldn’t get his eyes to look away from that horrible glare that the blue and white zoner was presently giving him. Something felt so unnatural about it. It was as though Snap himself wasn’t doing this…

….it had to be Bardot. That zoner had done something to Snap to make him act like this. At the moment, Rudy’s racing mind couldn’t figure out exactly what that was. But it must have something to do with those red bits in his outline. After all, Snap’s entire outline was now glowing a red color when it wasn’t before. There had to be a reason for it and he believed they must be connected.

The boy had to move his head to the side quickly in order to dodge the zoner’s attack. It was a narrow miss and Rudy could hear the zoner’s fist colliding with the ground next to him. He could feel the air rushing past him during the attack and it made him realize just how fast and with how much strength the zoner had been moving. Oh gawd…

He narrowed his eyes and he struggled to push back. Despite the fact that Snap seemed to have gained a power boost from whatever had been done to him, Rudy was still able to gather enough strength to get Snap off of him. Rudy rushed over and pushed the zoner back, forcing him to fall into the ground. He then jumped back and put in some distance between him and the little zoner. Just enough to keep the zoner’s next attack from connecting to him. Rudy soon stood there in a defensive stance, glaring at Snap.

How was he going to stop his friend without hurting him? He really didn’t want to fight him again. He already had enough of that. But it would seem that Bardot had other plans. It was just his luck. To have more than just one threat to worry about. He knew about Mr. Cosmo, but not much about Bardot. What did this zoner actually want? He was so….confusing.

Oh what did it matter anyway? Bardot had already proved himself to be a threat. From forcing Skrawl to attack to now controlling Snap… And now Mr. Wilter was trying to get the zoner off of him. Mr. Wilter was doing pretty well but Rudy couldn’t help but flinch when he realized that Bardot had bitten down on the man’s arm, those two long sharp fangs digging into the flesh. Although this must be hurting Bardot in some way, he was ignoring it in favor of causing the old teacher pain. Rudy could see the agony practically melting out of Mr. Wilter’s eyes.

Rudy couldn’t keep his eyes on this for much longer before turning his head back to Snap. The zoner was trying to ram into him once again. Rudy narrowed his eyes into slits and gritted his teeth. He looked at the nail in his forehead again and he wondered...should he even…

There was no other choice.

WIthout pausing for breath, Rudy rushed towards Snap as quickly as he could go. He pulled his fist back and struck towards the nail….only for Snap to move out of the way, as though he remembered the first attack. Rudy scrambled to turn himself around in response to this. But he wasn’t fast enough to stop Snap from kicking him in the leg.

Rudy let out a cry of pain and he fell onto the ground, on one knee. He grabbed onto his shin and seethed, carefully rubbing it up and down. He could feel pain echoing up and down, concentrating on one spot. He knew that it was going to ruise. He soon stopped rubbing it and placed his hand against the small wound as he lifted his head up to see where Snap was. He narrowed his eyes slowly and he tried to think of how else he could handle this situation. Something needed to be done.

Rudy then noticed that Snap wasn’t trying to attack again. He was just standing there. At first, he wondered if Snap had regained control. But somehow, Rudy doubted that. His outline was still red, meaning he was still being manipulated by Bardot in some way. But if that were the case, then why wasn’t Snap attacking like he normally would have by now?

Rudy decided to take advantage of this break as he straightened himself up and looked carefully at Snap once more. He blinked a few times as he looked at the red outline the zoner still possessed. He didn’t recall Skrawl having the exact same effect, but he still had red radiating from his body in some way. But why was…

Wait, didn’t Mr. Wilter talk about combining red and white chalk? He couldn’t remember one hundred percent as he had been too focused on all that was going on to remember every single detail. But you would think that he would remember this for certain… But either way, if red chalk was involved, then that meant that….

Rudy could feel a rush of cold blood going through him as he realized what Bardot had been doing this entire time.

He hadn’t been controlling Skrawl directly nor was he doing the same thing with Snap.

Instead, he had been infecting them with red chalk.

He was trying to turn them into red chalk zoners.

Rudy struggled to control his breathing at this realization. Oh gawd… If that actually came true, then… Rudy looked back at Snap, his horror-filled eyes taking note of how Snap was looking. So vicious, so ready to fight… Just like a red chalk zoner… Rudy gulped as he realized that his assessment must be right.

It also started to make sense what Bardot actually wanted. He was a hybrid zoner, and thus had the vicious personality of a red chalk zoner but it was a little toned down by the white chalk half. But it was still clear that red chalk was the dominant part of him. And if Bardot was like any other red chalk zoner, which Rudy wouldn’t doubt would be the case, then this meant that his goal must be similar to the pure-blooded red chalk.

But something else didn’t add up at first. Why would Bardot be fighting against the black chalk if it, too, wanted to take over? Wouldn’t it do well to work together with it? Unless the red chalk knew something about the black chalk that Rudy didn’t know. Or maybe they were rivals, or they didn’t have quite the same plans in mind. Rudy licked his lips slowly, feeling how dry they were from the raw emotion that surged through his body. The red chalk and black chalk must have some kind of relationship. There was no other way that…

Rudy’s thoughts were interrupted when he felt a whirlwind of pain striking him in his arm. He looked down and he could see Snap biting into his arm like he was some kind of a wild animal. Rudy felt his heart skipping a few beats at this realization and he struggled to make his possessed friend let go. It took a few hard shakes before he could get Snap to let go.

But not before the little zoner managed to tear away a piece of flesh from his arm.

Rudy wailed in agony as he grabbed his bleeding arm, trembling in pain. He became unaware of anything being said. Was Mr. Wilter calling out to him? Was Bardot trying to taunt him? Whatever the case might be, Rudy just wasn’t able to say anything about it. All he could do was just stare up at Snap fearfully as the zoner struck forward with his fist. Rudy felt it hitting against his throat and his air escaped from his body.

Rudy now laid on the ground, gripping his neck as he struggled to gasp and breathe. Tears of pain trickled down his face. He thought he could feel his head wobbling like something got knocked loose and broke. Not something he imagined happened or else he wouldn’t be awake still. But it was enough to make him shudder and hold his head as he struggled to control himself, feeling his world shaking all around him.

It took him several moments before he could get himself to breathe normally again. But even then, it was a constant struggle. He felt like he was trying to breathe through a straw. He gritted his teeth and seethed heavily, his throat going dry as a result. He trembled a little before he got himself to stand up once more. He looked over at Snap and, just like he did once before, Snap was not attacking.

He couldn’t think of why this case might be. Why again? What could be gained from this? Perhaps he was just waiting for him to be vulnerable? He had been locked in his thoughts for a while and…

Rudy decided not to let himself fall into that trap again. Not after what happened. With his teeth becoming gritted once more, ignoring the pain that followed, Rudy stammered towards Snap. He tried not to pay attention to the agony swelling in his arm as he prepared to strike at Snap. The little zoner seemed startled by his sudden move and then tried to retaliate right back. The zoner got ready for another blow and then moved forward to strike. Rudy, however, was not going to let himself get caught in another attack and he jumped to the side. He ran around the confused zoner, flanking him, using a similar trick as he had before, and then he rammed himself against Snap’s back, causing him to fall into the ground heavily.

Rudy panted heavily as he watched Snap twitching on the ground, rolling about a little and holding onto his hand. Rudy realized that in the process of pushing him down, he had irritated one of his wounds. While he was relieved it was not the head nail this time, he was still horrified at the prospect of accidentally making some injuries worse than they originally were.

Before he could even try to do anything else or think of anything that could be said, Rudy heard a thud behind him. He turned his head and he saw that Mr. Wilter had collapsed. Rudy felt his heart twisting in horror and he called out to the man. When he saw some movement, he felt a bit of relieve and realized that Bardot hadn’t actually done anything as bad as he thought.

But that did little to alleviate his fears as he saw Bardot still stepping on Mr. Wilter’s form like he owned him. The yellow and red zoner grinned at Rudy, his tail swishing from side to side. Rudy got into a defensive stance and prepared for an another attack. He had to swing his head around to keep an eye on two zoners at once. He had no idea where the next attack was going to come from. Rudy had to be as prepared as possible.

But much to his surprise, no attack happened. Instead, Bardot just sat down on his haunches and stared at Rudy with a gleaming expression. Rudy licked his lips and swallowed hard, unable to tell what this meant. For whatever reason, Bardot had let go of his aggression and now looked like he had been thoroughly amused. He had no idea what this hybrid zoner and planned and he didn’t know how to prepare. Rudy kept his body stiff as he prepared for whatever this zoner had in mind.

Then Bardot did something that Rudy did not expect.

Bardot leaned himself back, using his paw to wipe himself along his face and cheek. He rubbed there for a few moments before he gave a smiling glare at Rudy and said, “Well that had been quite fun, don’t you think?” He chuckled at Rudy’s perplexed expression. He shifted his head a little to one side, a single eye still looking at Rudy, tearing right through his pounding soul. “Well I think I’ve had enough fun with you.”

“What?” Rudy asked, confused by this statement.

“Oh don’t think I didn’t like your company, kid.” Bardot waved his paw dismissively. “It’s just that I have someone else in mind for my….special attention.” He curved his claws inward, resting his chin on it. He leaned a little forward as he stared intently at Rudy. With a partial grin, he stated, “I was just playing with you. But you are hardly worth my time. No offense there, junior.”

Rudy bared his teeth in anger. Was this zoner really saying that this was just a ‘game’? That he was wasting time with him on purpose just to amuse himself? It had all been a trick? Rudy’s trembling body started to move towards the zoner. He raised his finger up to speak.

But he didn’t get a word in edgewise. Before he could try to say anything, Bardot had already disappeared. He zipped along the ground and towards the door that Mr. Cosmo went out of. The zoner was nothing but a flash of yellow and red, moving faster than he had been earlier. This was proof enough to Rudy that Bardot really had been just toying with them. The thought caused his blood to set on fire.

But he couldn’t keep focused on that too long when he heard a couple of groans behind him. He whirled around and he could see Mr. Wilter was climbing up to his feet. And then a bit further down, Snap’s outline was returning to normal as the zoner was holding onto the side of his head. Rudy looked back over to where Bardot disappeared and stared there for a few moments before turning back to the others and rushing over to see how they were doing.

sss

A loud grunt exited the woman’s mouth as she was forced up against the wall. She ground her teeth together as she grabbed the wrist of her assailant. She glared out ahead at the man, focusing on both him and the woman standing behind him, who had her arms wrapped up against one another. The stare down that followed lasted for what felt like several long minutes, or possibly even hours. Yet nothing would break Ms. Saffron’s glance from the man before her.

“Let me go, Mr. Nicolas!” Ms. Saffron called out. “You can’t do this to me!”

“How cliche..” Mr. Nicolas mused as he tilted his head to the side. “Even after all of our…. ‘bonding’, you still think that you can just..” Mr. Nicolas stopped himself and took in a deep breath. He let out a sigh as he shut his eyes and then reopened them with a smile. “You really should have picked your battles better before you decided to turn against us.”

Mrs. Panthea nodded her head in agreement. “He’s right, you know. You led yourself into this trap. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself.”

Ms. Saffron bared her teeth, feeling her body tense up with emotion. These two don’t realize what’s going on, do they? No, they couldn’t have. They didn’t know how Mr. Cosmo was really influencing them. They don’t know that this horrid man didn’t really care about them. Only getting what he pleased. And he was going to do it however he could.

She closed her eyes and seethed in pain as she struggled, wriggling herself about as she tried to escape. Mr. Nicolas had tightened his grip on her. The pressure against her throat and caused pain to sweep throughout it. She thought she could feel the fingers getting ready to dig into her neck flesh. The sensation made her flinch and whimper and she struggled to fight against it the best that she could. But this only resulted in a worse tightening and she could feel herself nearly stop being able to breathe.

“I would be careful if I were you, Ms. Saffron.” Mr. Nicolas warned her. “You wouldn’t want to get all..choked up, now would you…?”

Ms. Saffron grunted and seethed, glaring at the man with a partially opened eye. But the need for oxygen outweighed her emotions. She eventually had to stop struggling altogether and she just became limp against the wall, held up mostly by Mr. Nicolas’s hand.

Mrs. Panthea smiled at this, sneering arrogantly. “Now that’s a good girl.” Ms. Saffron didn’t attempt to bother to reply to that, outside of a small glare. Mrs. Panthea ignored it as she moved in closer, her hands slowly folding behind her back. “And now that we’ve got you right where we want you…” Within moments, her face was close to Ms. Saffron’s. The blonde woman could feel her breath against hers. Ms. Saffron snorted and looked away, but Mrs. Panthea grabbed her chin and forced her to look back. “...you are going to answer our questions, aren’t you…?”

Ms. Saffron growled softly at this. “I’m not...going to let….you…”

“You’re really digging your own grave here. You should consider what you are saying.” Warned Mr. Nicolas. “We want to know what you know about those two. What your interactions were and what you have planned. We know that you’re up to something. You can’t easily fool us.”

“So why don’t you make it easier on yourself and just tell us what we need to know?” Mrs. Panthea smiled as she leaned back a little, her head turning to the side. “It will make things so much easier.” The side of her head soon rested on her shoulder. “You would be spared if you tell us what we want to know. Who knows? Maybe Mr. Cosmo would find it in his heart to forgive you, and then we can move on from this.”

Ms. Saffron hardly believed a word that came out of that woman’s mouth. There was no way that Mr. Cosmo would just ‘let this go’. She couldn’t imagine him doing such a thing. She had proven herself a threat to him. He would do whatever he could to ensure that she could never threaten him again.

The man was too paranoid and she was starting to see that. His behavior with the zoners and with her and with Rudy and everyone else… It was all just a desperate ploy in order to get a sense of ‘safety’. Only his sense involved silencing anyone who opposed him. Well okay, she didn’t know exactly if that’s what he was going to do or not. But considering what she had seen so far, would it really be that out of place?

But she couldn’t back down now. She still had a chance to make this right. Despite her guilt of her earlier participation, she could still fight back. Taking out these two might not stop Mr. Cosmo. He had others following in his lead. But it would at least put a dent in things. After all, these two were among the most competent. To lose them would…

Suddenly a loud sound cried out, startling both her and her captors.

“Ahhhh!”

Ms. Saffron, along with Mrs. Panthea and Mr. Nicolas, turned their heads to watch as Mr. Cosmo suddenly dashed out of nowhere. The man tripped and collapsed on the ground before them, his limbs becoming tangled with one another.

Ms. Saffron watched in shock as Mr. Cosmo struggled to untangle himself and get off the ground. Was…. Was this really the same Mr. Cosmo she had come to know? She knew that he was paranoid, but not to this extent. He looked like he had seen a ghost or some kind of unforetold blood bath or something. With his eyes having grown big and his pupils shrinking, a part of Ms. Saffron could not help but feel a little….sorry for the man.

“Sir..?” Mrs. Panthea asked, releasing her grip on Ms. Saffron and reaching her hand out towarsd the man. “Are you…?”

Mr. Cosmo swung his head up and stared at Mrs. Panthea, his eyes bulging. The woman let out a yelp and jumped back. Mr. Cosmo blinked a few times before shaking his head and climbing up to his feet. He released a small moan as he rubbed his forehead, sounding as though he had eaten tainted food.

Although looking nervous, Mrs. Panthea still attempted to speak with the man again. “Sir, are you okay? What happened?”

Ms. Saffron noticed the look in the red-haired man’s eyes. It was clear that he didn’t want to speak of what had happened. The man gathered up to his feet and he panted heavily. He looked around, and it seemed as though he wasn’t sure if just where he was anymore. At least for a while. It took him a while before any sense of recognition made its way into those blue-grey eyes of his. And even after that, he still seemed hesitant to speak.

Then suddenly, Mr. Cosmo shook his body once and his expression just...returned to what it usually would have been. An arrogant smile, acting as though nothing was wrong. Ms. Saffron furrowed her eyes in confusion. Why was the man acting like he wasn’t just screaming a moment ago? It was pointless to deceive them. All three of them saw what happened.

And yet, none of them even tried to say anything about this. They knew that Mr. Cosmo would just dodge the question or pretend like it didn’t matter.

And perhaps it did not. Ms. Saffron’s initial shock over Mr. Cosmo’s screaming faded away was she saw the man approaching her slowly. She remembered her recent grievances with the man and she pushed aside everything else, instead focusing only on the horrid man that stood before her now. As if on cue, Mr. Nicolas and Mrs. Panthea, though still obviously concerned about Mr. Cosmo, still went to Ms. Saffron’s sides to hold onto her for him, gripping her arms tightly.

Mr. Cosmo’s voice flowed out of his mouth. Despite being tinged with what remained of his fear, he still managed to sound menacing. “Why hello there, Ms. Saffron. Have my employees been treating you well?”

Ms. Saffron growled, but said nothing.

Mr. Cosmo reached out and cupped her chin gently. “I think I know of a way for you to help me improve my day…” Ms. Saffron shuddered at his touch, her mind whirling. Just what did this man have in mind for her?

sss

“Well, how did it go?”

Bardot couldn’t help but smile as he looked up at Draow, who was waiting for him in the shadows. He could see the emotion in the wolf-like zoner’s eyes and he quite enjoyed it. “Oh it went perfectly well.” Bardot raised his paw up in gesture. “It couldn’t have gone better even if I tried.”

Draow stared at him for several long seconds. He licked his massive lips slowly as he moved his head up and down. “So they responded like you said that they would?”

“Of course! I told you, humans are predictable.” Bardot cooed to Draow. He took a confident stance, his limbs straightened, his tail holding up in a curve at the tip. “They’re a weak species. So easily manipulated. It’s a shame that you take orders from Mr. Cosmo still.” Upon seeing Draow’s expression, Bardot smirked. “I can see right through you, Draow. I know that you still see him as your leader.”

Draow looked away. “It’s....hard to think of him otherwise.”

“Course...course...” Bardot nodded his head. “But at the very least, take orders from me. I can help you reclaim the proper order of things. The humans might create us, but they do not own us.” Bardot stomped his foot down, his teeth becoming bared. “For far too long, the humans dominated over zoners. We the red chalk arose to change all of that...”

Draow’s eyes widened at this statement. His ears flattened and he arched his back. He moved backwards as though he thought the zoner before him was going to attack. Bardot looked up at this and cocked an eyebrow. Then he chuckled to himself. He would expect this kind of reaction from someone who didn’t fully understand.

Bardot then narrowed his eyes, his voice becoming a low growl. “I am aware that this little boy, this Rudy Tabootie, had managed to tango with the red chalk before and won.... He would prove to be quite the threat, even if Mr. Cosmo were to be downgraded as trouble.”

Draow released a small growl. “You said you wouldn’t do anything to Mr. Cosmo. Just scare him.”

Bardot did recall that. And frankly, it wasn’t important to him. He just shrugged his shoulders, treating that comment like it was nothing. “Regardless, I can’t allow another interference like that.” He gave Draow a sideways glance. “The black chalk sort of had the right idea with making the humans frightened, but that only made things worse.” He stared out ahead at nothing in particular as his eyes narrowed further, his pupils turning into slits, his green eyes glinting brightly. His snout became distorted as he said, “But the red chalk would liberate us all.”

Draow was silent for several moments before he said, “And exactly how do you plan on doing that?”

Bardot smiled at Bardot, his eyes furrowing in the process. A plan was already formulating in his head. “It will be easy. But first, we need to bide our time.” Bardot motioned his paw towards Draow. “Go on and continue to act like a buddy to Mr. Cosmo. Don’t let him know what is going on. Then, when the time is right, I’ll let you know when to strike.”

Draow stared at him for several moments before nodding his head once. “...all right.”

Bardot sneered at this. “Good doggie...”


	38. Set Aside The Distrust

“Wait, you have to stay put!”

“I can’t! What if Rudy needs me?”

“You have to stay here!”

“I’ve waited long enough!”

“Millie!”

The large woman hardly responded to her name being called out. Instead, she just thrashed on the bed, trying to pull her arms out of the cuffs they were placed in. The doctors had been forced to restrain her as she wasn’t holding still. The woman growled at this and she tried to pull harder. At some point, it should break, she knew. Then she could get out of here and try to find her son.

But no matter how hard she tried to pull and yank, it just didn’t seem to be working. Her arms were completely stuck to this stupid thing and all she could do was just lay there while she panted heavily. She could feel sweat moving down her face, an indication of how hard she was working to get away.

Why were the doctors trying to keep her and her husband here? Why couldn’t they just let them go? All they wanted to do was find Rudy. They had been in this hospital long enough. A day was long enough. So why weren’t they listening?

Mrs. Tabootie gritted her teeth tightly. They probably didn’t care. They had no worries about a little child being lost out there somewhere. All that they cared about was keeping her here because of she died under their watch, it was going to look bad on them. Yeah, that was all that concerned them. It was all about the business and the money. Hospitals don’t care about the people they take care of at all. Only if it brings in a profit. The thought disgusted her.

She didn’t waste too much longer on that thought, however. She shifted her focus back on trying to escape. She had no idea where Rudy could be but she knew that she wouldn’t find him strapped down in a place like this. She had already tried to reason with the doctors, but they claim that she was not in any good shape to be running out there, looking for Rudy. Fucking bullshit… She knew the real reason they were saying that.

“Millie, please… You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Mrs. Tabootie shot a glare towards Mrs. Sanchez. She never thought that her neighborhood friend would become her worst enemy in this situation. “If you cared, you would have helped me get free, not aid the doctors in keeping me from my son.”

Mrs. Sanchez flinched at this. She cleared her throat and managed to say, “I know you are upset with me and I can’t blame you, but I also can’t let you go free. You need to stay here. You won’t be able to find Rudy if you’re injured, can you?”

Mrs. Tabootie bared her teeth at the woman. “Oh shut the fuck up! Just admit that you don’t…” Mrs. Tabootie seethed and turned her gaze to one side. For some reason, her head started to pound in agony. She gritted her teeth and seethed, breathing in and out heavily. It took several long moments, more than she would have liked, before the pain finally subsided. She took in a few more breaths before she fully relaxed again.

Mrs. Sanchez looked at her sadly. She moved in closer, holding one of her hands up in the air. “See? This is exactly what I’m talking about.” Her voice was soft and gentle, although to Mrs. Tabootie, it still sounded patronizing. “You cannot go around like that. Something is wrong with you and Joe. Before you go off on your own search party for Rudy when the police are already doing that, you should rest first and…”

“Like hell the police are going to work.” Grumbled Mrs. Tabootie. She turned to glare at the startled woman that she had cut off. “Do you...really think they give a flying fuck…?” Mrs. Tabootie growled, gritting her teeth tightly. I guarantee you that all they are going to do is….”

“Why are you being like this? You were never like this before.” Mrs. Sanchez bit her lip, making it look like she was going to pierce the skin at any given moment. Then she took a few cautious steps forward, reaching her hand out closer to Mrs. Tabootie. Despite the large woman being cuffed, the vet’s hand still trembled as though she feared an attack. “You know that the police are doing all that they can to find him. Just because you and Joe don’t recall all the recent events doesn’t mean that they aren’t going to try. You should try having a bit more faith in them.”

The large woman let out a bitter chuckle at this. She felt her teeth grit hard before she forced her jaw to relax. And even then, it was hard for her to stay fully calm. She turned her head to one side and stared out in one direction. She breathed in deeply and then exhaled. She didn’t really feel like replying right now, anyway.

Instead, she tried to focus on remembering anything that could help. Mrs. Sanchez did say that there was a meeting. It wasn’t that she found it unbelievable. Mrs. Tabootie was actually fully aware that they did meet up with Mr. Cosmo before. But this particular one….for whatever reason, she just couldn’t remember what it was about or it even taking place. But Mrs. Sanchez swore that it happened, and she wasn’t one to lie. But if it did happen, then why didn’t she and her husband remember it taking place at all?

Something wasn’t adding up here. Something was very wrong. Mrs. Tabootie realized that something must have happened on that day. She realized that Mr. Cosmo must have been in on it. She hated the idea of believing him to be a conniving bastard after so long of knowing him as the man who helped improve Plainville. But if he really had done something, if he was truly responsible, then she knew that he needed to be locked up.

But it wasn’t like anyone was going to believe her. There was hardly a person in this tiny backwards town that would view him negatively. Most people here adored him and if she were to try to tell anyone of what she thought, she would be shot down immediately. After all, Mr. Cosmo owned a company and had a public influence and done all these projects. What had she accomplished? To everyone in this town, she was just a nobody. Nothing more than the wife of a butcher. Sure, Joe’s meats were well known in this town, but he was not on the same level as Mr. Cosmo.

She furrowed her eyes once more. Still, regardless of the task that laid ahead of her, she refused to believe that there was absolutely nothing that she could do about this situation. It was just a matter of thinking hard enough and trying to look at things from various angles. Surely there was something that could be done to help things out. If only Mrs. Sanchez would at least try to be more cooperative…

She was supposed to be her friend. Why wasn’t she acting like it? Why was she trying to act as though looking for Rudy was wrong? Didn’t she care? Mrs. Tabootie would have thought that the woman would have at least some concern for Rudy. She wasn’t a heartless person. So why was she just ignoring this factor?

In the end, she was going to have to do something. She was going to have to try what she could and if Mrs. Sanchez wasn’t going to help her, then so be it. She could try to do this on her own. She didn’t need this old hag’s help.

Mrs. Tabootie nearly jolted when she could feel a hand resting on her shoulder. She looked over and she was about to shout at Mrs. Sanchez, only to realize that the woman wasn’t there. She could eventually spot Mrs. Sanchez standing further back, leaning against the doorway and watching her cautiously. Instead of her, it was a nurse who had taken her by the hand. Mrs. Tabootie could soon take notice of the needle that the woman had, the sharp tip pointed right at the crook of her arm.

“I’m going to have to take a blood sample from you.” The nurse stated. “Please form a fist for me. It will make things go easier.”

Mrs. Tabootie wanted to pull back from the nurse, but it wasn’t like her arm was going to go anywhere. She had already tried to break through it. She quickly realized that she didn’t have a much of a choice and she had to relax herself and do what the nurse told her to do. But as the nurse prepared to put the needle in her arm, the large woman shot a glare towards Mrs. Sanchez. She was not going to forget this moment.

sss

Rudy leaned up against the wall, his legs crossed on the small bed. He breathed softly, his head tilting upward as he stared at the ceiling above him. It had become something of a pass time for him to watch the water dripping from the small crack that had yet to be fixed. For all the design and work put into this place, this particular spot wasn’t fully mended yet. How ironic...or whatever term best fit this situation.

But Rudy didn’t really care at the moment what words to use. All that he cared about was just….well he didn’t know anymore. He didn’t really think of how long he had been trapped in here. He didn’t have anything to help him tell time. No clock. No cellphone. Just...no nothing. It made time itself feel as though it had forged a single, slow-moving entity. One that was taking its time and starting to drive him insane.

He looked over and he could see Mr. Wilter laying on the ground. With no second bed in this room, the man had to take to leaning up against the wall, folding his arms, and taking a nap like that. Rudy could hear his snoring even in his thoughts. He thought of waking up the man, but soon decided against it. He knew that it wasn’t going to help the current problems going on.

He soon could hear the sound of the door opening up. Rudy hardly reacted. He simply turned his head to the side, just enough to see the familiar person walking in out of the corner of his eyes. He immediately growled and curled his lip upward into a snarl.

Of course, she had to make an appearance, didn’t she?

“I...brought you something to eat. I’m...sure you haven’t eaten in a while.” Ms. Saffron moved in closer, taking her time. It was clear that she was trying to be cautious of the whole thing, knowing that she could get attacked. In her arms, she held some bagged sandwiches and boxed drinks. “It’s been a day since…”

“Oh spare me the theatrics.” Rudy grumbled. Although that wasn’t quite the word he was going for, it still had the effect that he wanted. When Ms. Saffron stood there frozen, staring at him quietly, he took that as his moment to keep talking. “You lied to use before. You pretended to be our friend. You don’t have to pretend anymore.”

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened. “B-But I wasn’t pretending.”

Rudy turned his head to the side, releasing a small growl. “Whatever. Just leave the stuff and get the fuck out of here.”

Ms. Saffron looked like she wanted to speak. But she did become smart and she shut her mouth. This was something that made Rudy happy. She got the picture. Instead of pestering him further, she just walked forward and dropped off the bags and boxes. There weren’t much, but it should be enough for both him and Mr. Wilter. Then Ms. Saffron got up and walked away, disappearing out of the door, which was shut behind her. With the click of lock, the woman was gone.

Rudy glared at the door for several moments, his thoughts crowding up inside of his head. He had no idea what that woman thought she was doing. Did she honestly think that he was going to be so trusting towards her? After how she had trapped them before, how she had helped Mr. Cosmo reclaim them… Rudy snorted in disgust at how Ms. Saffron thought that she could play it off as ‘being told to.’

Whatever, at least she was gone now and he could focus on...whatever it is that she had given him. He looked down at the stuff before him, looking at the two bagged sandwiches. Just simple peanut butter and jelly. And the boxed drinks were simple milk cartons, single serve ones, that you could get at any store. It wasn’t exactly fine dining. But it would have to do. The woman might be a creepazoid, but she was right on one thing: he and Mr. Wilter really hadn’t eaten in a while.

Rudy hesitated to open up any of the sandwiches, however. He couldn’t help but stare at it with uncertainty, biting his lip firmly. He wasn’t really sure if he should trust eating this. What if Ms. Saffron poisoned it? It seemed like something that she would do. He wouldn’t trust her even if there was a nine foot pole between the two of them.

And yet, he wasn’t really sure if that was a sensible fear or not. Ms. Saffron hadn’t exactly been directly hostile to him or Mr. Wilter. Even as she took Snap away from him, she seemed pretty gentle with him. He wanted to believe that this was just so that he wouldn’t get too suspicous of her, and that it wasn’t genuine. That’s what made the most sense. But what if that wasn’t the case and there was something more?

He did recall, after all, that Mr. Cosmo still wanted him alive. The man had been frustrated that it was taking this long but he still seemed open to waiting and trying again. The man hadn’t ordered his death nor did he act like he wasn’t interested anymore. So to think that he would just call for him to die didn’t seem plausible. At least for him. As for Mr. Wilter, that was a whole different story.

He once more watched the old man. He could feel his heart going out to him. He feared of what could happen if they weren’t careful. Mr. Wilter had the most at stake between the two of them. Rudy had the chance of remaining alive. But Mr. Wilter… What was Mr. Cosmo going to do with him..?

Rudy could feel his blood going cold as all kinds of scenarios gathered inside of his head. He gritted his teeth as he tried to control his reactions. It was difficult for him to remain fully calm. Something was striving to make him…

“Rudy..?” A voice suddenly called out.

Rudy jolted as his thoughts were interrupted seemingly out of nowhere. He turned his head and he stared towards the man, who had suddenly stood straight up and was now looking directly at him. “Mr. Wilter, you frightened me.”

“I apologize. That wasn’t my intention.” Mr. Wilter said apologetically. He rubbed the top of his head with his large hand. Then the man seemed to take notice of the food. “Is that for us?”

Rudy nodded his head slowly. “I’m not sure if I want to eat it, though.”

Mr. Wilter tilted his head in confusion. “Why ever not?”

Rudy glared back at the man for a moment before he got his expression to soften up. “....because Ms. Saffron gave it to me.”

“Oh… I see.” Mr. Wilter tilted his head down slightly. “I can...see why that would be a problem.” Rudy couldn’t agree more. Mr. Wilter seemed to understand where he was coming from. But then… “What if that’s the only time we can get food? I bet you Mr. Cosmo didn’t tell her to deliver that food. I can see Mr. Cosmo trying to starve us until we give in. If we don’t take this chance…”

“But what if it’s poisoned?” Rudy found himself protesting. Despite the fact that he did tell himself why that fear did not make much sense, he still felt some fear about it. Something inside of him was still telling him to be cautious over the whole thing. “I can’t just…”

“Then we can have a taste test.” Mr. Wilter stated. Rudy looked up at him in confusion. “We can taste the food and wait and see if either of us get sick. I doubt that they would just poison us like that, though. Frankly, that wouldn’t really be Mr. Cosmo’s thing.” Mr. Wilter held his hand up in gesture. “If he wanted us dead, he would have done it more directly. Either with himself or with Draow. Poisoning someone would seem a little bit...boring to him.”

A memory flooded into the back of Rudy’s mind and he shuddered. “Or threatening to let someone die…”

Mr. Wilter blinked at this. “Pardon?”

Rudy looked over at Mr. Wilter. “Mr. Cosmo said he was going to let Penny die if I didn’t join him. He had promised that he would help her if I caved in.”

“I see. Yes, that sounds like something he would do.” Mr. Wilter furrowed his eyes. “He’d say anything if it would give him an advantage.”

Rudy nodded his head in agreement to this. He could feel his blood boiling as he recalled the low down dirty low that Mr. Cosmo tried to deliver. Seething through clenched teeth, he gave a small snort before he looked back at the sandwiches. Wanting to get his mind off of the topic, he grabbed one of the bags and lifted it up. “Well might as well try to test one of these things.” Rudy grumbled as he began to open up one of the bags. Here went nothing.

sss

Penny felt disgusted with herself. How could it have taken her this long to try to do anything? And heck, it wasn’t like she could try anything now, anyway. She was stuck trying to figure things out, stuck trying to manage this annoying pain, stuck trying to... 

Penny let out a groan as she tried to clear her thoughts. They were crowding around her head and giving her a full on headache. She wasn’t going to be able to solve anything if she kept this up. She was going to make things worse. She needed to figure a way to calm down before she lost it.

But how was that going to be possible? There was just too much going on, too much invading her mind, that… She shook her head once, fighting back against the pain the best that she could. If she wanted to get anything done, she was going to have to at least try to make the effort to calm herself first. Otherwise, she was just going to mess things up and that wasn’t something that she could afford right now.

She just...hadn’t figured out how she was going to carry this out. She had told Biclops that she had a plan all figured out, but that was a big lie. She just wanted to comfort him and help him feel better about the situation. But in reality, she was struggling to think of how she was going to pull this off. It didn’t seem possible to her unless she found a way back inside that place. But the only way that she could think of to do that was….

No, her mother would never go for it. Her mother wouldn’t take her back to Mr. Cosmo’s place. Not after knowing that something happened. She would only wind up worrying her mother more. She knew of how popular Mr. Cosmo was among the populace here and there was no way that anyone would listen to them on the issue. If they dared to bring it up, they might be ostracized.

And yet her mom seemed like the better bet. She couldn’t just walk there herself. It was too far and in her condition, she would just collapse long before she got there. It would not be a very smart move on her part. If she even dared to make that sort of effort, just how long would it be before she would just…?

But Penny wasn’t about to give up. She was going to do what she could to help. She was going to find a way to get that lure set up so that Mr. Cosmo went into the Chalk Mine. She would make sure that he wound up trapped for good, unable to escape. She tightened her hand into a small fist. That man was not going to get away with what he had done to her friends. And he was not going to get away with trying to kill her.

At this thought, Penny was suddenly reminded of the condition that she was in. She felt a jolt of pain moving up and down her body and she stiffened up, her eyes widening. She curled herself inward, clutching at her sides, and she seethed heavily. She could feel her head spinning as agony seeped into it, taking her over. Penny wasn’t able to hold back for much longer and she let out a small scream, pushing herself back further into her bed, tossing herself about.

It soon became clear that her mom could hear the entire thing transpire.

“Penita!” Mrs. Sanchez called out in horror as she rushed into the bedroom. She must have been close enough to hear the commotion, Penny realized. “Oh my g… Penita! What’s wrong?!”

It took Penny a while before she could feel herself starting to relax even the slightest. But the pain lingered on for a while longer. She shut her eyes tightly and seethed through tightly clenched teeth. She whimpered softly as tears poured out of her eyes, staining her cheeks. She opened them up forcefully as she looked over at her mom. Her vision was blurred but she could still tell that her mom was there. Without really thinking about it, she leaned in towards her mother, pressing herself against her body.

Mrs. Sanchez stiffened up at this for a split second before her arm slung around Penny and pulled her close. Penny didn’t attempt to say anything as she just leaned up against her mother, whimpering softly. She clinched her eyes shut as she struggled to keep breathing in and out, in and out. She felt pain swirling through her mind and it made it impossible for her to think. Much to her horror, she could have sworn that the pain was getting worse, despite treatment.

Penny was almost tempted to look at her wounds to see how they were healing. But the very thought of that made her freeze in horror. She found the idea to be terrifying. She didn’t want to see what it looked like underneath there. She didn’t want to see what kind of marks there were, the reminders of what that wretched beast had done to her. She didn’t want to…

“Shhh… It’s alright now.” Mrs. Sanchez whispered to Penny as she held onto her, rubbing her arm up and down and stroking her hair. “It’s all going to be fine. Please try to relax. Mommy’s here now. Shhh…”

Penny continued to release small cries and whimpers. They did start to soften up a little the longer that she was held in her mother’s arms. She tried to take comfort in her mother’s words the best that she could. She did truly want to believe what her mom was saying and she wanted to believe that things would work out in the end.

It took her a while before she managed to put herself at some ease. Although her mind was still going crazy with how she had to help her friends, she first needed to calm herself down and regroup herself in her mind. Only then could she figure out exactly how this plan of hers was going to work.

sss

Ms. Saffron let out a small sigh as she moved down the hallway. She felt a sense of disgust with herself at how easily she bent back into Mr. Cosmo’s whim. She wasn’t even sure how it had happened. She knew how this man truly was and she was able to resist him before. So why the sudden change? What was so different about now that she just…

She had been trying to figure this out for a while. But nothing would come to mind. Only thing that she could think of is that the man was more manipulative than he appeared. And if that’s the case, then she was in bigger trouble than she thought.

But despite her fears, she still kept moving forward and still did her best to fight against these said fears. They were only going to cause her a headache if she focused too much on them. What she needed to focus on doing now was instead trying to keep up the charade until she could find a way to make her move. Mr. Cosmo likely is alerted to her now, which in turn would make things that much more difficult to achieve. Even the act of visiting Snap was not going to yield results that easily. That man was all seeing.

There was still a chance she could make it through this, but for the time being, she was just going to have to play it safe. This meant making moves far less frequently and trying to be efficient the best that she could. It also could mean that Rudy and the others may end up in the dark a little more often. It would be harder to explain things in that short amount of time and if someone was watching…

Ms. Saffron slowed down her walking pace to almost a crawl. Her eyes furrowed a little more as she went into deep thought. There was something else that was troubling her. It wasn’t just the condition of those people that she was worried about. She was also concerned for whatever Mr. Cosmo had faced before.

The man hadn’t told her or anyone what had happened. He never bothered to explain his frightful reaction. He didn’t bother trying to tell them what was wrong. He just wrote it off as something that wasn’t important. Ms. Saffron hardly believed that and she had her suspicions. The man was clearly hiding something and she wasn’t liking it. There had to be something that caused him to go crazy and run like that.

She guessed that it might have something to do with zoners. The man did make it clear that he didn’t like them. She couldn’t quite recall in the moment if he actually said he was afraid of them or not. But he did go out of his way to make them all believe that zoners were evil little monsters. He wanted them to be afraid of them. Could this be an extension of his own fears? Was he trying to feel validated by making them all fearful of zoners like he supposedly is?

This caused her to reflect on her own reactions towards Snap and the other zoners and it made her wonder just how justified she was in her reactions. She had once agreed with Mr. Cosmo about zoner life not equalling a human life due to them being able to be created on a whim. But after speaking to Snap, who informed her that this simply wasn’t the case, that once a zoner dies, that very same zoner can never be reacted, her mind started to shift. It did take her a little while, but slowly she started to see what the little zoner was talking about. And she started to realize that….he was right. You might be able to create a similar looking zoner, but never one that was one hundred percent accurate. And their personality would never be the same. They would never have the exact same experiences as the previous zoner they were based on. And they would probably be created with the knowledge that they’re just some kind of replacement and…

Ms. Saffron stopped her thoughts in the middle as she noticed someone coming down the hallway slowly. She held her breath as she forced herself to go faster. She could see, even from this distance, that it was Mrs. Panthea. While Mr. Cosmo made it clear that the other employees weren’t to harass her, that didn’t mean that some didn’t glare at her, and Mrs. Panthea was no exception. She clearly wasn’t happy with what she did and was angrier than Mr. Nicolas had been.

As the two of them passed one another, Ms. Saffron could feel the air around her chilling. She could feel the woman’s glare upon her and she shuddered, licking her lips and trying to control herself the best that she could. Such a feat was difficult, but she did still manage to go through without stopping completely. She also managed not to change her expression or her gate. She managed to avoid doing anything that would have caused Mrs. Panthea to have anything to use against her. And after all was said and done, the two of them went about their separate ways.

Regardless, Ms. Saffron still waited a while before she even attempted to sigh. If she had done so while Mrs. Panthea was watching, that woman would have used that to justify her suspicions and say something to the others. Although Ms. Saffron was already on probation, it could get even worse if Mrs. Panthea and some other disgruntled coworkers got their way.

All the more reason to figure out how to take care of Mr. Cosmo and fast.

But where was she going to start? That was the biggest issue she was having right now. She needed to figure out how she was going to help Rudy and the others out of their situation. But with so many people watching her, it would be hard to make a proper move. Rudy and Mr. Wilter were watched just as much as Snap was. And given some recent incidents, security was more locked down than ever. The only thing that would make it even more secure was if they had machines hooked up that could record your thoughts. Thankfully that wasn’t the case, but considering Mr. Cosmo’s intelligence and access to ChalkZone, it might only be a matter of time before such a thing was created.

She tried her best to shake the thought out of her head as she forced herself to continue forward, moving at a slightly faster pace. She had to make herself look like she was working hard to avoid suspicion by anyone else that she might wind up running into. She had a feeling that Mrs. Panthea would be far from the only one that she would run into.

And of course, as soon as she had that thought, she could hear the sound of footfalls approaching her. But this couldn’t have been a person. The sounds were too heavy and she could feel heavy vibrations through the ground. She realized that this ‘person’ was either unnaturally huge...or they weren’t human. And she knew that the latter was the most probable answer.

She got her confirmation in the form of a large shadow moving along the wall with a shape that was distinctly non-human. She held her breath when she realized that it was Draow. She slowed her pace just slightly as she could see the massive beast coming into view. She had always been cautious around him, but after recent events, she had an even bigger reason to be so with this big guy. If what Rudy said was true…

Of course it was. She couldn’t deny her participation. She couldn’t claim innocence. She had helped that man try to murder someone. And she had been perfectly fine with it, too. It must have been the black chalk. It must be manipulating people in more subtle ways than anyone could possibly realize. It was probably even controlling Mr. Cosmo.

That begged a question though. If the black chalk were responsible for this, and if it was...sentient...then just what were its goals? What did it have planned? Why was it trying to drive a wedge between humans and zoners?

She stiffened up momentarily as she practically felt Draow walking beside her. He did not even touch her once yet she still felt him grazing by her somehow. She remained still for several moments, feeling the shadow going across of her, before she turned her head and watched as the large beast moved down. Draow didn’t so much as acknowledge her once. He just kept walking down, as though he had a predetermined destination.

Ms. Saffron sometimes wondered just what Draow did all day. He had his own room but he hardly stayed in it. He kept….patrolling the hallways, but it wasn’t like he could speak or anything. So how would he have been able to give any feedback? Did he just nudge Mr. Cosmo or growl or whatever like he just did a few seconds ago? Was Mr. Cosmo so in tune with him that he knew exactly what Draow was trying to say? Well that…

Suddenly those thoughts came to a halt as her eyes widened. Of course, why didn’t she think of it sooner? There was a way that she could get help that didn’t involve sneaking off anywhere in this building. In fact, the destination would be on the outside of it.

Wasn’t Penny attacked by Draow…?

She furrowed her eyes at this, scolding herself for letting her mind wander that far that quickly. She had just been thinking about that. How could she have…

Nevermind that for now. She needed to focus on what she could do with that information. She licked her lips slowly as she focused her mind on Penny. There was a good chance that she was still alive… But she was also likely hurt and in need of assistance. Maybe she was at a hospital or maybe she was at home. It was hard to tell at this point. But the only way to find out for sure was to just...locate her.

And if she managed to locate her, then she could talk to her and see what could be done. Penny might have some ideas. Penny might be willing to work with her. It would be easier to get to her because she was outside of the building. She could easily just head out on her lunch break and see if she can find her. She might not have exactly the best luck but it wasn’t like she had anything to lose if she tried. The lunch breaks here were generous. An hour with some leeway before and after. Not a common business strategy that she’s seen, but it was more than enough to help her out with getting some ample time to find Penny.

But she did know that she might need a miracle to find her. Probably an even bigger one to for Penny to even trust her. But she did also know that Penny was really determined to help Rudy. Perhaps that would be enough to convince the girl to give her another chance. There was only one way to find out for certain, though, and that was to try to find her. She could only hope that she is able to find her before Mr. Cosmo…. She tried not to think about it.

sss

Penny seethed, her teeth gritted tightly, as her mother pushed the soaked cloth against her shoulder. “Yeowch!” Penny yelped, unable to stop herself.

“I know it hurts, Penita, but you need to try to hold still.” Her mom said. She started to move the cloth over her shoulder slowly, taking her time. Penny tried to keep herself as silent as possible, but she couldn’t help but give out a few whimpers. “This will only sting for a few moments. I promise.”

Penny opened up one eye to glare at her mother. “You’ve said that before and it…” She stopped herself and let out another yelp as she could feel another sharp sting. She hated doing this, but she just couldn’t help it. Wound treatment was always a painful process no matter how gentle the other person was.

But she did understand its importance. That much she couldn’t deny. Her mother was just making sure that her wounds were properly clean. Penny didn’t want to stay at a hospital and thankfully her mom knew enough about this stuff to help her out. It didn’t really ease the pain much, though. Not that she was really expecting it, anyway. She just hoped that this whole mess will soon be left behind her and she could start focusing on other things.

Like helping her friends.

Penny gave out another cry of pain, followed by a shudder, when her mom rubbed the cloth a little against her, as though trying to work in the medicine to kill any developing infection. Penny hadn’t looked down at her arm at this point, largely because she was too squicked out to see her own wound. It was one thing to see it on an animal, but another thing entirely to see her own flesh sliced open.

She was certain that her own imagination on the wound was not as bad as the reality, but that did not convince her to look. Instead, she just kept her gaze turned to the side as she waited for her mom to finish up bandaging her. Penny couldn’t bring herself to look. She just wanted this to be over as quickly as possible.

The process took longer than she would have liked. Her mom had to finish cleaning the wound before it could be rebandanged up. And even that would hurt her. Just the slightest press against her would sent jolts of pain up and down her body. It would take her mind a while to adjust to the pain and letting it fade out from her mind. It would take much longer than she would like and she was absolutely miserable until it does happen.This made it really hard for her to comply with the changing of bandages and cleaning of her wound despite knowing how important that it was.

Several minutes passed and that soon turned to a half hour and then forty-five minutes. All that time moved by slowly, going at a record slow pace, more than she could bare. It was like time itself was slowing down on purpose to make her endure this even longer.

But at least it was eventually over. She could feel the bandages moving over her shoulder and chest, tightening up slightly against her skin. She could hear her mother cutting the cloth and then taping it in place, preventing it from being pulled down so easily. She looked down carefully at her shoulder now. She noticed some redness like usual, but it was not as bad as it had been before. She also had to admit, the pain seemed a little less than it was earlier.

After her mom was finished adjusting the bandages a little, she slowly got up to her feet. “Stay right here.” Her mom ordered her. “I’m going to go get some medicine for you.”

Penny nodded her head. “Yes, mama.”

Penny watched her mother go into the kitchen. She did as she was told and stayed put. Not like she could go anywhere, anyway. Even a quick visit to ChalkZone was out of the question. And speaking of that, she realized that she had overexerted herself last time. She should have been more careful with how much she had wandered around. Due to her stupidity, she ended up irritating her wounds so much that it leaked into recent events.

That was why she had called out in pain before. She had put stress on those gashes. She hadn’t allowed them to properly heal. And as a result of that, well…

She had been pretty stupid earlier, but she would play it smarter this time. She hadn’t given up on finding a way to trap Mr. Cosmo in ChalkZone. She would eventually go back, but she would find a way to get there faster. She sure as heck was not going to walk this time, that’s for certain.

But it was still going to be a challenge to figure out exactly how she was going to go about doing this. Even with finding ways to make her travel more efficient, she still needed to plan out how she was going to accomplish these goals with as little stress on herself as possible. And unlike other times, she didn’t have Rudy to help her out. It wasn’t that she thought she was incapable, but it was going to be hard doing this all by herself.

But she wasn’t going to have much of a choice, was she…?

She turned her head as she heard her mother approaching her once more. This time, she held a cup of water and a pill in her hand, just like before. This pill was a bit stronger than the other two that she had taken. She had some reluctance on consuming it only because she knew how nauseated she might feel after it entered her stomach. But at the same time, her mom was not going to leave until she took it. So she might as well. Plus, she would feel better having something to remove the pain.

Penny didn’t waste time as she took the glass from her mother and grabbed the cup. She held onto it firmly as she took the pill and popped it into her mouth. She ignored the bitter taste as she poured in the water, using it to guide the pill down her throat. She swallowed loudly, feeling it slither into her stomach. She took another drink and then set the cup of water down on the nearby table.

“It’ll take some time for the medicine to kick in and....”

“I know, mom. You’ve already told me this before.” Penny said, interrupitng her mom. “I’m not a little kid anymore. I know how this stuff goes.” Penny did freeze herself as she realized that she ahd cut her mother off a little too...roughly. She immediately recoiled and leaned away from her mother and said, “I’m sorry, I-I didn’t mean to...”

Her mother, though slightly startled, didn’t seem all that upset. She merely just waved her hand from side to side a little and said, “Oh that’s quite all right, Penita. I understand. This is a little...” Her mother’s voice trailed off. She smacked her lips a few times, biting into them, before she took a step back. “I’m going to call the hospital to ask about Rudy’s parents’ condition.”

Penny could feel her heart stinging at that statement. Her mom didn’t tell her all of the details. But she did learn enough to know that Rudy’s parents were not in the best state of mind. They had suddenly fallen ill and they both had been trying to flee the hospital to find Rudy. They even had to be cuffed down in order to keep them from getting away. It was not something the hospital staff had wanted to do, but they didn’t seem to think that there was any other choice available to them.

Not that she could blame the hospital for taking such extreme actions, but she did still feel sorry for Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie for having to endure that. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like for them to have to go through that. She couldn’t imagine what they had to deal with, being trapped in the hospital while they had no clue where their son was.

And Penny felt helpless as she could not say anything. Not without invoking intense negativity from most of the city. She felt so trapped and....

She jerked her head when she heard the sound of the door bell being rung. She blinked a few times, wondering who it could be. She looked at her injuries and decided she felt well enough to get up. So she made her way over to answer the door, having no idea whom to expect.

But when she got there and got the door open, she was taken aback by who was standing there.

It was Ms. Saffron.

sss

Snap let out a small whimper as he curled himself into a tighter ball. He could hear the sound of the water bars sparkling around him, the electricity and the water threatening to hurt him if he did not keep in the exact center. He could feel his body shaking hard and it seemed like there was no end in sight. He kept asking himself over and over again just what was going to become of him. But in all honesty, he just had no answers.

Snap lifted his head up and he took another look around. There hadn’t been any changes to this room just yet. He had been left alone about an hour ago. He didn’t know where Mr. Cosmo went. It wasn’t like he cared that much. It gave him some time to be alone at least.

But even that wasn’t that comforting. Snap had no way out of here and he was in greater pain than before. And this cage had been made even smaller. He felt so tightly packed, as though just one slight move in one direction would be enough to get himself injured. He had no idea why Mr. Cosmo shrunk the cage like this. From the look in the man’s eyes, it seemed like he was frightened by something, though Snap had no idea.

Another thing that the little superhero zoner couldn’t understand is just why he was hurting all over. His outline, the entirety of it, felt like it was set on fire. Such a feat was very unlikely to be done under most circumstances as the outline is supposed to be untouchable. But when something does happen to it…

Snap shut his eyes tightly, gritting his teeth. The only thing that he could do right now was just hold onto whatever hope that he had left. There wasn’t much left in his mind. He could feel most of his internal being just giving up. But there was still a spark of hope. It was all that he had left and it was all that he could hold onto. So long as he still had that, then he had at least one way of avoiding dropping down further.

Snap struggled to remember just how he ended up here in the first place. The recent events were pretty much a blur to him. He wasn’t able to think of anything that made sense. He raised his hand up and gently rubbed his head as he seethed softly, an ache spreading throughout his skull.

The last thing that he could remember was something about being chained to the ground. Then he was risen up and...he didn’t remember anything else after that. It was like his memories had been condensed and locked away, placed somewhere so that he could never reach it. Perhaps if he got access to that one…. No, he was not going to live through his memories and thoughts like that again. But still, just what had…

At the memory of being cuffed, Snap felt a shockwave of pain through his leg. He tried to kick it out, only to stop himself when he realized that doing so was going to cause his foot to hit against one of the electrified water bars. He halted himself and tried to force himself to hold completely still. His shivering would not stop.

Where had Rudy been? Why hadn’t he been there to help him? Why didn’t the boy try to get him out of this situation? Snap wanted to believe that Rudy did care for him. But it was just so hard to keep holding onto more positive beliefs like that. He was certain that Rudy was there and he still left him. He still hadn’t gotten him out. Snap would have understood the first time, but two times in a row…? That was almost a strike three.

Snap didn’t mean to be so negative. He just couldn’t help himself. He didn’t understand why Rudy was not trying to help him. Snap tried to search his memories to see what Rudy had done and all that he could remember was Rudy leaving him. The thought filled his blood up with chilling, burning ice, a weird combination that made him feel even worse. He breathed in and out slowly as he tried to settle down his mind. This became increasingly difficult as time passed, and he was continuously harassed by thoughts of Rudy.

A part of him was disgusted with himself for thinking this way about Rudy and this part of him did try to push aside those thoughts. Rudy wouldn’t purposely abandon him, and since he was knocked out clearly, he must have missed some stuff. There had to be something more going on here that he was missing. There was just no way that his fear-filled thoughts were accurate….

...right…?

Snap soon could hear the sound of footfalls approaching. He slightly turned his head but still kept his head low. He was as silent as possible as Mr. Cosmo joined back into the room. Snap expected the man to sit down in his nearby desk and ignore him like he did last time, but now the man seemed to fixate on him. Those eyes were glaring right at him and Snap couldn’t help but shiver harder.

As the man drew in closer, Snap could soon see that he was holding something in his arms. In a brief flash, Snap thought that it was something to hurt him with. Snap immediately shook and he tried to move a little closer to one corner despite his fears.

But after Mr. Cosmo got close enough to use that controller to open up the bars, and as a set disappeared in a blip sound, Snap could see that he had been mistaken. The man wasn’t holding some kind of weapon, but instead food and what appeared to be medicine. Though despite that, he still remained skeptical, cocking an eyebrow, the only bit of defiance that he could show the man.

Mr. Cosmo saw the look in Snap’s eye and he raised an eyebrow of his own. “I wouldn’t move much if I were you. This will be done shortly, but I will need you to hold still. I wouldn’t want to screw anything up.”

Snap noticed the man’s tone of voice and he realized that perhaps Mr. Cosmo wasn’t actually intending on hurting him this time. But he still remained suspicious and skeptical. “S-S-Since when d-d-did you care about th-that?”

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head in one direction. “If you want me to leave you to starve, I will, if that pleases you.”

Snap’s eyes widened at this. He could feel his stomach growling and his dry mouth causing him to lick his lips slowly. He had forgotten that he hadn’t eaten since yesterday early on, and his stomach was yearning for something to get inside of it. Snap found himself instinctively shifting himself over to get a little closer to Mr. Cosmo. His eyes were focused on what he held in his arms, the food and the drink mostly.

“There, you see? I knew you would come to your senses.” Mr. Cosmo said softly. He lowered himself down further, placing the items on the ground in front of the small zoner. “Go ahead and eat up. But do be careful.”

Snap was so focused on the food before him that he didn’t really notice Mr. Cosmo shifting around beside him. All that he could see was the small salad and juice in front of him. It wasn’t much, but to his stomach, it was a schmorgus board. Or whatever people would call it. He shook his head, trying to get his tongue to stop drooling saliva like that, and he reached out and started to eat the salad, uncaring if it had no dressing on it or not.

As he ate, as his stomach started to fill with the food and juice he was practically inhaling, he slowly became aware of something being pressed against his leg. He flinched for a moment, but he was too focused on consuming this stuff that he barely felt much outside of a few stings and pressured spots.

Before he realized it, everything was complete. Snap had finished his food and drink faster than he realized, making it seem like he had just gotten it. His stomach stopped hurting him and he could feel the comforting sensation of digestion taking place. He could also feel Mr. Cosmo’s shadow moving over him, taking a step back from him. As the man did, Snap gulped and looked behind him to see what had happened.

He realized that Mr. Cosmo had been changing his bandages. He had been so quick about it, too. Snap didn’t know how that was possible. Not only did the man change his bandages but before that, he had clearly been cleaning the wounds as well. He felt a slight dampness in these areas to prove it. Snap stared at this in shock for a few moments before looking up at Mr. Cosmo in confusion, his eyes shining with the question of ‘why?’.

“Oh don’t look at me that way. You shouldn’t be surprised by this. I still need you alive.” Mr. Cosmo said.

Snap wasn’t sure what to think. This man said this multiple times. It was starting to lose its meaning. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was something else going on.

Mr. Cosmo brought out a bottle of water. Snap’s heart skipped a beat at first before he realized that it was still chalk water. He relaxed, but only just slightly. Mr. Cosmo moved in closer and he gently cupped Snap’s chin. “Here, take this.” The red-haired man said as he pushed a pill into Snap’s mouth and forced him to swallow it with some chalk water. “This will help take the pain away.”

Snap shuddered at the bitter taste of medicine going down his throat. He panted a few times after the dificult swallow before looking up at Mr. Cosmo in confusion. “Wh-Why are you..”

“I’ve already told you. I would rather keep you alive.” Said Mr. Cosmo.

“Yes, but… Rudy’s not here and..” Snap’s voice trailed off, his eyes widening slightly at the mention of Rudy’s name.

Mr. Cosmo took notice of this. “You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Snap didn’t answer. Mr. Cosmo took that as a ‘yes’. He gave off a small chuckle as he forced himself up to his feet. “Isn’t it funny how it’s me who is taking care of you and not your own friend…?”

Snap looked up at Mr. Cosmo wide-eyed, but he couldn’t speak.

Mr. Cosmo turned around to leave. “Well I’ll get going. Do try to stay out of trouble, Snap. I wouldn’t want to have to save you again.” And with that, Mr. Cosmo left the room, the water bars returning. And all Snap could do was stare in confusion, his mind trying to process what just happened.

sss

“Look, I know you don’t trust me, but I really want to help.”

“And why should we trust you?”

“Yeah, don’t you work for that man?”

“I…”

“Give us one good reason why we should listen to you.”

Penny furrowed her eyes as she stared at Ms. Saffron before her. She felt herself leaning back against her mother, who had shortly arrived, having finished her phone conversation with the hospital staff. Thoughts of that faded away, though, as the two women focused on the third woman before them.

Ms. Saffron had arrived a short while ago, standing in front of the doorway, her fingers fumbling together. She looked pretty nervous, her eyes shifting left and right. Penny felt some level of suspicion rising up at his and she released a low growl. She wasn’t exactly fond of how this woman was acting. Something about it did not feel right. If Ms. Saffron truly had nothing to hide, then why was she acting this way?

Penny suspected that there was something more going on that this woman wasn’t telling them. Ms. Saffron came here for a reason. She claims that she just wants to help but after what happened before, Penny couldn’t bring herself to trust her. It didn’t help that Ms. Saffron was associated with Mr. Cosmo. That alone raised a lot of red flags in her mind.

This woman helped kidnap her friend. She helped keep him prisoner and she had dragged her away. There was nothing that this woman could say to make her think that she was trustworthy. Penny looked up at her mother and she could tell that her mom was tempted to push Ms. Saffron out of the door. She was a little surprised when she didn’t, but perhaps her mom wanted to give Ms. Saffron a chance to explain herself.

Ms. Saffron hadn’t attempted to move, perhaps out of fear of accidentally provoking them. A smart move, if Penny could say so herself. At least this prevented the woman from trying anything funny. Penny kept her glare on her, making sure that she could see her at all times.

“Penny…” Ms. Saffron finally said after moments of silence.

Almost immediately, Mrs. Sanchez took on the defensive. Putting an arm in front of Penny protectively, she hissed, “What do you want with my daughter?”

Ms. Saffron paused for a moment, struggling to speak. She looked down for a second before raising her head back up and looking sadly at Mrs. Sanchez. “I’ve….made some terrible mistakes. And sometimes I don’t know...why I’m doing them. I…” She raised her hands up and placed them towards her face. She held onto her face tightly, digging her fingernails in. “...I’m not really sure what’s wrong with me.”

Mrs. Sanchez curled her lip up slightly. “Are you trying to make us trust you? Because if you are, it’s not working.”

Penny nodded her head affirmatively, glaring at Ms. Saffron. There was nothing this woman had said that made her seem trustworthy. All that she was succeeding in doing was making things worse for herself. Why didn’t Ms. Saffron just leave? It would be easier on all of them.

Ms. Saffron said, “Look, I know it’s hard for you to trust me. I’m sure your daughter’s mentioned….stuff about me.” Ms. Saffron glanced over at Penny. She seemed to flinch at how their eyes locked with one another. She had to jerk her head away before looking back at Mrs. Sanchez. “But I really do want to help. I want to make up for what I’ve done. I want to help get Rudy out of there.”

Penny couldn’t help but flinch at this statement. Not because it wasn’t true. Of course it was. But it was the first direct thing her mother’s heard to confirm that Mr. Cosmo was doing something. Penny had only mentioned that was the last place she had known he went, as far as she could remember. Unless of course, she shouted something while she was in pain, which was another possibility.

But she couldn’t deny that her mom was still definitely shocked by this. She could hear her mother gasp a little, her hand going a little towards her mouth, her fingertips pressing up against her chin. She remained like that for a little while before she swallowed hard and she tentatively said, “S-So…. Mr. Cosmo is really doing something….?”

Ms. Saffron hesitated for a moment, as though fearful that she might have goofed up somehow. But she soon swallowed, echoing Mrs. Sanchez’s, and she said, “Yes.”

There was some silence that soon followed after that. The group of three just looked at one another, unable to say anything. The silence swirled around the room, crowding around them and making them all feel trapped. A heaviness not detected before pushed down onto their backs, making them stiffen up a little. All three of them became more alert and their eyes practically glinted, preparing for what was about to come.

Penny wasn’t sure what to say at this point. She licked her dry lips slowly. She could feel her mother’s tension seeping into her, making herself stiffen further. And she thought for sure she could feel Ms. Saffron’s nervousness spreading to her as well. It was the first initial clue she had to show that perhaps, just maybe, Ms. Saffron really did want to help.

But suppose she did, how would it even work? And would it even be wise to listen to her at all? Penny could not forget what this woman did and….

...well, she did still need help with setting up those portals. And if something went wrong, perhaps she could figure out something that could work to her advantage. Maybe she could rig it to trap Ms. Saffron too if she went out of line? The blonde woman didn’t need to know the functionality of it. Penny could easily hide this ‘feature’ from her and she’d never know.

It was still ultimately a difficult call to make. Just what should she do? Should she give this woman a chance and accept her help? Or should she just push her away and find someone else to help her? Like, someone that she could actually trust?

She made up her mind. She just hoped that she wasn’t going to regret it.

“Penita..?”

Penny ignored her mother’s words as she moved away from her and headed a little closer to Ms. Saffron. She stared at her intently, showing her silently that she still did not trust her. Ms. Saffron watched her carefully. There was a slight glare on her face, as though she, too, wasn’t sure what to think of her. The two of them remained like this for several moments before Penny gave her statement.

“....okay then, Ms. Saffron. I’ll give you a chance to help.” Penny said. She took a step forward, ignoring her pain, and she hissed closer to the woman, “But I fucking swear, if you give me one reason to suspect you being up to no good, I’ll make you pay. Do you get it….?”

Ms. Saffron’s eyes widened at this. Then she swallowed loudly and nervously and nodded her head quickly. “Y-Yes…”

Penny just glared at her. “Good. Now.. Why don’t you come in so we can discuss this further?” Penny gestured her head in one direction, gesturing for Ms. Saffron to follow her and her mother. Ms. Saffron hesitated for a moment, but then she proceeded to follow the two further into the house.

sss

The blonde woman furrowed her eyes a little as she stared at the pissed off mother and daughter before her. She hadn’t known what to fully expect, but somehow, this was still a bit more than she would have predicted. She knew that Penny would not trust her, but she hadn’t been entirely sure just how much in the loop the mother was.

Well, she had her answer.

“If you even think of laying one hand on my daughter…” Mrs. Sanchez growled. “...you won’t be walking right for a week. Do you understand me?”

Ms. Saffron flinched at this, and she managed to nod her head slowly. She didn’t attempt to speak. What could she say to this? Her mother did have every right to be suspicious of her. She really hadn’t done anything to prove that she was trustworthy. She was hoping to change that, but she couldn’t if they really were not going to give her much of a chance. She bit her lip and then seethed softly. She would need to tread lightly here.

The three of them were situated in the dining room. It reminded her of when she visited the Tabooties. Back then, she had been welcomed and they had been excited to speak with her. But now in a similar situation, she was the subject of scrutiny. She wasn’t going to get praise from this. Only discrimination, scolding, whatever else came to mind. She felt her teeth pressing into her lip. She knew that she deserved this. But would it get in the way of her trying to mend things?

She couldn’t stop the attempt now, though. Not after what she went through to get here. It had been quite problematic. Getting out on lunch break was harder than she thought. Too many people patrolling, some people wondering why she was leaving even though they knew it was lunch break, among those things. Some even brought up how she was leaving suspiciously early, to which she said she skipped breakfast. It wasn’t like they had any proof that she didn’t, so they couldn’t argue against her.

But it did make her aware that she needed to be cautious and be back soon. She had been lucky to have run into someone who knew who Penny Sanchez was and where she lived. She had been even luckier that they were willing to tell her the address. It was just some kid who didn’t know much about stranger danger, but in this case, it came in handy. She just hoped that their parents would teach them some safety tips for the future.

Ms. Saffron had been leaning back in the chair for the next several silent minutes as she pondered what she was going to say. She did fear that she might end up making things worse if she did not prepare herself correctly. She also knew that staying silent for too long was not going to help. She licked her lips slowly as she turned to stare at the mother and daughter. She could feel their stares slicing through her body and she stiffened up a little, trying her best not to let it bother her too much. But she just could not help it. And how could she? With how those eyes seemed to bore through her own…

Ms. Saffron managed to shake it off. She furrowed her eyes once more, a little more than before, and she leaned in a little closer. She rested her elbows on the table, her hands held out in gesture, making a slow movement to the side. She managed to get her voice flowing from her open mouth.

“I know what I participated in was...illegal…”

“Oh really now? You just realized that?” Mrs. Sanchez said sarcastically. “Took you long enough.”

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “No, I mean….”

Mrs. Sanchez raised her hand up, stopping her before she could go any further. “I know what you were talking about, and I don’t care.” Her voice was stern and almost cold. Anger was well suppressed but easily detectable. Mrs. Sanchez took a moment to glare long and hard at the woman before her before she said, “Just continue with what you were going to say. Let’s get this over with.”

Ms. Saffron swallowed hard and then nodded her head. “Yes, well….” Ms. Saffron paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. This was going to be harder than she thought. She tapped her fingers against one another, allowing them to interlock. Just how was she going to continue this? After releasing a sigh, she met their eyes, shifting between Mrs. Sanchez’s and Penny’s. “I will not try to excuse myself for what I’ve done. But I do want to correct it. I don’t want to be a part of Mr. Cosmo’s plans anymore. He...wasn’t the man that I thought he was.”

Mrs. Sanchez raised an eyebrow at this. “Were you...involved with that man?”

The blonde woman spluttered at this. “Wh-What…?!” She coughed a few times, nearly choking on her own saliva. “No, it wasn’t like that! I-I just…” Ms. Saffron had to force herself to settle down, drawing in deep breath after deep breath, and then she said, “I just...admired him. I thought that he knew what he was doing. I thought….I really thought he could change things for the better.”

“And you believed him.”

Ms. Saffron looked at who had said that. She stared at Penny, who was glaring at her more intensely than her mother. Ms. Saffron felt her heart skipping a beat. She forced herself to look away, closing her eyes. “I’m...ashamed to admit that….yes.”

Penny replied, “Well look at where that got you.”

Ms. Saffron remained silent for a few seconds. She got no sympathy from either human she was sitting with. Not that she was surprised. This is what she deserved, after all. She turned her head to look back at them. This was her only chance at some kind of redemption. If she wanted to prove to them that she did mean her words, then she was going to have to work for it. With her fingers interlocked, she said softly, “I promise to do what I can to make up for what I’ve done.”

Mrs. Sanchez hissed, “And how can we believe you?”

Ms. Saffron made a simple, firm statement. “Because I’m the only chance that you have here.”


	39. More Of The Past Revealed

So this was to be his fate, eh? After what he had managed to do before, despite how he had defeated Mr. Cosmo in the past, now he laid stuck in this room with no way out. He had gone from being Mr. Cosmo’s defeater to….being his personal prisoner. What an ironic twist…

Or perhaps not so much. He should have known that he would not always be able to trump over that guy. Their age gap might have been useful for him in the past. It might have helped him gain an edge. But now, with his aging body starting to hold him back in subtle but still significant ways, Mr. Wilter realized that Mr. Cosmo’s youth was going to be his nightmare.

But there wasn’t much that he could do about it. At least not right now. This room was small and there was almost nothing in here that would seem...useful. Mr Wilter could not even try to pick the lock. He had nothing, and even if he did, would it even be enough?

Letting out a small sigh, he opened up his eyes and looked around this tiny ass room that he was stuck in. Rudy was situated on the bed, which was too small for the two of them to use. The old man had been forced to sleep on the ground. Not very comfortable for a man his age. But he didn’t want Rudy to have to sleep on the floor. It just didn’t seem all that fair in his eyes. And it might end up hindering Rudy’s ability to defend himself later. Mr. Wilter was certain a confrontation would eventually happen. He would rather have Rudy be ready than…

“We have time, don’t we…?” Rudy’s voice suddenly rang through the air, catching the old man off guard. Mr. Wilter swiveled his head to stare at Rudy, whom he had been certain was sleeping this entire time. “You don’t think Mr. Cosmo is coming to see us anytime soon, do you?”

Mr. Wilter thought about this for a few moments. Then he just sighed and shrugged his shoulder. “I have my doubts. I’m sure he has other things he’s working on right now. He probably doesn’t have time for us.”

It was a lie of sorts. Mr. Wilter didn’t actually know when the man would show up. He didn’t know how much he’s changed exactly. He did recall that, back then, Mr. Cosmo really would focus on certain things and didn’t always spend much time talking to individual people. It would often vary, though. Could he expect the same thing nowadays? It was a very real possibility and he felt that he should take heed. He didn’t want to be discussing a plan of escape only for that man to show up and overhear it, thus ruining the plan entirely.

He soon took notice that Rudy was now sitting up, his legs daggling over the edge of the bed. He appeared to have something of a solemn look in his eyes, his lip slightly curled upwards. Something was on his mind and Mr. Wilter could tell that it was something serious.

And when Rudy looked over at him with that sideways glance…

Mr. Wilter put it all together easily. “You want to know more of what happened in the past, don’t you?”

Rudy nodded slowly. “Mr. Cosmo mentioned something about...Tsere.” Mr. Wilter felt his body stiffen up slighlty. Rudy looked over at him, and his eyes seemed to glint when he noticed the man’s expression. “Did you...know him…?”

Mr. Wilter frowned slightly. “Of course I knew him.”

“I apologize for the rather obvious question.” Rudy lowered his head slightly. But he still remained still and staring right at him, showing no signs of just letting up. Mr. Wilter had a feeling that the boy would keep this up until he relented. So perhaps he should just answer whatever it is Rudy wanted, even if it was going to be hard. “Just who was Tsere anyway? How did he...come about? And how did he beat Mr. Cosmo and Draow?”

“Helped to defeat.” Mr. Wilter corrected the boy.

Rudy nodded. “Yes, helped…”

Mr. Wilter looked down at his hands. He let his fingers flex a little, a part of him partially imagining when he had…. He formed a tight fist with his hand and forced it against the floor beside him. “Tsere is...was my creation…” He managed to say in a low voice.

Rudy tilted his head slowly. “What do you mean ‘was’? Is he not….” Upon seeing the look in Mr. Wilter’s eyes, Rudy sucked in a sharp breath “Y-You mean he’s….?”

Mr. Wilter struggled not to allow the burning tears to flow down his face. But he knew that he could not hide this from Rudy for long. And indeed, he was forced to raise his hand to wipe his face and Rudy of course took immediate notice of that.

“I’m so sorry.”

Mr. Wilter looked down at the teenager, who for a moment started to look a little younger and smaller than usual. Mr. Wilter finished wiping his eyes and smiled at the boy shakingly. “It’s...quite all right. It wasn’t your fault.” Mr. Wilter turned to stare out at nothingness. He licked his lips dryly and sighed softly. “You weren’t there when it happened. You weren’t even alive when….” He stopped himself, feeling a cold shudder at the memory of that dreadful war.

Rudy leaned in a little forward, a movement that the old teacher just barely caught in the corner of his eye. “Do you….mind telling me what happened? How it all went down…?”

Mr. Wilter shuddered at this, not wanting to relive the past. He hadn’t even recalled all of the details. So much had happened that….

But at the same time, since Rudy now had to deal with Mr. Cosmo himself, it was only fair to let the boy in on what happened. He did need to know precisely whom he was dealing with here and he needed to understand just how dangerous all of this was. And perhaps the best way to do that was through verbal example.

Mr. Wilter decided not to waste any further time. It was hard to say just how long they had before Mr. Cosmo came back. Might as well spend the time waiting doing something. Even if it was as painful as this.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what happened. But please pay attention. I don’t want to have to repeat myself.” Mr. Wilter said.

Rudy nodded his head. “I understand.”

Mr. Wilter shut his eyes softly and he exhaled slowly. He mentally prepared himself for this moment. He would try to keep it as short as possible, but there was no guarantee that it would be as short as he would like. He shook his head mentally to bring himself back and then he opened his mouth and then….

“This is what happened all those years ago…”

sss

FLASHBACK:

“I’m sorry, but there’s just no other way.” Teddisson smiled, a sight that was so eerie, several of the white chalk artists had to back up. Although Teddison only had three companions right now and there were certainly more white chalk artists here, that didn’t change the spooky atmosphere that Teddison brought about just by his mere presence. “You will all either join me or you will perish.”

Horace licked his lips slowly. He didn’t care how cliche or dumb that statement was. The fact that it came out of his friend at all was still unsettling. He had accepted that his real friend was gone; there was no changing that. No matter how hard he looked into his eyes, he could see nothing of what remained of Teddisson. Only this empty shell that pretended to be him, in a sense.

It was still hard to believe that it really had come down to this. He thought he felt himself lose several years just from fighting in this blasted war. He opened his mouth and kept panting heavily, his mind spinning. He would forever be engraved with the memories of all these horrific deaths, of being forced to fight, of being driven to the brink.

And that was only just his own experience. He had tried to avoid this fight and stay out of it. He tried to limit himself to sections of ChalkZone where the chaos had not yet spread. The longer he did this, though, the more and more Teddisson had moved out and he kept getting increasingly closer. It was rapidly getting to the point where there would be no land left to try to wait out the war in. It became very clear that Teddisson was not going to just conquer on part of ChalkZone. He wanted it all. Running and hiding was only a temporary solution.

But even after that realization, it still took a while for Horace to even consider joining the fight. He didn’t want to fight against his friend. He had still stubbornly held onto the belief that Teddisson would come back to him and this horrible, dreadful, awful nightmare would finally come to an end.

But when it became slowly apparent that this was not going to change and that his friend was indeed gone, corrupted by….something, he realized that he had to join in. And so reluctantly, he grabbed his piece of magic chalk to find the white chalk artists who were still fighting against Teddisson.

At first, they weren’t happy with him joining not only due to being a friend to Teddisson at one time, but also because he had refused to take a side previously. This made him harder to trust and the others were slow warm up to him. Horace would be treated like an outcast for a few days before they started to treat him like one of the group. And now at this point, while there’s still a bit of discontent, especially among the zoner members of the resistance group, Horace was more or less the leader.

And it was for this reason that Teddisson decide to confront him.

“Why do you keep fighting with them? It’s not like they care.” Teddisson said calmly. “What do you think will happen when this battle is over? Do you think they will still care?” Teddisson tilted his head to one side, giving a laugh that sounded like something that Horace could never describe. “At least with us, the reward of victory is great.”

Horace gritted his teeth tightly. He thought he could feel eyes burrowing into his back. He turned his head slightly and he could see the other white chalk artists standing there. And a couple of them were staring right at him. The slight glares on their faces indicated that something was going on through their minds. Were they thinking the same thing? Horace realized, with a sharp pang, that this was a very real possibility.

But despite that, he still stood his ground. He knew that not all of these guys were going to like him no matter what he did. But that didn’t matter now. All that did matter was doing what he could to stop Teddisson in his tracks. He couldn’t allow his friend...no...his former best friend, get away with what he’s been doing.

“There’s been enough deaths, Teddisson. How many more zoners must you kill?” Horace folded his fingers tightly into a fist. “How far are you going to go before you stop?”

Teddisson blinked at this, only to chuckle darkly. This laugh became something of a choir as his three comrades joined in. It was chilling to listen to and created an even darker atmosphere. Goosebumps raised along their skins, and Horace even flinched a little in pain from it. Teddissons voice rang out, still tainted by the smile. “You think that we’re going to stop...so soon..? But there’s still much to cleanse. So many threats to get rid of...like the ones that you let follow.” Teddisson pointed his finger at the zoners that joined the white chalk artists.

The zoners shuddered at this but still remained firm. Horace took a step forward, hunching his body up slightly. “You will not lay a hand on them.”

“Heheheheh… Is that so? Going to play the ‘hero’, dear Horace?” Mocked Teddisson. “Do you think the zoners care about you? Do you think they will reward you for defeating me?”

Horace wasn’t sure how to respond to that. A part of him realized that the zoners might still be wary with him. He still hoped that the zoners at least understood that not all creators would turn out like Teddisson. And that… no, he couldn’t let himself get caught up in this. He shook his head and then narrowed his eyes. “I will do what I can to beat you. I swear, this will be your last stand, Teddisson.”

“Oh, are you sure about that, dear friend?” Teddisson asked in a teasing tone of voice. When Horace did not respond, Teddisson’s eyes glinted. “Then so be it.” He turned his head to stare at the three with him. “Jenny. Ghadir. Tyreek.” He flicked his head over. “Give our ‘friends’ here a nice, warm welcome…”

The three children, two girls and one boy, chuckled darkly at this as they moved in front of Teddisson and began to make their way over. In their hands, they held the black chalk, a sinister-looking chalk that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Teddisson refused to use anything else, as did his followers. This led them to be simply called black chalk artists.

Horace tensed himself up when Jenny made the first move. The blonde girl charged right at him as quickly as he could, her blue eyes practically glowing. Horace managed to jump to the side to avoid her, but the girl quickly turned around and pushed back at him. Horace let out a cry of pain as he was pushed into the ground painfully.

“Horace! No!” Cried out one of the white chalk artists, Matthew. But when this kid tried to help, he was immediately stopped by Tyreek, who rammed into him like it was nothing. “Ugh…!”

“See, I told you guys that Horace was no leader! Let me show you how things are really done!”

Horace watched as Jake, one of the most vocal of the kids against him, began to run towards Ghadir, who was just standing there with her arms folded. Jake raised up his chalk to start drawing and lines were already filling up the air, creating something. But whatever Jake was going to make was halted when Ghadir barreled towards him and then grabbed onto his wrist. There was a bit of a struggle, but Jake couldn’t stop Ghadir from biting the magic chalk from him.

Ghadir now stood there chewing on the chalk like it was a piece of candy. She licked her lips slowly, the white bits of chalk covering her mouth. “Delicious…”

Horace grimaced at this. Ghadir eating chalk was weird enough, but what really grossed him out was that she would eat zoners as well. If they created a zoner or if one joined them that was causing too much trouble, Ghadir would capture them and eat them. The thought caused a chill to run up and down his spine.

Horace realized too late that he had been distracted for too long. While Ghadir, Tyreek, and Jenny focused their attention on attacking his comrades, he failed to notice that Teddisson was not simply taking a step back and watching; he was reacting. Horace turned his head slowly just in time to see Teddisson coming right at him. The two boys collided with each other and they started to roll on the ground.

Horace let out a few shouts as he struggled against his former friend. Teddisson gripped his shoulders tightly and pushed him hard against the dirt below him. Horace grunted and gritted his teeth. He could feel those fingernails threatening to tear into him and he looked up at Teddisson to glare at him. He attempted to draw something, but his wrist was held down and he couldn’t do anything. While he could tell that Teddisson wouldn’t be able to draw anything, either, that was not of much comfort to him as he realized that Teddisson could just keep him pinned down until…

The young boy’s eyes widened in horror when he could hear that horrifying sound. He could hear their zoner comrades screaming in fear and scrambling to get away. Horace struggled to look, but Teddisson kept him pinned as though to prevent him from seeing it. Teddisson wanted him to feel the horror of not being able to see what was going on and it was working. Horace could feel his eyes widening in fear and disgust as he heard something big swooping down and attacking the zoners. He could hear claws scraping against flesh and bloodcurdling screams filling the air.

Eventually he was able to look, jerking himself from Teddisson and kicking him off. Teddison did pin him down again, this time onto his stomach, but he didn’t try to hide what was going on this time. Horace was permitted to see the bloody mess that now laid before him and he struggled not to allow tears to flow from his eyes.

About three of their zoner comrades was murdered. They were torn apart and almost unrecognizable. Their internal organs were missing and that gave Horace the chilling realization that they were eaten. The white chalk artists and what zoners remained stared in shock, while the black chalk artists could only smirk.

And there, standing in the bloody mess, his foot drenched in blood, was Draow.

Horace craned his head up to see the beast, licking his dry lips slowly as he realized that they hadn’t been quick enough. He had hoped that he and his team would have been able to take Teddisson down before Draow showed up. The one zoner whom none of them had been able to defeat or even put a dent in… He was just standing there, staring at them with glinting eyes as though he was laughing. Horace could not stop his body from shaking.

“Well well… Looks like your little plan failed.” Teddisson sneered. He applied more pressure to Horace’s back, causing him to cry out in pain. “You should have planned this out better, dear friend. If you had just chosen to join us, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Horace wiped away his tears and turned to glare at the red-haired kid holding him down. With the corner of his eyes glaring at him, he growled, “Sh-Shut up! It didn’t matter if we joined or not! You were going to kill those zoners anyway!” He struggled against the ground. “I don’t know why you must do this…. What did the zoners ever do to you?!”

Teddisson’s eyes seemed to grow dark at this question. He bared his teeth and leaned in a little closer. His voice sounded a little growly when he answered him. “If you don’t know what those things have been doing, then you’re a bigger lost cause than I would have imagined.”

Horace narrowed his eyes at this statement. It wasn’t really much different from what Teddisson had said before. It never provided a clear enough answer. He stopped trying to fully understand a while ago, but it still concerned him. If he was ever going to find out what happened to his former friend, then he was going to need to try another way outside of trying to talk to Teddisson about it.

“Aaaah!”

Horace shuddered when he heard Jake screaming, which had been unison with a loud snapping sound. He swiveled his head and saw that Tyreek had broken Jake’s arm. Horace put his hand to his mouth and gasped in horror. He had been so focused on Teddisson and the arrival of Draow that he had failed to realize that his comrades continued their fight against the black chalk artists. And despite outnumbering them, the white chalk artists were losing.

...Draow had been a distraction, hadn’t he? Horace realized that when Draow had arrived, that horrible deed he had done wasn’t just to lock the zoners in fear, it wasn’t just to keep those zoners from moving in to fight as Draow’s big snarling maw prevented that, but there was another reason. The screams of the zoners had also affected the child fighters. They were shaken up to the point of being easily distracted, and this left them vulnerable.

They were sitting ducks for the black chalk artists.

Horace wanted to kick himself for not foreseeing this. Just another thing for him to be ashamed of. This was all falling apart really fast. Now that Jake had his arm broken, the others were holding back, as if afraid of making things worse if they did anything.

Teddisson’s hand suddenly hooked underneath his chin and forced it up. Horace stiffened at his touch and he growled through gritted teeth. He tried to look behind him, but the boy was out of his sight range. “I can make this all end if you wish. Tell you what…” Teddisson leaned in closer to rest his chin on Horace’s shoulder. “I will cut you a deal. You join up with me and I will let them go. They will live to fight another die. Doesn’t that sound fair?”

Horace thought about this for several moments. A part of him was partially tempted by it. He was not interested in working for Teddisson, but he was interested in giving his comrades another day to fight. He was certain that some like Jake will say this proved that he couldn’t be trusted, but others like Matthew would see it as a sign that he truly cared about them.

But whatever happened, he still needed to make a choice. He thought long and hard about what his options were. He gritted his teeth tightly, his brain hurting from thinking. There were still risks involved with any decision he made, and he wondered if he would turn just as crazy as Teddisson did. After all, these three black chalk artists hadn’t always been like this; it was only after they joined Teddisson that they…

His heart froze in horror. He quickly realized exactly what Teddisson’s tactic was. He wanted to brainwash him, whatever he had done to the others, so that he would have a chance to gain knowledge of the resistance and be able to take them down. He would be speeding up their downfall and…

“No!” Horace felt a sudden surge of energy sweeping through his body. He tensed up his arm and leg muscles and, with a sudden thrust upwards, he managed to knock Teddisson off of him. He whirled around and grabbed Teddisson by his shirt collar before he fell down. He glared at him as he shouted, “I will never do that!”

Despite his eyes being widened for a moment, Teddisson didn’t seem that worried. He just smiled at him and said, “Isn’t that just a shame?” He raised up his hand and made a quick gesture. “Oh Draow…”

Horace felt his heart sink when he saw Draow moving around and away from the zoners and white chalk artists, releasing a roar as he charged at him. Horace could feel the thing hitting him with his snout, causing him to fly off of Teddisson. He crashed into the ground several feet away. He clutched his side and hissed in pain. He soon turned his head and he could see Draow coming at him again.

The massive, three toed foot came crashing down upon him. The young boy grunted in pain as he was pushed into the ground, the big zoner’s heavy weight keeping him pinned down. He tried to fight against it, but Draow only increased the pressure, making him open his mouth wide to try to breathe. He turned his head to look up at where Teddisson stood. He glared at him, but any effort to speak was rendered useless by Draow’s weight.

“Looks like you lose again, Horace. Not that I should be surprised.” Teddisson turned his back to him, his hands folded to his chest. He looked up towards the sky, looking all proud. “You never stood a chance against me.” He turned to stare at him intently, his eyes glinting. “I think I should punish you this time. I’m not going to give you or your friends here another chance to stop me.”

Horace’s mouth dropped open and he tried not to let out a cry. “You’re going to k-kill us?”

To his surprise, Teddisson shook his head. “That would be too easy. I think I’m just going to make sure that you can’t use the chalk properly.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “But how to go about it? Hmm…” Flipping his hand upwards in gesture, he looked back at Horace. “Say, which do you think would be more affective and easier? Ripping off your hands or ripping out your eyes?”

Horror settled in Horace’s chest and stomach and he tried not to throw up. He couldn’t hold in his terror and he shouted, “N-No!”

Teddisson shook his head. “That’s not an answer, dear Horace.”

Jenny, who was holding down Lindsey, another white chalk artist, sneered at him. “That’s right. You need to give a real answer.”

Tyreek, who pushed Jake against Matthew, nodded his head in agreement. “You’re only going to make this harder. Make a decision.”

“Trust us, you’ll be better off if you do.” Said Ghadir.

A million thoughts raced through Mr. Wilter’s head. He could feel his breathing increasing rapidly, his mouth hanging open so that he could suck in more air. He knew exactly that they were implying and he could feel horrible thoughts traversing through his head, haunting him, taunting him on what decision to make.

He couldn’t just join with them. If Teddisson was planning what he thought that he was, then if he joined up with him, he would be throwing everything away. The resistance had fought long and hard these past couple of weeks to end this mad war. He didn’t want to ruin all of that just because he grew thin skin and just failed to try to fight back. But if he fought back, wouldn’t Teddisson do something to make him exhibit more compliance? There was no telling what his black chalk artist minions were going to do...

But how was he going to get them out of this mess? How was he going to be able to stop them? If Teddisson didn’t have Draow, he would lose a huge advantage. Despite how formidable the black chalk artists were, they were still outnumbered and they were only a threat right now because Draow had turned the tables. Draow’s mere presence would make it hard for any white chalk artist to do anything and any zoner who tried to help would be killed. If he could only get rid of Draow...

But that would require knowing what his weakness was. Horace could not deny the hardships that he and the others had experienced with Draow. How hard he was to defeat as he always seemed to dodge and escape whatever they tried to do. They attempted several things. Nothing worked. But Draow had to have a weakness, right? There had to be something that they had overlooked. Something like...

“Draow!” Teddisson shouted at Draow. He brought out his whistle to call to the beast. “Get over here! I need him alive.”

Horace didn’t pay attention to the relief that he felt when Draow lifted up his foot. He was too caught up in confusion to care, and it seemed like he wasn’t the only one.

“Hey, why are you letting him go?” Tyreek hissed. “He’s going to get away!”

Teddisson handwaved this. “Nah, he won’t.” He curled his fingers inward tightly, smirking down at Horace. “He’s still outnumbered and Draow can still get him at any moment. But....” Teddisson moved in a little closer. “I think Draow was holding him a little too tight. If I’m going to beat him....”

Teddisson dropped down onto his knee and reached out to grab Horace’s chin. He hissed as he was pulled forward, the fingertips pressing against him tightly. He growled, his teeth showing, though that did not bother Teddisson.

“I want him to be able to watch everything he’s worked for fall apart....”

Horace gulped at how deep Teddisson’s voice got at this. He thought he could feel ice shooting through his body and he felt some nausea crawling into him. Something told him that this was going to get worse than he thought. He...

Wait...

A thought crossed his mind. He struggled and strained to remember. It was crawling into his head and he could see it forming before his very eyes. He recalled something about Draow’s expression and how it had shifted. When that whistle was blown, his ears had folded back a little. Twitching in response. Horace struggled not to let himself gasp too loudly, despite how hard that was.

“What’s wrong with you?” Ghadir asked, though her voice was not sincere. “You look like you have seen a ghost.”

Or rather, a solution that should have been obvious in the first place. Draow had hearing like a canine, which made sense, as he was canine in nature. And dog whistles worked on him. All this time, they had been focusing on wrong elements of him. They were so busy trying to outspeed him that they had forgotten to look at something easier to target.

With his eyes narrowed into slits, determination crawling through him, Horace raised up his chalk and quickly began to draw. Lines rapidly filled the air, and time itself seemed to come to a crawl. He thought he could see Teddisson moving his hand to demand him to stop and it was clear that Draow was charging him. But Horace’s speeding mind still continued to go through with this, and he didn’t stop until he was finished.

Then, as everyone watched and waited to see what would happen, a loud screech filled the air, announcing the arrival of something new. Draow immediately released Horace, flying back in shock. Even when the black chalk artists focused on Horace and pulled him down, they were already too late. Horace didn’t know why they bothered to try.

Seemingly out of nowhere, something large flew straight up into the air. Horace looked up, squinting his eyes as he put his hand over his eyes to shield them. He could see large, flapping wings, a long beak, almost like a floating triangle. He knew immediately what it was and he couldn’t help but draw in a slow, deep breath.

“Tsere…” Horace said under his breath, unable to hold back the tears of hope that he had. Perhaps it was too cliche, but at the moment, he couldn’t help but feel some pride for what he created. He hoped that this zoner was who was going to change everything.

Tsere was a large pterosaur, specifically a pteranodon. One of the few ancient animals he bothered to remember. He had no idea why he thought of this thing, but whatever made loud noises, that was all that was important right now. Sure he might have a large beak that could be used to attack, but the more important feature was the sound. He hoped that he had guessed right. There was still a chance that things were going to fall apart. He furrowed his eyes in determination. This just had to work… It just had to…

He suddenly jerked when he could hear one of the black chalk artists laughing at this. He looked up and shot a glare at Jenny, keeping his teeth bared as he glared at her. She just sneered down at him as she spoke.

“Do you really think that this leathery bird is going to help you?” Jenny laughed coldly. “Come on, that thing is just fodder!”

Ghadir nodded her head. “Yeah, looks like all that thing is good for is food.” She paused at this before licking her lips slowly, rubbing her hands together. “Speaking of which…”

Horace tried not to vomit at this. He jerked himself to one side, trying to free himself from the black chalk artists’ grasp. But these three were doing a heck of a good job of keeping him down. He wasn’t really sure if he could keep up this struggling. His arms ached and his muscles felt like they were going to detach. Yet he still kept trying, pushing harder and harder against them, hoping that something would give…

...and that something was him. Horace yelped as he bit his tongue as he was pushed back into the ground. His head felt like it was being sandwiched. He looked up as he saw Teddisson coming towards him slowly, his arms folded behind his back. It was clear that the man did not fear what Tsere could do.

“This is such a pitiful attempt, Horace. If you were going to try to attack me, at least draw something useful.” Teddisson shook his head, tsking a few times. He looked over almost bored at Tsere, as if he had expected something more spectacular to come from Horace’s hand. “That poor thing doesn’t stand much of a chance against Draow.”

Horace narrowed his eyes. “Do you want to bet on that?”

Teddisson chuckled bitterly. “Sure, fine. Go ahead.” He flicked his hand upward. “Show me what this flying bat can do.”

Horace growled at that obvious insult, but he managed to hold his tongue. Instead, he turned to stare at where Tsere was. Or at least, he tried to. He was still pinned down for the time being. He didn’t hear anyone approaching, but he could hear words of comfort. The other white chalk artists were likely either watching helplessly, too terrified to move, or they were helping calm down the zoners. Draow was likely still frightening them, despite the fact that he had taken off into the air.

It was impossible to watch what transpired. Horace could sometimes see the two flying zoners clash with each other. He could clearly hear the sound of slashing, of claws colliding, of snaps and growls and snarls and screeches. But he wasn’t able to turn his head enough to see it all. When he was able to see it, though, it was a spectacular fight. Tsere was doing….a lot better than he thought.

Tsere was not landing many blows, if any. But he was still dodging whatever Draow would throw at him. The pterosaur would circle around, dive up or down, whatever he could to ensure that the wolf bat could not hit him. Draow was clearly getting frustrated. Those loud snarls were instantly recognizable and Horace had never heard Draow that angry before. Tsere must be getting under his skin already, or in this case, his fur, if he was getting pissed off like that.

The fighting only lasted a few minutes. But it seemed like it was going on for much longer. No one was saying anything. Horace could sense that everyone, even those scared zoners, were watching in awe as Draow and Tsere fought. Even without blood being drawn, at least so far, something about the fight seemed to excite a few people. At least those on the white chalk side, as it seemed they finally had someone who could stand up to Draow. The black chalk artists on the other hand…

“Darn it, why isn’t that stupid dog attacking him?!” Ghadir shouted.

Jenny turned to slap her across the face. Ghadir yelped in pain and glared at her. “Draow’s doing the best that he can! Besides, it’s not like that bird thing is going to get far. Teddisson made Draow indestructible, didn’t you?” Jenny turned to give a smile at Teddisson. But her smile hid her true, paranoid feelings.

Teddisson didn’t answer. His gaze was too transfixed on the skies above him. He had his eyes slightly narrowed and he was clearly biting his tongue. Something was bothering him.

Tyreek asked, “Teddisson…? Is something wrong…?”

Still no reply from Teddisson.

While the black chalk artists were busy focusing on their leader, Horace managed to wriggle himself free...well almost. He was at least able to get into a new position so that he had a better view of the fight. At the moment, Draow and Tsere were constantly circling each other, each taking a dive at the other. It was really quite amazing to see. If only it didn’t need to happen under such a dire situation…

But then, just when things seemed to be looking up, something terrible happened.

Tsere let out a loud squawk of pain as Draow grabbed him by the throat in midair. Horace’s eyes widened in horror as Draow raised up his talons to strike. But then the evil beast seemed to think differently. As though to put on a show for everyone, with some staring in horror and others sneering in delight, the flying wolf zoner dove downwards with Tsere still in his grasp. Then Tsere collided with the ground rather painfully, opening his beak up to let out a painful squawk.

“Yeah now this is what I’m talking about!”

“Get him, Draow!”

Teddisson was still silent, but he was just smiling darkly, licking his lips slowly. He let out a small chuckle as he turned to stare haughtily at Horace.

Horace shook his head slowly, refusing to accept this. He had come so close. He had thought he finally created something that would help. This is not where it was all going to end. He was not going to let another setback destroy everything. He was not going to allow hope to be drained from them that quickly. There had to be something that could be done. Why wasn’t…

Horace swerved his head to look at where Tsere presently was. He watched as Draow held him down and got ready to hit him. Horace’s mind went a million miles an hour as he struggled to think of what he was going to say or do. He couldn’t get up as he was still being held down, but there had to be something that he could say that could help Tsere fight back. It had to be something quick and to the point. Something like…

With his eyes flashing open fast, realization striking him, Horace screamed, “Tsere, speak!”

Almost instantly, Tsere got the message. With him gritting his beak for a second, Tsere opened his long, hooked mouth as he let out a loud screech.

“Raaaaa!”

Everyone reacted to this. The black chalk artists covered their ears, releasing Horace. The white chalk artists shouted and complained of how loud it was. The zoners dove to the ground and tried to ride out the painful echo. But despite all of that, Horace was able to pay attention to the effect that mattered the most right now.

How it was affecting Draow.

The large wolf bat had stiffened up, his body shaking. He started to wobble a little, swaying from side to side. His teal eyes were wide open and he was gritting his teeth. His tail had poofed up a little, going as straight up as his ears and neck fur. Then Draow released Tsere and took a few steps back, pawing at his ears with his wing claws, desperately trying to block out the sound. He pulled his head back and he let out a loud screech of his own, as though to counter and defend himself.

But Tsere just kept going, and his screech increased in volume a little. Draow kept shaking his head and moving back. He tried to rush over but the sound continuously blocked him out. Draow did keep on trying for a little while before it became clear that there was no way that he could get any closer. With another cry of pain, Draow immediately jumped back and took off into the air, flapping his large wings heavily to get away from the incredibly loud pteranodon.

And then for what felt like forever, everyone just watched in absolute stunned silence. Nobody said a word. Even the black chalk artists had nothing to say right now. It was as though cat got their tongue.

Horace could feel a smile crawling onto his face. He could soon hear some of the white chalk artists cheering, even despite their shock. He knew what this meant.

They had finally found a way to fight back.

sss

PRESENT:

Rudy couldn’t help but stare at the man with wide eyes as he had finished the story. It had taken longer to tell, but it’s not like Rudy was complaining or anything. He was just in absolute shock and awe at how things had transpired. He never would have guessed that...

He could soon see the look of solemnness in Mr. Wilter’s eyes. There was perhaps more to the story that the man was not telling him. Rudy thought of asking, but realize that would be a bad idea. Despite any curiosities, he might have had, no matter how burning they were, he held his tongue, allowing the man to sit there in silence.

This must have been a hard tale to tell him. Rudy felt guilty for even trying to get Mr. Wilter to talk to him about it. He hadn’t meant to reopen old wounds. Even if Mr. Wilter had ultimately agreed to it, that did not lesson the guilt hooking around Rudy’s heart.

Rudy couldn’t think of anything else to say. He couldn’t think of how he was going to respond to what he had been told. And he had his doubts that Mr. Wilter really wanted to speak again. It was clear that this had taken a lot out of the man and Rudy didn’t want to push him any further. Yeah, he did deserve a break now. He didn’t need to know anything else at the moment. Releasing a small sigh, Rudy leaned back on the bed, tilting his head and looking upwards. He wondered where things would go from here. Would he and the others ever get out of here?

Whatever the answer may be, he wouldn’t quit.

sss

Snap had no idea what to think at the moment. His mind felt numb, caused by all the thoughts moving around inside of his head, refusing to leave him alone. He stared out ahead of him, breathing in and out slowly. He licked his lips a little and he swallowed hard. He tried to think of what he was going to say, but nothing would come to mind. He just could not push aside that block of numbness all that well.

But he was still able to remember what had taken place, though this did little to clear up any confusion. If anything, it just made it worse. He let his hands grip the sides of his head, avoiding the nail in his head, and he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

He didn’t think that Mr. Cosmo was going to help him like that. Even though the man’s reasoning was just he didn’t want to ‘waste him’, it was just… a part of Snap still wasn’t sure what to think about that. It just felt really out of place for the man’s character. After all that he had done, how could Snap come to believe that he would just help him like that? Mr. Cosmo didn’t need to do what he had done, but he did anyway. He had taken the steps necessary to help ease his pain and mend his wounds. Even if this was just to make sure that he could be used later on, Snap couldn’t just relegate this incident to just that. There had to be more to this.

He wasn’t able to relax. He knew that he should take this moment to try to sleep and regain some energy, but he only wound up staring at the ceiling, gritting his teeth. He couldn’t even try to close his eyes, despite the fact that most of the pain had been numbed. He was well aware that if he didn’t use this chance to rest, he wouldn’t be able to sleep later, and there was no telling if Mr. Cosmo would try to help him again or not.

But at the moment, Snap was just too busy focusing on that to really care about those other details.

He couldn’t help but feel a surge of mixed emotions. He hadn’t been able to shake them off, no matter how hard that he tried. After failing to get rid of these emotions, Snap was forced to confront them and he was starting to realize something rather...unsettling. He didn’t want to admit it and he wanted to push it aside. But it would not exit his head and it repeated itself over and over again.

Mr. Cosmo was the one who took care of him in this time of need, not Rudy. While Rudy was willing to abandon him, or at least didn’t do enough to try to help him, Mr. Cosmo went as far as give him a custom pill to take away the pain.

This situation was just so unorthodox that Snap wondered if he was dreaming or not. Or perhaps he had been sucked into another reality or something. Things didn’t quite add up the way that he thought they would and he couldn’t help but curl up a little on the bed, fighting off the painful feelings of confusion.

He still refused to believe that Rudy was worse than Mr. Cosmo. He still didn’t want to believe that Mr. Cosmo was a better caretaker than Rudy. This was just one incident. He tried to convince himself that Rudy was forced to leave and that Mr. Cosmo was only wanting to continue using him. There was absolutely no reason why he should trust that man. He needed to fight off these growing feelings before they started to complicate things.

But the little blue and white zoner had no idea how much longer he could last. He didn’t know where his mind was going to be in the end. And he didn’t have full control over it. The thought frightened him.

Only time was going to tell how long he would endure. Only time could assure him if he manages to hold onto any sign of resilience for a while. Only time would ultimately determine where things were going to go from here. Despite any fear and despite any determination, he realized that he was ultimately a victim of whatever fate had in store for him. He came to learn how unpredictable things can be and recent events taught him this. He might try to hold on for now, but could he say the same thing later on? Would Mr. Cosmo have another trick up his sleeve?

Snap could soon hear the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway. The zoner stiffened up, feeling pain echoing throughout his head. He watched the shadows moving along the ground and he waited for them to do something. Would they leave or would he have to….

He got his answer when the door opened up and he could see Mr. Cosmo coming back in.

“So my cameras were correct.” Mr. Cosmo growled softly. “You still aren’t sleeping.” Snap didn’t answer. Mr. Cosmo furrowed his eyes. “Well? Why aren’t you sleeping? Aren’t you tired?”

Snap still didn’t answer. He didn’t know what he was going to say. His mind started to tingle with a mixture of morbid curiosity and fear. Despite the fact that the man helped him, Snap still recalled the torture this man put him through. It was these horrific, uncomfortable memories that, while they made him feel fear, they were also the only things keeping him from falling completely into compliance with Mr. Cosmo. It was the one thing that reminded him who the enemy currently was.

“Why aren’t you answering me? Don’t you know that when you speak to me, you should…” Mr. Cosmo suddenly froze, his eyes widening for a moment. In this instance, his breath had started to quicken. He took back a step and shook his head before clearing his throat. He continued, “Don’t ignore me, zoner.”

Snap had taken notice of the man’s reaction. He blinked in confusion and he edged himself a little closer to the edge. The only thing preventing him from dropping down was the pain in his feet. The medicine didn’t zap away all of the pain. He couldn’t just rush over anywhere. So he was forced to remain here, staring at the man in confusion.

He soon realized that the man must have been reacting to him. Despite Snap not being able to leave the bed, Mr. Cosmo was still looking at him like he was ready to chomp on him like a wild alligator. There had been a brief flash of fear in the man’s eyes, one that he didn’t recall seeing with such intensity before. And as Snap looked into the man’s blue-grey eyes, he could feel his feet aching further. He wanted to write it off as a coincidence, but what if they were connected?

Mr. Cosmo eventually shook his head and managed to get those emotions out of his facial expression. He returned to a more neutral expression, his face as blank as possible. He looked down at Snap like he was some kind of a lowly being or something. Which, to Mr. Cosmo, he probably was. “So are you going to answer me or are you just going to gawk at me like I have rabies?”

When Snap decided to test his thoughts a little by reaching out towards Mr. Cosmo, he noticed the man had immediately shuddered and moved away from him. The act was quick and it was enough to convince Snap that something more was going on here. Mr. Cosmo had never…

No, he had. But it was not this pronounced. And he couldn’t get over how the man was looking at him. It was clear to him that something was going on. But what could it be? Why was Mr. Cosmo...afraid of him? While this realization would normally pumped up Snap and he would have taken some advantage of it, for some reason, this time around, he just could not. He was met with a wave of confusion and it was just…

Without warning, Snap got a reminder of his own fears of Mr. Cosmo. He could hear the man growling and he realized that he hadn’t yet answered the man’s question. Snap froze at this and he could see the man repeating his action by reaching out towards him. Snap cringed a little and he moved back. He could feel himself twisting around a little before falling back into his bed. He hit one of his foot injuries and he yelped in pain. He then looked back at Mr. Cosmo with his eyes wide and teeth gritted in fear.

Mr. Cosmo did not smirk at him this time like he normally would. He just cocked his eyebrow and shook his head slowly. It was as if he was annoyed at this point….or perhaps he was avoiding trying to upset him further. Which again tied into this mysterious fear that he had. There had to be some kind of connection.

Snap knew that asking might not be the best idea. But he wasn’t going to get anywhere until he asked. So working up the courage the best that he could, Snap cleared his throat and asked tentatively, “Why are you…”

Suddenly, Mr. Cosmo laughed out at the zoner. Snap let out a cry of terror as Mr. Cosmo grabbed him by the throat and pushed him down. He stared at the man fearfully, but despite emotions crawling in his mind, he was still able to tell that something was off. The man’s glare did not match what he expected and instead it seemed to be fear-based.

“Don’t play games with me, zoner! Just answer my fucking question and I’ll leave!” Mr. Cosmo shouted.

Snap gagged as the man tightened his grip on him. He also felt a burning sensation. It didn’t take the zoner that much imagination to realize that Mr. Cosmo was getting so afraid that he was sweating on him. And that sweat didn’t just smell; it was burning him like it was acid. Snap whimpered loudly as he tried to pull the hand off, only to have to pull back as more of the hand was covered. He realized that he couldn’t physically force the man to move his hand.

Then it got worse when sweat began to drip down Mr. Cosmo’s face. Some of these acid-like drops hit Snap in the face. This made him flinch and cry multiple times and he never knew where they were going to land. They would still dry up quickly enough that they didn’t do too much damage. But the burns they left behind would sting for quite a while.

Not wanting to let things get too bad, Snap immediately reared his head back and shouted, “All right! I just couldn’t sleep, okay?! Please just let me go!”

Surprisingly, Mr. Cosmo did as the zoner asked, though that was likely only because he said he’d leave if he answered him. The red-haired man snorted roughly as he released his grip on the zoner and moved back. He glared at Snap with an expression that the zoner was not able to describe. Then after a few seconds, Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh and nodded his head slowly. “There, that wasn’t that hard, now was it?”

Snap wanted to glare back at the human, but he feared that he would trigger another attack. He simply lowered his head and did nothing to fight back as Mr. Cosmo reached out and patted him on the head. The touch made him shudder a little, and he could feel chilling blood crawling up his spine.

“Well if you can’t sleep, I’m sure I can find something to help you.” Mr. Cosmo said simply. He continued to move his hand along the top of Snap’s head, treating him almost like some kind of a dog. “I still plan on using you. I’ve kept you separate from the others so it would be easier.”

Snap flinched at this, but he couldn’t say that he was surprised.

Mr. Cosmo continued, “I hope you don’t become too comfortable with this, zoner. I might be helping you now, but it’s only to benefit me.” Snap couldn’t argue with that. Even if he was not going to enjoy what happens next, the least that he could say about this man was that he was being honest. “In fact, before I restart my attempts with Rudy, I should make sure that you really understand your place here.”

“...why are you doing this…?” Snap finally asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t have an idea already, but he still couldn’t help but let this question slip through. If Ms. Saffron’s words were right…

Mr. Cosmo stared at him with wide eyes for a few seconds. Then he curled his lip upward and he growled softly. He turned his head to the side, staring at Snap with the downwards glare of one eye. “That isn’t really your business, zoner. I’ve told you that.”

Snap managed to frown a little. Just slightly, enough that Mr. Cosmo seemed to react a little to it. Snap held off on going too far as he gritted his teeth and said, “I’m a zoner and you’ve been tormenting me and the others… I don’t even know what’s all happening to them. If you’re going to do this to us, don’t we deserve to know why?”

Mr. Cosmo growled, “Because you are a nuisance. You’re a threat, a danger to….”

“But why?! How are we a threat when you are like deities in our world?! What can we do that’s so threatening to you?!”

“Oh just shut up!”

“No! Not until you tell me why!”

This back and forth exchanged happened for the next couple of seconds. Snap refused to back down. Despite his growing fear, despite how shaky Mr. Cosmo was getting, despite knowing that he might end up regretting this, he still went on, trying to get the man to tell him exactly why this was going on.

There was an obvious reason behind all of this. There was a reason that this man was clearly afraid of him, and afraid of zoners by extension he was certain. He wasn’t trying to pity the man or find excuses for him. But if he knew what was going on, then perhaps he could…

Without any sort of warning, he could feel Mr. Cosmo grabbing onto his shoulders and pushing him into the bed once more. This time, it was tighter and Snap realized just how much it was hurting him. He tried to wriggle around a little, but he soon froze when Mr. Cosmo put his face close to his. After a few tense moments and his heavy breathing against his face, Mr. Cosmo shouted, “You tried to kill me!”

Snap froze at this. He could feel everything going silent. Even his heart’s beating seemed to struggle as he tried to process what the man just told him. In a small voice, he whispered, “I-I did what…?”

Mr. Cosmo spoke with gritted teeth. “Don’t pretend you don’t fucking know! You went crazy before! You even attacked your own friend! Just like how any zoner would….”

“I attacked Rudy…?” Snap’s voice trailed off. Despite his previous anger and disappointment with Rudy, horror still settled into his head. He could feel his heart skipping a few beats and he almost thought it stopped altogether. He put his hand to his chest to make sure that he was still, in fact, alive.

That couldn’t be possible, right..? He would never have hurt Rudy. Even if he were mad at him, he would never have… But what if Mr. Cosmo was telling the truth? What if this wasn’t just a scam to make him feel afraid? The man’s words seemed too genuine, the emotions too real… Snap could feel the thoughts sinking in as he looked down at his hands. He swallowed dryly. He was wondering why his hands were hurting a little bit before.

But what had he… how could he have done such a thing..? Was that why Rudy left him? Had he been hurting him this entire time…? The thought chilled the zoner’s blood and he felt his body trembling. For a few long moments, or minutes, he wasn’t sure, he just went silent. He stared out into nothingness, his mouth open and struggling to draw in each breath.

As Snap felt some tears forming in his eyes, he could hear a scoff coming from the human hovering above him. It took the little zoner a while before he could force himself to look up at that furious face not far from him.

“Oh don’t you dare try your fake tears to me.” Mr. Cosmo hissed. “I know how you zoners are!”

Snap sniffled and glared at the human. “Wh-What would you know about us..? All you ever did was hurt us. H-H-How do I know that you were wronged by a zoner? M-Maybe you j-j-just got yourself in this trouble and you’re just c-c-complaining about not having full control.”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened at this. It was hard to tell if he was more shocked or angry. Not that it mattered; it still resulted in the same thing. Mr. Cosmo practically pounced on Snap despite still holding him and Snap yelped as that weight struck him like a sack of bricks. “How fucking dare you..! D-Do you honestly think that I would go around saying zoners were a threat if something didn’t happen to prove it?!”

Snap scoffed at this, mirroring the man’s earlier one. “And what possibly could have happened? You had the magic chalk, I’m sure. What could any zoner have done to you to make you like this?”

Mr. Cosmo looked like he was going to shout again and Snap prepared for it. But just when he thought the man was going to just lose it, suddenly, Mr. Cosmo withdrew. With a heavy sigh, his body loosened up and he let the zoner go. He moved away from him and he almost looked like he was tempted to leave. He was even positioned to go, but his eyes were still upon him.

Snap wasn’t sure what to think of this. He couldn’t tell what was up with the human. Did he have something he wanted to add? Was there something that he himself was missing? Had he been wrong or did he hit the nail on the head? Did he make Mr. Cosmo realize that his fears were unfounded? Perhaps he really had made up what he said earlier, about him attacking Rudy. That did sound like something that he would do.

After what felt like long, painful minutes, Mr. Cosmo finally broke the uneasy silence. In a low hiss, he asked, “...do you really want to know..?”

Snap wasn’t really sure how to respond. All he could manage was a nod.

“...okay then… Listen closely, little zoner.”

sss

FLACKBACK: 

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Banjo? That looks awfully deep…”

“I thought you wanted an adventure.”

“I know but…. Maybe I should have brought Horace with me after all…”

“But you said you wanted to try to adventure without him. Don’t you want to take the chance to tell him something cool?”

“Well yes, but..”

“Then let’s get going!”

Teddisson had no idea what to think about his present situation. He watched as his creation, Banjo, a rabbit-like zoner with brown fur, red eyes, and wearing stereotypical cartoon clothes, started to hop forward, getting closer towards the Chalk Mine, where the magic chalk grew. But it wasn’t the magic chalk that they were presently looking into. It was...a mystery. Part of why he was tempted to go back and fetch Horace.

But it couldn’t be that bad, right? He’s been in this world many times and he hadn’t really encountered anything too bad. The worst that he’d say was here was himself, given how he liked to play around with the other zoners. Even Banjo at times would join in on the fun. Did he go too far a few times? Perhaps, but even he understood when caution was needed. And this just so happened to be one of those times.

He tried to think of something to say to slow down Banjo, but the rabbit zoner was just too excited. No one had found something like this before. The mines weren’t new, but those hole here could lead to anywhere. Maybe even a sealed off section in the mine itself.

That’s what mostly drew Teddisson here. He had been in the Chalk Mine before. He knew roughly the layout. He hadn’t been everywhere, but he at least knew enough that there were other types of chalk aside from just white. He never tried any of the others, though. He wasn’t really sure what they did and he didn’t want to risk it. He hoped that anyone else who came here exercised the same kind of caution.

There was one part of the cave system down there that he hadn’t been able to get into. There was an area that looked like it had suffered a massive cave in. He could have tried to draw his way through, but he feared that doing so could destabilize the tunnel there. It was not worth the risk, especially considering he wasn’t exactly as smart as Horace and he wouldn’t be able to figure out on his own. If only he had brought his friend with, that would have made it easier to get into that room.

But should he? There had to be a reason why it was sealed off, right? What if that cave-in hadn’t been an accident? What if there was a reason why no one could get in there?

Teddisson shook his head, trying to fight against the growing nervousness. He reminded himself that this was ChalkZone. It wouldn’t be anything that he couldn’t handle, right? He gritted his teeth tightly and he released a forced sigh as she moved himself forward, following Banjo close behind.

The hole itself wasn’t too big, but Teddisson could easily see some dent marks or however they could be best described. With the way that they were laid out, it did look like it could sink in any moment. So the hole was larger than it appeared to be on the surface. It was also right on the outside of the Chalk Mine and, if he remembered right, it was located in a good spot that would be indicative it was that hidden room he couldn’t get into. Logic would dictate that the fastest way to get down was to just go through this sinkhole, using protection of course, and see just where it took them.

He still wasn’t certain if he should do that or not, though. Something about coming here had suddenly started to feel...wrong. Maybe it was just paranoia, but since when did he feel like that? Come on, if he could prank even the grumpiest zoner and get away with it, surely he could handle something as simple as going into some hidden room. And besides, he had Banjo with him to help. It shouldn’t be that hard.

Banjo stood at the very edge of the sinkhole, examining it carefully. He trailed his paw carefully along the top of the sinkhole before pulling it back and curling it against his chin. “I wonder how we are going to get down there.”

Teddisson shot a glare at the rabbit-like zoner. “You’re the one who insisted we go through with this!”

Banjo moved his paws back and forth in front of him. “Yes, yes, I know.” Banjo glared down at the sinkhole. He furrowed his eyes deeply as he scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps you could draw something for us to stay in and we could just slide through?”

“I thought of that.” Teddisson straightened himself up, folding his arms to his chest. “But I’m not sure just what to draw.”

Banjo gave him a sly smirk. “I think I know of something that could help.”

Teddisson looked at Banjo for a few moments. At first, he was confused as to what the zoner was referring to. But then he could see that twinkle in his eyes. Teddisson immediately widened his eyes and he started to shake his head rapidly. “No, oh no! I’m not drawing something like that! You can just forget it!”

Banjo giggled. “But it’s practical! If you drew something like that, we could easily get down there. Come on, just this once?”

Teddisson folded his arms and looked away from Banjo, refusing to look at him. “Absolutely not!”

And then a few moments later… Teddisson drew what Banjo had suggested anyway. And before he realized what was happening, he and the rabbit zoner were encased in a…

Large hamster ball.

“See? I told you this would work!”

Teddisson’s face flushed red as he and Banjo slowly descended into the sinkhole. Yes, this ball thing was working quite well. Yes it was making for some pretty good travel. But it was still embarrassing as fuck. He had a feeling that he was never going to live this down.

“Aw come in, perk up!” Banjo slapped him lightly on the back of his shoulder. “At least we are making progress.”

Teddisson turned to glare at Banjo. With his teeth gritted, he said, “Say not a word about this to anyone...understand me..?”

Banjo blinked a few times before he chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. “Oh you worry too much!” He took notice that the human was still glaring at him. The rabbit’s ears fell slightly and then he held his paw up in gesture. “Okay, I promise I won’t tell anyone about this.”

Teddisson narrowed his eyes further but said nothing. He just turned his head and looked away, staring at the moving sand all around him. Or dirt, or a mixture of both. He couldn’t tell. But it was still better for him to look at in the moment than Banjo. He had a feeling that he was going to be upset with that rabbit zoner for a while.

At least they were making good progress, like the rabbit zoner stated. He could feel them slowly descending, then it began to increase in speed. He held no fear of getting hurt as this ball wasn’t too large and it was thick. The impact blow would be dispersed throughout the clear, thick ball. But what was getting to him was just how deep this was. He thought they were going down for a while, and with all the dirt and sand and what not in the way, it was hard for him to even see where they were or how long they had left to descend. But they had to reach the bottom eventually, right? This couldn’t be an endless void….right?

He got his answer when he suddenly felt the thing hit against something hard. There was a bit of a crack and a wobble, but it soon steadied itself. Teddisson and Banjo held onto each other tightly as they tried to settle themselves down quickly. It was over pretty quickly, though, and they soon started to look around. The sand had already started to move off of the device and they could soon start to see just where they were.

Even before it all cleared up, they could see what appeared to be some kind of large room or something. A big cave room, which is...exactly what he had expected anyway. But it was what could be inside this place that got him intrigued. This couldn’t just be an empty cave room, right? It had to have something in here that would be cause for keeping it hidden. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to come here, but what better way to make sure that whatever was in here stayed hidden if it were dangerous...than by finding out for himself then spreading the word?

Then when the dust and dirt cleared up, he and Banjo took a moment to look around. At first, it really did look like just some random cave room. He could hear Banjo sigh in disappointment, and he had to admit, so was he. It was starting to really look like just a normal cave-in with a room that held no importance. Perhaps coming here hadn’t been the best idea. He should just…

But then he paused when he noticed something glowing, sparkling, in the corner of his eyes. Teddisson slowly turned his head to see what it was. And at first, he saw nothing. Just a lot of darkness around him. But when he draw a flashlight and pointed it in that direction, he saw something that he did not expect.

Chalk.

Growing from the ground.

In clusters.

Teddisson stared in awe as he looked at what appeared to be black-colored chalk growing in bush-like structures upon the floor. He had never seen anything like this before. His eyes moved over the structures that laid strewn about, the black glow radiating off of it, a few sparkles spreading throughout. Although the other chalk he had seen did grow from above the ground somewhere, the black chalk seemed to be mostly mirroring the white chalk. Directly from the ground instead of directly from the ceiling, and it was the opposite color as well.

Slowly, he furrowed his eyes as that thought entered his mind more clearly. Was there any distinction in this? Should he be worried? Should he and Banjo just leave this area and pretend that they never found it?

Or...was he just being paranoid? It was still, after all, magic chalk. Or at least, he thought it was. It at least behaved like magic chalk. He imagined that he could still use it like white chalk. Draw and create things. Perhaps it was no different from the white chalk and the black coloring was just for show. Aesthetics, more or less.

Well there was only one way to find out.

Very carefully, taking some time, he and Banjo got out of the ball, the top opening up to give them the room that they needed. They walked outward, moving slowly, step by step. Banjo moved a little closer, going behind Teddisson. The kid didn’t take long to notice this.

“What’s the matter?” Giggled Teddisson. “I thought you wanted to come here.”

Banjo gulped but quickly frowned and growled, “I did! It’s just…” His expression softened up as he stared at the black chalk before them. “....something about that doesn’t feel right.”

Teddisson did start to feel the same thing, but he quickly shrugged it off. “It’s just chalk.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What could possibly happen?”

Banjo bit his lip, licking his buck teeth. “I suppose you’re….” Suddenly Banjo appeared to notice something. “What’s that?” He pointed at what looked like a beaten down sign. “Do you think that will tell us anything we need to know about this place?”

Teddisson furrowed his eyes a little. He didn’t answer his creation’s question. He instead just walked over to the small pile of rubble. He could see the sign just barely poking out. He bent himself down, his knees nearly pressing against the hard rocks, as he used his hand to swipe away the rubble. Once it was clear, he could see what looked like a very old sign with faded wording. It took him a while, but he was soon able to read what it said.

"Reality smothered like the squeeze of a snake. Through us, the veil is removed. See the truth and prepare to quake."

What the…? What did this mean…?

Teddisson reread those words over and over again. It gave him a chilling sense of foreboding, but it also confused him. What kind of truth was this thing talking about? Just what was it referring to? And should he even take this sign seriously? Maybe it was just some kind of a prank?

It was possible that some hoodlums had broken into here before and decided to scare people with this fake message. That seemed like something a few misbehaving zoner children might do. It wouldn’t really surprise him.

Yet at the same time, he couldn’t shake off this message entirely. Perhaps there was at least some truth to it. Maybe there was something hidden here. A threat perhaps? Long buried. If that were the case, then shouldn’t he try to make sure that it stayed down? If it were to spread out into ChalkZone, the zoners themselves would be afflicted, and he couldn’t just allow that to happen. It just wouldn’t be fair to them. He furrowed his eyes deeply, his mind’s gears turning as he tried to decipher the message.

...could it be talking about this chalk here…?

That was all that he could see right now, anyway. A lot of chalk. And it did seem almost like there was something wrong with it. It was subtle of course. But something remained hidden underneath the surface. There was something...eerie about the way that it glowed. It was almost like it was meant to be this way, to be scary so that no one would use it.

Or it could just be an appearances thing and he was making a big deal out of nothing. But he knew that he wouldn’t get anything accomplished from standing here. He might as well see what this thing was about. Swallowing hard, he began to approach the black things poking out of the ground like strange flowers.

“H-Hey… What are you doing…?” Whispered Banjo. His paw was reaching out towards him. “Do you think that this is a good idea?”

Teddisson stopped and looked over his shoulder. Giving his creation a backwards glance, he said sternly, “You seemed to think it was a good idea to come out here. Why the sudden change of heart?”

Banjo tapped his finger stubs together, grinning nervously. “I-I-I just had a second thought. Maybe we shouldn’t…”

Teddisson looked away from Banjo. “It’s too late for that. Look, it’s not going to take that long. Just let me test this thing out and we can go, all right?” He started to make his way closer to the black chalk. “I just want to make sure that it is safe.”

Banjo said softly, “Well all right. Be careful…!”

Teddisson let out a small sigh. Why was Banjo getting worried? It was just chalk, right? So long as he didn’t touch it, he should be fine. And heck, touching it shouldn’t be a problem as far as he knew. He just needed to take care not to draw anything with it. That shouldn’t be too hard.

As Teddisson kept getting closer to the black chalk, however, he did start to feel...something. He wasn’t sure how to describe it. He felt as though the air around him was getting a little tighter. He felt as though something cold and chilly was crawling up his spine. It soon dissipated quickly, only to come back up. It was like his body was fighting against the sensation, pushing it away, but the sensation was too strong to be destroyed so easily.

Soon he was within a few feet of the black chalk clusters. He licked his lips nervously as he stared at them. Something about that black glow was...enticing. It drew him in and he could feel his vision shrinking all around him, becoming able to only focus on these dark-colored clusters of soft rocks. Just what was it about them that was so intriguing, so inviting, and yet so foreboding?

He tried to shake off the feeling once more. He was getting a little paranoid. What should he worry about? He wasn’t going to touch them. He just wanted to get a good look at them. How could that cause any…

Then there almost seemed to be a flash, sudden and out of nowhere. Or was it a flash? Banjo didn’t seem to react to it. Almost as if Teddisson himself was the only one who had noticed it. And then it happened again and he gripped his head tightly. He pushed his hands against the sides of his head and pressed his fingernails against his skin. Just what the fuck was happening to him?

All around him, as he opened up his eyes, seemed to have gotten darker, like he was looking through some intense pair of shades. He could still, somehow, make out the black chalk before him. It shimmered and shined in the dark, and it somehow became more comforting than before. Like it was somehow a shining beacon of light to help guide him. And he could soon feel himself moving his hands towards it, his fingers spreading wide open.

“Teddisson! No!” Banjo shouted.

Teddisson was startled out of taking the chalk. He stared at the black pieces on the ground, feeling his heart racing inside of his chest. Just what had brought him to do that? He shook his head and he started to take a few steps back. “M-Maybe we should go…” He found himself whispering. “Let’s just…”

Suddenly, Teddisson was stopped by something whispering into the wind. And it wasn’t Banjo.

“Where are you going?”

“Why do you leave us?”

“We can help you.”

“Let us help you.”

“We only wish to show you the truth.”

“With us, you will be powerful.”

Teddisson kept himself frozen in place as he looked left and right, trying to make sense of what was being said to him. His wide eyes kept looking from side to side. The voices didn’t sound like they were coming from the chalk itself, but rather from all around him. He huddled himself together and shivered. He could feel something crawling along his back, forcing him to jerk around a little to shake off what it was. But there was nothing there.

Teddisson turned his head to look over at Banjo. The rabbit zoner was backing away, looking terribly frightened. Teddisson felt his heart clenching tightly as he realized that he wound up dragging his friend into danger with him. Even if Banjo was the one who encouraged this, Teddisson should have kept him out of this. He should have just went back to exploring as a partner with Horace. Then this wouldn’t have happened.

He gave another shudder as the voices got a little louder in his head. He put his hands over his ears, hoping they would go away. But the voices just echoed inside of his head.

“Why do you care for that thing?”

“Zoners just use you.”

“Zoners care nothing for you.”

“You must defend yourself against them.”

“Pick us up before it is too late.”

Teddisson shut his eyes tightly as he tried to push the thoughts out of his head. Yet he wasn’t able to stop the sensation of something cold rising up in his guts. It created a sort of internal fire and it burned, making him feel sick. He shook his head from side to side, stil clutching it. But the voices would not stop.

“Do it now!”

“Pick us up!”

“Let us help you!”

“It’s not too late!”

“You must hurry, before the zoners can hurt you!”

“They are all liars and cheaters!”

“Why do you think this one wanted to take you here?”

“Ugh..!” Grunted Teddisson as he dropped down onto his knees in front of one of the black chalk clusters. He could feel sweat pouring down his face. His vision flashed between being blurry and being sharp, and this repeated over and over again.

“Teddisson! Are you all right?” Came Banjo’s voice. “You don’t look so good…. It must be that black chalk! You have to get away from it!”

Teddisson took in a few slow breaths as he slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. Where he once saw a frightened ally, he was seeing something else entirely. A zoner with twisted features and a horrific smile. A zoner who was reaching out towards him to get ready to tear him apart, the claws impossibly long. A zoner who looked like it was taken out of a horror film like…

Teddisson took in a sharp intake of breath, dread washing over him. His body trembled as he took a few steps back. He thought he could hear the rabbit-like zoner speaking, but the words were distorted and growly, matching the monstrous outlook that was presented to him. And when it got closer, Teddisson could feel himself falling backwards. He raised his hand up, waving it in front of him in self defense.

“N-No.. G-Get away from me!” Teddisson shouted loudly. “Don’t hurt me! Please!”

This seemed to cause the twisted zoner to stop, as though confused by what he was saying. But the thing’s face still remained a dark grin and there was no indication that the zoner was going to stop. Teddisson could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He had to do something and quick.

“We will help you survive….”

“We can get you out of this mess…”

“Just trust us…”

Teddisson looked back at the black chalk once more. He blinked a few times as he noticed that it did indeed look more inviting. The black chalk was the light of hope in this darkened room. Teddisson bit his tongue for a moment before he grabbed a piece of black chalk.

He immediately froze, feeling something like sharp, cold ice shooting through his finger tips. This sensation lasted only for a few seconds before he managed to fight it off. He tightened his grip on the chalk and he managed to stop a piece off. He held it up in the air and he could feel the cool glowy shadow moving along his arm, wrapping itself around him. Teddisson felt his vision go slightly darker and he thought he could feel wifts of black glow trailing along beside him. He stared intently at the rabbit zoner and then, with his eyes narrowed in determination, he let out a loud yell and charged the creature.

He had never felt so terrified in his life.

sss

PRESENT:

“S-So what happened after that…?” Snap’s voice was soft and tentative. He had no idea what to expect for an answer. But he did know to be careful, especially with how Mr. Cosmo was looking at him.

“When I came to, I saw that I was covered in injuries. Bruises and cuts. I managed to hide them well, I think. I think the black chalk helped with that.” Mr. Cosmo turned his head to one direction. “As for Banjo, I saw that he was laying on the ground, broken and battered. I couldn’t tell if he was alive at the time or not.”

Snap gritted his teeth. “Did you…?”

Teddisson shook his head. “I left him go. I figured I had done enough. I was able to tie together that’s what happened.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “It took me a while, maybe an hour or two, to fully grasp what happened. And when I realized the truth, I was..devastated to say the least.” He reopened his eyes and growled softly. “My ‘friend’ had been trying to hurt me. The black chalk had helped me see through the disguise. Banjo had tried to attack me. And I retaliated in self defense.” He glared at Snap sideways. “That was the day that I learned the truth about you zoners.”

Snap shuddered when he saw the man glaring at him like that. He licked his lips lowly and swallowed hard. He wanted to say something in protest, but he soon stopped himself. He realized that saying anything right now was not going to be a very good idea. He was only going to invite more trouble.

But the story had told him enough, anyway. Mr. Cosmo really had been more like Rudy at one point. Or rather, like a fusion of Rudy and Reggie. Then he found a cave room where this black chalk was. And when he got too close...when he had touched it…

Snap tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. He tried hard not think about what he had been told. He now knew what happened to Mr. Cosmo, and that only made him more fearful of what was going to happen to Rudy. He should be focusing on that right now. How was he going to keep Mr. Cosmo from making Rudy turn out like him? How was he going to ensure that Rudy would not be….corrupted by the black chalk?

Snap’s thoughts were interrupted when he could feel the man grabbing him by his cape. He was lifted up from the ground so that the man could stare at him right in the eyes. Snap froze, feeling a wave of ice striking him as those eyes bored right through him.

“Now I want you to get a little bit of rest. In a little while, I will be bringing you back to your original cage and…”

Snap managed to give off a soft chuckle. But he found nothing humorous about this. “You seem to like moving me around.”

Mr. Cosmo smiled back at him, causing the zoner to shiver slightly. Something about that look in the man’s eyes made him feel sick. “I had to modify it a little. And as for what, you will see.” Mr. Cosmo leaned in, putting his face close to Snap’s. “I think you will love the changes. They are to die for!”

Snap caught the man’s tone and he immediately gasped, the expression of fear spreading along his face rapidly almost like wildfire. Just what in the world did this mad human have in store for him this time…?

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes soon darkened, matching with his more solemn expression. Any sense of jokiness subsided and the human had become absolutely serious on the turn of a dime. “If you aren’t scared of me right now…” His voice grew deeper as his forehead practically touched Snap’s. “You will be, you filthy little zoner…”

Snap’s blood turned into ice.


	40. Subduing The Fight

“And that should do it. I think we’re ready to roll.” Ms. Saffron stated, standing outside of the car door. She looked over at where Penny stood. She raised her hand up to motion for her to come over. “Come on, Penny. We don’t have much time.”

“I’m coming…” Penny uttered softly. But even after saying that, she still remained still, staring at the woman with uncertainty. She still wasn’t sure if she should trust Ms. Saffron or not. She still felt something about her, something that told her to be cautious.

But she could not deny the woman’s earlier words. They really didn’t have that much time and she was her only chance at helping her friends. Ms. Saffron was the only one who knew that building well enough to help her find them and she might even be able to pull off some distractions. Even if this could be a trap, it was still the one shot that she had in ensuring her friends’ safety, as well as rescuing the imprisoned zoners. It was worth the risk.

Penny looked back at the house, where her mom stood on the steps. Penny’s expression softened up and she stared at her mom sympathetically. She had opted to stay behind, largely due to still running a business and not being able to leave today. But also because she wanted to again visit Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie to see how well they were doing. Last Penny checked, though, they were having...issues. She silently hoped that her mom would be able to snap them out of it.

Shaking her head once, she turned her attention back to Ms. Saffron. A part of her still couldn’t believe her mom was letting her go by herself...although she did let her take a taser with her that she had kept hidden. Penny knew what it was for. She frowned softly at Ms. Saffron. If that woman did fall out of line…

She made her way towards the vehicle. She felt as though she had wasted enough time. If Rudy and Snap were waiting for her, she didn’t want to delay much longer. She had to get there as quickly as possible, before Mr. Cosmo…

But how were they going to do this? She asked herself that over and over again. She had her own plans. Ms. Saffron was not yet aware of it. She wondered what this woman thought she was going to do. Penny had meant to tell her in order to get a better idea of how they were going to go about this. But with her mom standing there, it was just too big of a risk. Her mother couldn’t know about ChalkZone. If she did hear it, and if she did take it seriously… Penny didn’t want to know what would happen. They had enough issues with Mr. Cosmo’s plans. She didn’t want to add her mom into this equation as well.

Penny didn’t realize how much time had passed or what she had been doing. It seemed out of nowhere that she could feel herself moving, realizing that she was strapped in the passenger’s seat of the car, Ms. Saffron driving down the street. Penny had to shake her head once to snap herself fully back into reality.

“It shouldn’t take us long to get there.” Ms. Saffron explained. She kept her eyes on the road, her hands keeping the steering wheel steady. “If you have any kind of plan, I think now is the best time to tell me. Don’t worry. I don’t think anyone is going to hear you in here.”

Penny bit her lip and swallowed hard. She took a moment to look around. While the woman wasn’t exactly wrong in her assessment, she still felt a little reluctant to start speaking here. Yet she did want to tell her anyway. And telling her now did make more sense than waiting until they got there. Penny shuddered to think what would happen if she delayed things and it wound up… 

No, don’t think like that, she told herself. She drew in a slow deep breath to calm herself and then she gave her answer.

“I did have some kind of a plan….to trap Mr. Cosmo.” Penny licked her lips slowly. She swallowed hard, feeling her neck muscles contract a little as she struggled to think of what to say. She didn’t know how far she should go with telling Ms. Saffron. “Y-You see… I…” Her voice trailed off after she stammered a few times.

Ms. Saffron replied, “I see you are working out some of the kinks, I imagine?”

Penny remained silent for a few moments as she stared at Ms. Saffron. Then slowly, she nodded her head.

“Well we have some time before we get there still. I think that should give you a few minutes to think of how you are going to go about this.” Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slowly. “But remember that we can’t dilly dally. This may only work once so you better make it count.” She tightened her grip on the steering wheel. Penny thought she could see some droplets of sweat on her fingers. “Please don’t mess this up…”

Penny narrowed her eyes. She let out a low grumble, “Why do you care….?”

Ms. Saffron seemed to jerk forward a little. While she did regain control of the car swiftly, that didn’t stop Penny from feeling the change. She felt her body stiffen up at this, her heart rate increasing rapidly. Penny looked up out of the corner of her eye and she noticed the slightest change in Ms. Saffron’s expression. There seemed to be the faintest hint of a glare. “If I didn’t care….then why would I come all the way to find you, despite...what I did before..? Do you really think that I would even bother? Penny, you must think I’m crazy if you honestly believe that I would pull something like this after almost getting you killed.”

Penny could only just glare at her, but any words that she tried to form would just fall apart. She turned her head and she looked back towards the ground, where her feet here. She tapped them together absent mindedly, trying to keep her focus on her friends.

But Ms. Saffron wouldn’t even let her do that.

“....how are your injuries, by the way…?” The blonde woman asked tentatively.

The female teenager tried not to growl at this, fighting against tightening her fist any further. She forced out a sigh as she looked up at Ms. Saffron. She couldn’t stop her voice from being a little bitter-sounding as she said, “I’m….fine...okay..?” She immediately stiffened and hissed as a jolt of pain rushed through her arm. What perfect timing, she thought sarcastically.

Ms. Saffron bit her lip nervously, but she didn’t try to reply. Probably a smart move. Penny imagined that if the woman had continued the conversation, she would have just gotten increasingly pissed. After all, this was the woman who had handed her over to those people who had her locked in that room where Draow had tried to…

Penny could feel a could rush of emotions inside of her as memories flooded back. She could still remember the look in that zoner’s eyes when he attacked her, those glowing teal colors piercing through her, those sharp teeth that glinted in the light… Penny remembered how the claw came down to slash her, how she just narrowly managed to escape… And since it had only been a couple days since the attack, her body did not do much recovering. If it weren’t for the painkillers her mother gave her, she would likely be collapsing into the ground right now.

She had to try to fight against this. Despite her fears, she knew that she had to press on, try not to let it get to her. She may end up facing off against Draow again soon. If fear took her over, then he was going to win. If she was going to save her friends, then she needed to stand up to Draow and show him that he does not control her. She would make sure that Draow stayed down this time.

Was that too dark of thinking? Penny realized that she was going a bit too far. She didn’t want to actually kill Draow. But she had to admit, knowing in what he participated in, that was...quite tempting.

When she looked out where they were, the buildings started to look strangely, then scarily familiar. Penny tensed up as she recognized the streets that she had been walking in before Mr. Wilter found her. She thought she could see some blood stains still on the ground, not yet cleaned up. She turned her head and looked down further and she knew that, at the end of this road that they were turning onto, that’s where Mr. Cosmo’s building lay. They were getting close. It was almost time. Penny could feel her heart squeezing inside of her chest. She knew that there was no going back now.

But when they moved down the road, Penny noticed that Ms. Saffron was not going straight; instead she soon put on her turn signal. As Penny listened to the clicking, she noticed which light was lit and she turned her head in that direction. She could feel the vehicle moving down a new road, one that Penny hadn’t seen before. No surprise, considering that she had lost a lot of blood.

But where was this going…? Where was Ms. Saffron taking her…? Had she been tricked? Her heart started to pump faster at the thought of that.

Ms. Saffron seemed to notice this and quickly stated, “I’m going in the back way.”

Penny hardly settled down when she asked, “A back way?”

Ms. Saffron nodded her head. “So you can sneak in with me. The back way is not as heavily guarded.”

Penny cocked up an eyebrow at this. A part of her had trouble believing that this was the case. Shouldn’t both entrances be guarded? She could feel a level of suspicion growing up inside of her and she couldn’t help but bare her teeth slightly. Something about this just didn’t feel right to her.

But at the same time, she had nothing else to go off of. She realized that it was probably best to just go along with what this woman said. She can just keep an eye out on things and react if she needed to. She still had that taser, after all. If it came time to use it, then so be it. With her eyes narrowing slowly, she turned her head to watch as she and Ms. Saffron began to pull into a new area.

So this must be the back entrance, right? Penny took a moment to look at it up and down. This place didn’t look as busy, and somehow the building looked even taller than before. That was due to this being lower, having gone down a hill to get here in the first place. Penny could see the edge was lined up with bushes, obscuring its view a little, and she could see only two other cars parked back here. There was some kind of section of the building sticking out, covering over what appeared to be an indentation that the door was connected to. Outstretched in a small ‘tunnel’ kind of thing, as if it were beckoning her to come in.

She could feel the car jerking a little as Ms. Saffron stopped and parked the car. She got out quickly before rounding herself towards Penny. She opened up her door before Penny had a chance to, and then seized her by the arm. “We need to get going now. Just because this is less guarded doesn’t mean something could happen. Hurry along and keep close to me. Try to stay behind me.”

Penny looked at the woman in slight confusion, but she quickly did as he was told. She let herself be dragged out a little before she yelped in pain. Ms. Saffron let her go upon realizing this, allowing Penny to walk on her own. Penny remained still for a moment as she shuddered and tried to fight off the pain. Then she followed the woman as they slowly entered the building.

Penny looked around, noticing how this place felt smaller. It was narrower than what she had remembered, and it smelled strange. It even looked a little different. Less shiny. Not by much, but it was still noticeable. It kinda made it look as though it was under renovation. Perhaps it just wasn’t finished?

She didn’t have time to analyze this, however, before Ms. Saffron started to move forward. Penny was surprised by how fast she was moving. She struggled to keep up with her, limping a little in the process. She did her best to remain close and behind her. She wasn’t sure why she wanted her to do this, though, unless the woman was silently telling her that the cameras only face on direction here for some reason.

And sure enough, Penny did see a camera. A small one, pointed only out ahead. The girl shrunk herself a little, bending her body to avoid being seen. She had no idea if that worked or not. But she didn’t want to take the risk and…

“Get over here!” Hissed Ms. Saffron.

“What..?” Penny didn’t have time to respond before the woman suddenly grabbed her and pulled her in with her. She realized that they had gone into another hallway and Ms. Saffron had her back pinned against it. She was looking over carefully as though something was going on. Penny asked nervously, “What’s going on? Why are we…”

“Shhh!” Ms. Saffron shushed her, pressing her finger against her own lip. “You don’t want to get caught, do you?”

Penny shook her head. Ms. Saffron didn’t answer as she returned her attention to watch for..whatever it was that she noticed. Penny had no idea what was going on at first. That is, until she heard the sound of someone coming down the hallway. It was distant at first, but grew louder with each step.

And when she heard those voices, she immediately stiffened up. She recognized one of those voices. There was no doubt about that.

It was one of the workers who had dragged her into Draow’s room.

Penny found herself huddling closer to Ms. Saffron as a result. She realized what she did when it was too late, and now she just found herself keeping close to the woman. She dared to look over, just enough to see the shadows coming. She gritted her teeth as she waited for the inevitable to happen.

Then the man came into view. He was with somebody else, but Penny kept staring at this one in particular. Time seemed to slow down. Although he didn’t see her, Penny still felt as though she was being frozen solid, her hairs rising up on their ends. She stayed this way even after the man passed by, too focused on talking to his body to see that she was there. He then continued down the hallway, but his words were loud and clear for her and Ms. Saffron to hear.

“Why do you think Mr. Cosmo wanted us to make sure that he wasn’t disturbed?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe he is just really busy.”

“I did hear that he wanted something to do with that little zoner thing…”

“I don’t know why he wastes his time on that thing.”

“Me neither. But we should still do what we’re told. Don’t want to upset the boss.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Still would be nice when he gets rid of that creature. He’s been way too obsessed with it.”

“Yeah, I’ll say.”

Penny struggled not to react too angrily at how the men talked about who was surely Snap. They were acting like he was something to be discarded. She formed a tight fist with her hand and shook it and he ground her teeth together. She could feel her chest burning, lighting up on fire. It took her a while to settle down completely. She had to draw in a few deep breaths before she could relax. And once she did, she tried to analyze just what they were talking about.

Her heart skipped a few beats when she realized the implication there. If what she heard was correct, then that meant that…

“Your friend is in trouble. We should get a move on.” Came Ms. Saffron’s stern voice. Penny was nearly startled into falling forward as she heard that voice piercing through her head like that. She turned and looked at the woman wide-eyed. Without looking at Penny, Ms. Saffron hissed under her breath, “It’d be too risky to get information from those two idiots…” She turned her head to stare down the other hallway. She furrowed her eyes a little, pursing her lips. She then looked back at Penny. “Follow me. I think I know a less used passageway to Mr. Cosmo’s office.”

Penny blinked at this. “But why are we going there? Shouldn’t we…”

“Because if Mr. Cosmo doesn’t want to be disturbed, then that means that he is most likely in one of a few spots, with his office being the most likely target.” Ms. Saffron suddenly stiffened up at this and she slapped herself in the face. “I was such an idiot… I knew I should have checked there before I…”

Penny took a step towards the woman. “Before what?”

Ms. Saffron looked at her with guilt-filled eyes. “I...tried to help your friend get out before. And I...failed.” She looked away. “I took him to the wrong place and he got trapped because of it. He thinks that I’m a liar now.”

Penny wasn’t really sure what to think about this. But judging from the woman’s voice, she did at least seem sincere about her words. If she were speaking the truth, then Penny was grateful that this woman was at least trying to make up for what she had done. That was far better than nothing.

But Penny couldn’t focus on that right now. Snap was in the most immediate danger. And if he really was trapped with that man, then…

Penny narrowed her eyes and nodded her head. “Okay. Let’s go find Snap.” With that, she and Ms. Saffron started to make their way down the long corridor.

sss

She had no idea why she had permitted that woman to take her daughter. She felt like the worst parent to ever live. She should have been more strict and tried to stop it from happening. Now because of her stupidity, she had no idea what was going to happen with her daughter. She had no idea what Ms. Saffron would do with her. Would she stay true to her word and keep Penny safe? Would she get her back here in one piece?

She really didn’t have any clue and to be honest, she was not sure if she would ever understand why she did that. It was almost...hypnotic. As if something about that woman compelled her to do what she suggested and…

Mrs. Sanchez shook her head, trying not to let herself worry about it too much. It was probably nothing. It was probably nothing to be overly concerned about. She probably just had a lapse in judgement. Nothing to get all worked up over. And besides, she had something else she needed to focus on, anyway. And that was checking to see how her dear friends were doing in the hospital. She hoped that something improved. She had feared for them so much…

She was in the car right now, making her way towards the hospital. She couldn’t yet see it, but it should be there soon. She just needed to get closer. Edging on over, preparing to make the required turns…

Along the way, she couldn’t help but get a little lost in her thoughts. She wasn’t really sure why. But she just...wasn’t able to stop herself from thinking about both what was going on with her friends and just….

Could this happen to her..?

The thought chilled her blood and she licked her lips slowly as she thought of the consequences of that. It made her feel a bit nauseous thinking about. What if Penny did return later today and she found her body on the ground, the cause a mystery, and… Mrs. Sanchez tried not to let these thoughts plague her. But she just couldn’t help it. This was a legitimate concern. She could have caught whatever Joe and Millie got. And if she fell down as well, then what would happen to their children?

Mrs. Sanchez gritted her teeth tightly. Something did need to be done about this. If the doctors didn’t find anything on their own, then she was going to need to do research herself. The doctors were missing something, she was certain. If she could get a chance to, maybe she could figure out what was wrong with them.

With her eyes furrowed, her fingers tightening up on the steering wheel before her, she continued driving towards the hospital, perhaps a little faster than she should have. Her mind surged with thoughts of how she was going to approach this. She would get to the bottom of this.

She just had to. If she did not succeed, then...

sss

Mr. Wilter looked carefully at the piece of tin foil that he had in his hands. He wasn’t sure why he had brought it out. Perhaps it was just shere boredom. Maybe it was to get his mind off of what he had to tell Rudy before. Perhaps it was to forget that he was trapped here because of Mr. Cosmo.

Or maybe tin foil was just so darn captivating at times. With all the shiny bits and pointy ends that seemed to go on for ever and....

Okay, so he was just bored and ran out of things to do. Not like Mr. Cosmo gave them a plethera of things to do in this place. Why would Mr. Cosmo care about that? Mr. Wilter didn’t spend too much time thinking about that, however, not wanting to get too caught up into it. He had realized that, surely, there could be some kind of use for this thing.

And that’s when thoughts had crossed his mind, recalling some old conspiracy theory stuff. He would normally shut those out of his head and regard them as ‘childish nonsense’. But something about it coming up this time stuck and as he stared at the piece of tin foil in his hands....

“Yes, I’m aware of how conspiracy nuts like to use tin foil hats to ‘hide’ their location from the government.” Rudy stated. This brought Mr. Wilter out of his thoughts as he jolted a little. “But that doesn’t explain to me why you brought it up.”

Mr. Wilter nearly spluttered as he tried to think of just where he was going with this. He gave a quick shudder, which caused Rudy to look at him in confusion. Then, before Rudy could ask, he immediately held the piece of tin foil towards him, letting the boy get a good look at it. “Do you think that this could block the signals? The ones wirelessly controlling the zoners?”

Rudy frowned at him for a few moments as though confused. But then it started to click in his head and his eyes widened big, his mouth dropping open. Rudy looked at the piece of tin foil again, reaching out towards it...only to stop and frown once more, looking away.

“I’m not....entirely sure, honestly.” Rudy’s voice was a depressed grumble. “Mr. Cosmo has been... I mean... What if he’s already figured out a solution to that?”

Mr. Wilter said, “I doubt anyone’s tried to stop the signal before. I mean, who would try to stop it?” He held his hand up in gesture. “There’s no one around here who would try I don’t think. They’re all brainwashed by Mr. Cosmo.”

Rudy put his hand, the fingers curled inward, against his chin. “Hmm... I suppose you are right...”

Mr. Wilter continued, “I know we can’t try it now. But I have a feeling that Mr. Cosmo is going to have at least you encounter your friend again. He might try something else to get his way. I don’t know what else he could try, but don’t think for a moment that he wouldn’t succeed in being worse.”

“I don’t really need to be told that.” Rudy hissed under his breath. His anger was clearly directed towards Mr. Cosmo. “Just when I think he can’t get any worse, he finds a way.”

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least. Now as for this piece of tin foil...” Mr. Wilter leaned in and grabbed onto Rudy’s hand. He dropped the tin foil in his palm and forced it closed. “Keep it with you and when you get the chance, try it. Who knows? It might be crazy enough to work.”

Rudy looked at the tin foil, gritting his teeth. Then he looked back at Mr. Wilter and nodded his head slowly. “Y-Yeah.... Thanks for the...suggestion.”

Mr. Wilter straightened his head up and smiled the best that he could. “You’re welcome. The man soon fell silent as his thoughts began to drift a little. He didn’t know what Mr. Cosmo had planned next, but he hoped that he and Rudy would be prepared for it.

sss

Mr. Cosmo didn’t actually know what he was going to do next. He felt as though he was getting fresh out of ideas and it was really frustrating him. He didn’t recall it being this hard in the past to get someone to join him. Then again, Mr. Wilter had proven to be hard and he had...

Mr. Cosmo growled under his breath as he forced that wretched memory out of his head. He did not want to be reminded of that day. He pushed himself forward as he tried to focus on his present task. While this wasn’t exactly what he had planned originally, it would give him something to do. Perhaps entertaining himself with this zoner would help him get back on track and get him to come up with something that would surely make Rudy turn.

He had to stop himself for a brief second as he realized that maybe he was getting a little too obsessed with this. Maybe he didn’t actually need to go this far. Maybe he didn’t need Rudy after all. He could just get rid of him. That might be the easier thing to do.

..or would it? What if people manage to trace it all the way back here? What would he say? Would he even be ready to tell the world about ChalkZone? Would it even be safe...?

He narrowed his eyes into slits. That would have to come later.

The man turned his attention back to the zoner before him. He held Snap in his hand, gripping his cape tightly to make sure that he couldn’t get away. While he could easily have just used the signal to make him walk with him, he found it more entertaining to be more physical with the zoner.

He was carrying him back towards his water bar cage in his office. He realized that he had moved this zoner around a bit too much. But this he had felt compelled to do. He had wanted to do something a little extra in that water bar cage of his. It would be something that he hoped would shatter Snap further. He was starting to feel that, despite what earlier events might suggest, Snap was fighting back and not being as broken as he should have been. He wanted to change that.

And this was the perfect way how. All he would need to do was put Snap in the cage as is and then... Well, he wasn’t kidding when he told Snap that it would be something that he’d never forget.

Reentering the room, he immediately made his way towards the specialized cage. He could see Snap’s head raising up to take a look at it, and he could see the zoner stiffening up at what he was seeing. Immediately the zoner reacted, twisting himself around as he tried to get away from him. Mr. Cosmo could feel a grin spreading along his face. It would seem that Snap had noticed the new addition to the cage.

Or rather, subtraction.

There was only a small platform now that he could say on.

“W-Wait.. Please...” Snap whimpered as he tried to get away.

But these cries only made Mr. Cosmo increase his pace. Watching Snap struggling like this did help him feel better. It reminded him that, despite all that’s happened so far, he was still in control. He had control over this pathetic little creature. And he was going to enjoy every minute of it.

When he started to lower Snap towards the liquid that now drenched the interior of the cage, vinegar to be precise, the blue and white zoner started to curl himself upward and hold onto him for dear life. Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this before lowering him down further, getting him closer and closer to the smelly fluids below him. He didn’t quite get him to touch it, but he forced Snap to have some close brushes with it.

Then he forced Snap onto his back, holding him down by his shoulder. There wasn’t much space for the little zoner to squirm around. So when the man raised his fingers after dipping them into the vinegar, Snap could only watch in fear and flinch in preparation for the inevitable. As Mr. Cosmo moved his still wet fingers along Snap’s face, the zoner immediately whimpered and cried, his tears practically evaporating if any of them touched the light dampness on his face.

“P-Please... s-s-stop....”

Mr. Cosmo could hear just how soft and weak the zoner’s voice sounded. He could see the look of terror in his eyes. This caused him to feel more powerful and he felt his sense of control returning. It was hard to believe that he could even smile any further than he already was. But here we go.

Snap still struggled to fight back. Despite his injuries and despite the impossible odds, he was still going for it. Mr. Cosmo did feel a little impressed by this. But at the same time, it was going to be a problem. He needed to subdue the fight, so to speak, to keep it from getting worse. If this zoner did keep fighting back, then that was definitely going to be a problem. If he could only just make this zoner obedient to him…

His eyes twinkled. He already had it all set up. He had the zoner pinned down near the vinegar and taunted him with it. Perhaps it was time to go a step further? Oh yes, there were ways of snuffing out the fight even with the most vicious of creatures.

Mr. Cosmo picked up Snap and moved him towards the electrified water bars, leaning in closely towards them. He held the zoner there for several long moments, making sure that he was as close as possible without actually touching it. He could feel the zoner’s struggles suddenly stop as he seemed to realize that, with how close that he was right now, he might end up hurting himself if he wriggled around too much. He was such a clever little zoner, wasn’t he?

Mr. Cosmo did have some fun faking out with Snap a little. He would pull Snap back and then thrust him towards the electrified water bars, causing Snap to scream loudly. Then he would stop only inches away from the water, and sometimes even closer. Snap would settle down a little when he moved him away...and then he would move him towards the bars again. The combination forced Snap into a repeated state of anxiety and brief calmness, which he was certain was stressing out his body. He could see the sweat moving down his face and even his blank eyes were noticeably filled with terror.

“You better get used to this, little zoner.” Mr. Cosmo cooed. He dangled Snap by his leg, avoiding the injured spot, over the pool of vinegar he had in place. “Your very life depends on me now. You are only alive because I said so. And if I so desired….”

He released Snap for a second. He could hear the zoner screaming loudly, filled with terror, as he dropped towards the vinegar that would hurt him, or even worse. He then grabbed onto Snap’s ankle at the last possible second, just letting Snap narrowly escape getting burned again. He let the zoner sway around a little, releasing a few small whimpers and sobs of fear. The tears that he shed dropped into the vinegar and dissolved into a smoke-like substance.

“...I can just let you die.” Mr. Cosmo stated. He raised Snap up, squeezing his leg roughly. He stared at Snap directly in the eyes and said, “Do you understand what I’m getting at, Snap? Do you understand these implications…?”

Snap swallowed hard as he nodded his head.

Mr. Cosmo smiled at this. “I don’t believe you.” Snap’s eyes widened at this. “I think I’ll have a little bit of fun with you, and then I’ll see if I find your words more...honest next time.”

Snap shook his head in desperation. “N-No… Wait… I understand! There’s no reason to…”

But it was already too late. Mr. Cosmo already made his decision. He wouldn’t be too much longer. Snap did look like he was getting the point. But he wanted to be doubly sure. He wanted to make sure that Snap would start to see him for what he really was: the only one who is permitting him to stay alive.

Only when Snap fully understood that will he move on.

Mr. Cosmo grabbed Snap by the back of his cape. He lifted him up roughly, smiling at him. Then he pushed him against the ground, on his stomach. Snap grunted and tried to push back up. The red-haired man simply applied pressure to the zoner’s back, forcing the little one’s shaky arms to just give out and collapse. Snap let out a pained grunt as he hit the ground in a loud thud, his teeth pressing into his tongue and Mr. Cosmo was certain that he had bit it hard enough to make it bleed.

Lowering himself down a little more, Mr. Cosmo grabbed onto the side of Snap’s head and pushed it down. The zoner’s head was presently very close to the vinegar. Snaps let out a series of small cries as Mr. Cosmo held him here. The zoner’s whole body went almost catatonic, too terrified to move.

Then the red-haired man decided to up the ante a little bit. He moved himself back a little. Just enough so that he could grab Snap once more and pull him forward, towards the edge of the small platform. Then Mr. Cosmo gripped the back of the zoner’s head and then thrusted him downward, pushing his face close to the vinegar. Snap could see his screaming face shining back at him in the liquid. Snap wriggled from side to side, unable to keep himself still. Mr. Cosmo replied by pushing his head down further, forcing it closer and closer until…

He pulled back at the last possible moment. As soon as he heard Snap ready to scream in pain, he yanked him over away from the vinegar. He noticed there seemed to be the faintest hint of a singe mark on his cheek. Perhaps he should have moved him back sooner…. Naw, this would serve to the zoner as a reminder. And besides, he did look good with that mark.

Mr. Cosmo ignored the zoner’s pitiful sobbing at such a minute mark and pulled him closer to him, sitting straight up this time. He kept his grip on the front of the zoner’s cape to make sure that he could not get away. He reached over and he grabbed Snap by his chin and pulled him forward. He turned Snap’s head from one side to the other forcefully, looking deep into his terrified white eyes.

“Do you now understand me?”

Snap practically released a choking sob when he replied, “Y-Yes… Please stop this…” He lowered his head, closing his eyes tightly as tears dripped out of them heavily. “Please...please….”

Mr. Cosmo did feel the temptation to keep going. This was getting to be too much fun. He loved the way that the zoner was looking at him and he loved the feeling of domination he had over the creature. It not only felt good, it helped him feel safe. If this zoner was scared of him, then this zoner would not try to hurt him. His previous fear of the zoner started to vaporize almost completely as he realized that the zoner was now just as terrified, if not more, of him.

But he didn’t want to waste much more time on him, considering he had other things that he wanted to do. He didn’t want to cause the thing to die of a heart attack, after all. He looked very close to getting one. So...yeah, he’ll give the zoner a break. For now anyway, in case he decided to come back for him later.

Mr. Cosmo released Snap and let him back away from him, at least until the zoner nearly stepped off of the platform. Snap remained there, pressing himself into the ground as he stared at Mr. Cosmo in fear. The man watched him with a twisted smirk of satisfaction before he turned and walked away, permitting Snap to wallow in his fears.


	41. Having A Little Fun

Draow moved slowly through the hallway, keeping his body low and his tail held up high. He let his teeth grit against one another, his teal-colored eyes keeping themselves facing forward. He tried not to let his previous encounter with Bardot get to him and he tried not to worry too much about what Mr. Cosmo might do if he found out what he was doing. He just....needed to keep moving.

Just what the fuck was he doing? After all this time.... was he really going to do this? Draow knew that he couldn’t just go back on his word now. He had already pledged his loyalty to Bardot. Even if it was out of fear.... he couldn’t go back.

He had been such an idiot. Why did he get drawn in by that little zoner anyway? What benefit did he have from this? He wasn’t really sure if he even should believe the yellow zoner’s words about him being in charge. As much as that sounded pretty neat, he just....couldn’t bring himself to really enjoy it much. Something about that comment felt...insincere, as though all the zoner was trying to do was butter him up.

But he also couldn’t really deny that Mr. Cosmo was concerning him. The man had been more.... anxious he guess was the word. Or was it? He wasn’t sure. He just knew that this was not the exact same calculating human that he once knew. And that paranoia of his was getting in the way. Even he was a target of Mr. Cosmo’s fear.

Draow did not really understand why. When he was created, Mr. Cosmo had been careful not to chare with him much of what happened. But it was hard to control thoughts and memory flow, and it was not hard for Draow to see something and piece together what might have happened.

Though all he really knew for certain was just something about another zoner and a possible betrayal. But even those details were not one hundred percent certain. He might be wrong and something else could have happened.

He had done his best to let it slide for a while, believing that the man did care for him in the end. But at the same time, was it actually caring, or did he just see him as a large killing machine? Granted, Draow did love his job and he had no qualms about taking lives. They were like potato chips. You couldn’t have just one. But if that’s all that he was good for to his creator, what would happen when his services were no longer required...?

The thought was enough to send a cold shudder down his spine. He thought back to what Bardot had told him. Bardot knew that he wouldn’t have wanted to suffer that fate, and he played on that. He told him about how being in charge would protect him, but Draow still didn’t know if he wanted to...

...well, if he were in charge...he could make the rules. If he were in charge....he could keep his own skin. He wouldn’t become obsolete. He would live.

As the realization dawned upon him, he could feel his lips curling back, exposing his teeth. He let out a small, broken serious of chuckles as he felt as though everything was darkening around him, the bright flash of a lightbulb floating around in his head.

He was starting to like this idea.

sss

Bardot crept along through the narrow vent, his body just barely making it through. He hated having to move through this thing, but he didn’t have much of a choice. There was a place that he needed to get to in order to figure out his next move.

He had been watching for the past day on what was going on, using the vent system to explore around. He was aware of Draow’s growing doubts and suspicions. He was aware of what was going on with Snap and what Mr. Cosmo was doing. He was aware of Rudy and Mr. Wilter’s chit chat, and just generally a lot of what was going on. He hadn’t heard anything yet that he felt he could use, however, but he was confident that this would change.

The thing was, in order for him to achieve what he wanted, he had to wait until the right moment. He had to be careful on what he did and how he utilized his strategy. Despite what he told Draow, he did have some level of uncertainty. There was always room for fuck ups, after all.

What he needed was something that could push things in the right direction. He already had Mr. Cosmo paranoid, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to see if he could push the man’s luck further. There was one idea in particualr that he had, but he wanted to save that until later. He felt that right now was way too soon. Things might end too fast for his liking. Besides, there were other things that he could...

He paused himself when he heard talking down below. Just barely, difficult to make out with the metal in his way. But he was certain that it was a human. No, two of them, and one sounding at least a little younger than the other. One of them definitely sounded familiar. It was not Mr. Cosmo, though. Just who were they?

Intrigued and hoping that this would give him a real breakthrough, alleviating him from the embarrassing downhill climb he suffered before from overconfidence and rushing into things, Bardot made his way down in a new direction. He tried to get closer to that voice, a task that was easier said than done.

But when he was certain that he had found that location, he wriggled his way down some more, refusing to stop until he had found a vent. The voices were louder here and he got closer, peering down closely.

Hmm it would seem to be that one woman he had spoken to earlier. It took him a moment to recognize her. He was a bit surprised that it took this long to realize that it was Ms. Saffron. But hmm...who was this little girl? The female teenager? He didn’t quite remember seeing her. Was this the same one he had seen being dragged towards Draow’s room? Draow did mention attacking someone to him before. There was a good chance that this was the same person.

Regardless, Bardot still settled himself down against the hard floor beneath him, keeping his paws and face not too close to the vent. He did not want to give away his position. He moved his head forward and he peered down, his green eyes glinting as he looked around slowly, trying to get an idea of what they were saying and just what they had planned.

“Are you sure Rudy and Mr. Wilter are down this way?”

“Of course! I know my way around here....for the most part, anyway.”

“That....doesn’t sound too promising....”

“Just keep following me and don’t stop for anything.”

Bardot licked his lips slowly as he listened to them chatter. They were already getting faint and even if he moved along with them, it would be hard to hear through the metal. Thankfully, there were a series of ventilation openings that should make it relatively easy to hear more of what they were saying. Granted, it would still be difficult, but he just...

Bardot tensed himself up when he heard something coming down the hallway from another angle. He tried to turn his head. This task was difficult to do given how tight it was in here. There was no way that he could manuever around. He growled under his breath and realized he would have to move backwards. He could catch up to these two later, anyway. He knew where they were headed. Right now, he wanted to deal with this other...issue before it became a problem.

Moving himself backwards, Bardot went all the way back as fast as he could to where one of the other ventilation openings were. Once he could hear the sound of footfalls, he stopped and he looked down. He could see someone moving slowly down the hallway, and this human, obviously a male, looked like he was armed.

Bardot hissed softly through gritted teeth, his mouth curled up into a smile. Looks like those other two humans had been spotted. This guy was going to try to stop them. Bardot stood there for a few moments as he tried to figure out whether or not he should intervene. It might be quite entertaining to see what would happen if this guy caught up and...

Naw, those other two humans might prove useful.

As for this guy...

Using his paw, he opened up the ventilation lid and he leaned over the opening. Tensing up his leg muscles, he jumped down.

sss

Mr. Nicolas growled to himself as he carried the small batch of food in his hands. He didn’t know why he had to be the one to feed these filthy zoners. Why not just force Ms. Saffron to do it? If Mr. Cosmo wanted to keep that traitor around, then why not make her work? He would never understand Mr. Cosmo’s thought process on this.

It was clear that Ms. Saffron could prove to be a threat to this company. She could be a stifle in the road, a block to prevent them from going any further. She could unravel everything and it would lead to this whole thing falling apart. She couldn’t be trusted anymore. Maybe at one point. Even Mr. Nicolas would have trusted her with sensitive information. But after what happened recently, it became apparent that she no longer operated with the same mindset as them.

He couldn’t believe that Mr. Cosmo was so willing to let that go. He was more interested in moving on that deal with this potential new threat. The thought caused him and the others much frustration. They didn’t voice their concerns too much, though. He wasn’t sure why. It was like something possessed them to keep quiet.

Maybe it was the fear of what might happen if they did? Were they afraid of what Mr. Cosmo could do? Were they afraid that things might get worse if they said anything?

He furrowed his eyes. It didn’t matter at this point. Mr. Cosmo had made up his mind and there was little that he and the others could do to make sure that Ms. Saffron was removed. They would need to catch her doing something wrong and she had been careful to avoid that. Even her being out to lunch later than usual wasn’t really strange to Mr. Cosmo. He did give them an abnormal amount of time for that, for whatever reason.

A part of Mr. Nicolas believed that Mr. Cosmo was doing this largely because he had a thing for that woman. Mr. Nicolas wasn’t an idiot. He could obviously see how he was with her. Even if the man himself didn’t know it, there was a clear connection. This made things more difficult and Mr. Nicolas was certain that this is causing a lapse of judgement in his leader.

But there was not much he could do right now, and he did need to keep focus on what he was assigned to do, no matter how much the thought of it made him cringe. He licked his lips slowly as he entered the dreaded hallway.

The one where the zoners resided.

He couldn’t help but flinch, feeling a sense of dreadful disgust, as he saw the zoners in the tubes. Mr. Cosmo had planned on originally putting them in their own rooms like that one little fellow, but he soon decided that this would be more secure. While Mr. Nicolas was inclined to agree, it was still a bit unnerving to walk through and see the zoners just standing there, lulled into sleep by the gas.

The same gas that he was going to need to turn off one by one in order to give them the food and drink that he brought with.

This was not just a tedious process; it was downright dangerous. He knew what would happen if he messed up. He would have to be careful, taking the utmost care in ensuring that nothing would go wrong. While the glass was thick enough to keep them from going through, that didn’t stop the zoners from trying to break out, and thus still sent the man into a near nervous shock.

Doing the larger, clearly stronger zoners was first on the agenda. There weren’t that many, with the largest being the injured jellybean zoner over at the end. But after they were done and got their food, then it should be relatively easy doing the other ones. The gas would be set to restart about an hour after they got their food, giving them plenty of time to consume the stuff but not enough time to figure out a way to break through the glass tubes.

Well, time to get started. He might as well get this over with as quickly as possible.

Mr. Nicolas began the process by first setting the food and drink down in front of each tube. That way, he would know that each one got something and that he didn’t forget anything. Once that was arranged, he went around to the side, hidden partially being a corner, and there he could see the grey box with switches on it. There was a row of them going straight down, each with a different number on it. He looked for the one holding the jellybean zoner and he pressed it.

Almost instantly, he could hear something creaking and lifting upwards. He turned his head to see the glass opening just a little bit. It wasn’t much, maybe just an inch. The gas had been automatically shut off for that part when the lid was lifted; this was to keep him from breathing it in himself. Then, grabbing the food and drink, he made his way over slowly.

Mr. Nicolas took position in front of the partially open glass door. He stared intently at the zoner that was inside. The creature, with disgusting antenna and a hideous, crooked tooth mouth, seemed to be starting to wake up a little. The effects of gas would still linger on, however, resulting in the jellybean zoner to not really know what to do outside of eating the stuff that it had been given.

And sure enough, despite how lazily it moved, the large zoner still managed to reach under to get what had been given to it. Watching this process was always uncomfortable to Mr. Nicolas. Seeing any of these things eat caused a surge of emotions to rush through him and he had no idea how to deal with it properly. He often had to slap himself in the face to give the reminder that these things weren’t real; they were just pretending to be.

Not to mention, like Mr. Cosmo stated, they were dangerous.

Once the jellybean zoner was done eating, Mr. Nicolas took the plate from it in order to place it on the tray for cleaning. As he turned around, he raised his hand up to push down the glass lid. He immediately started to move forward, wanting to get this all finished as soon as possible.

He never noticed the large green zoner grabbing the bottom of the glass barrier.

sss

Perhaps this hadn’t been his best idea. Perhaps he should have waited for another opportunity. It wasn’t like this was going to be the only time that he was going to get fed. He could have instead waited to see if there was another chance for him to get what he wanted and….

But what if there wasn’t? What if this was the one true way? Taking the chance now might be the best thing he could do right now. Just sitting around here doing nothing wasn’t going to help. Even in a semi-groggy state, he understood this very well. How long would he be able to handle this before the gas would get to him again, though? Not very long, he knew. It was time to take action.

Skrawl fought against the dizziness and the tiredness as he kept his grip on the bottom of the glass shield. He didn’t know how long it was going to take before he would not be able to hold it up for much longer. He didn’t want his fingers to be crushed, so he pushed harder. The human walking away still had his back turned to him. With his vision already blurring, Skrawl knew that he had little time to do this. He tightened up his arm muscles and started to push even harder.

Slowly, it started to raise up again. He had to take care not to do it too fast or too slow; he needed the right speed to manage to open this up without being detected by that human. The human seemed really focused on his work anyway, but Skrawl wasn’t going to let his guard down. If he did, he feared he might lose this chance and that was not something that he could afford right now.

Skrawl let out a few small grunts as he used two hands to push the glass dome upwards. Doing so did cause him to use some of his energy, more so than he intended, and he ended up breathing in what remained of the gas presently. This caused him to sway back and forth and he nearly fell right back to sleep. He had to shake his head and try his best to focus. He tried to breathe in more and more of the fresh air, the only thing fighting against the gas.

Skrawl was soon able to open it up all the way. He stepped out of the glass tube and onto the ground. Though he had been out of there more than once before, this still somehow felt like the first time he’s tasted freedom. In reality, it was getting to be pretty cliche and this time, Skrawl was going to make sure that he didn’t have to do another repeat of this again. No more cliches.

Skrawl managed to take a few steps away. It wasn’t much, but still enough to allow him to taste freedom once more. Maneuvering around was difficult with the pain that he was feeling. He wondered just what could have happened to him. And why the fuck did his head hurt? It was like someone drilled into it multiple times, pushing something in, ripping it out, and then putting it back in again.

Then his groggy eyes widened as he had the vague memory of something similar happening. Was he just imagining it? Or had he really been….?

Skrawl wasn’t able to finish his train of thought when he heard the sound of someone gasping. He swiveled his head over and he could see that human looking at him. He was holding onto one of the plates, which looked like it was ready to fall off, dropping everything that it had in it onto the ground. The human’s mouth was open and he was stammering as he tried to speak.

As more fresh air seeped into Skrawl’s head, as his mind grew clearer and clearer, Skrawl could feel his eyes narrowing as he stared at the human. He was not going to allow this human to use him like that again. If he wanted to ensure his freedom, he knew what needed to be done. There was no other choice.

Skrawl began to make his way towards the human. He watched as he backed up quickly, trying to get away from him. Skrawl quickened his pace when he saw that the human was trying to call for help. Not so fast, Skrawl thought. He barrelled down the hallway, wavering about but still somehow managing to keep himself steady. Soon he was upon the human and he had grabbed his neck before he could scream.

“Don’t...make….a….sound…” Skrawl growled as he put his face close to the human’s. “Do you...understand..me…?” It was a bit strange to speak like this. He felt his words slurring a little as a result of the lingering gas in his brain.

But if the human’s look and tone of voice were anything to go by, this made him more intimidating. He was looking at him in absolute fear and terror. “P-Please don’t…” The human begged him. He grabbed onto Skrawl’s hand in an attempt to make him let go. “Y-Y-You can’t…”

Skrawl’s eyes glinted at this. “I can’t what…? Looks like I can, considering I have you. And word of advice…” Skrawl smiled the best that he could. “I’m a little more resilient to the gas than these other weaklings. I’d tell you why, but… that’s not any of your business, now is it?”

“Please let me go…” The man pleaded with Skrawl. “I-I-I promise I w-won’t..”

Skrawl just growled before he put his face close to the human’s. His breath caused the man’s hair to push back a little, which seemed to fit in well with the man’s fearful expression. Skrawl snarled under his breath, “Why are you doing this, anyway?”

The human stuttered in response. It was hard to tell if he even knew what answer to give. In his panicked state, the human was clearly giving him the sort of answer that he would expect someone dominated by fear to give.

“W-We were told you were dangerous and…”

Skrawl raised an eyebrow. “You were told zoners were...dangerous?” The human nodded his head rapidly. Skrawl couldn’t help but smile at this. While the human was not quite wrong, such a broad speculation was going to land him in trouble...and he was going to prove that right now. “Would you like to see...how dangerous…?”

The man’s body trembled as he struggled and tried to wriggle his way out of this situation. But it seemed like, no matter what he tried, he was still trapped here. The man seemed to be becoming rapidly aware that he could just wriggle his way free. Skrawl might be a little weakened, but he wasn’t exactly a non-threat at this point. He tightened his grip on the human’s neck as he tried to think of what he should do with him.

His first thought was to just scare him some more. If he were to make this human realize just how fruitless it was to control him, maybe he would back down and he would be able to move on with what he wanted to do. He wouldn’t need to waste unnecessary energy.

But then again...why would that solution even work? After all, this human could still call for help or have some kind of hidden weapon. Considering he was a repeat escaper, what would stop the human from deciding that he needed to be killed?

With that thought in mind, Skrawl felt his lip curling up ever so slightly, a low growl emanating from his mouth. If he was going to survive, he knew what needed to be done.

He pushed the human into the ground hard enough that it could have easily sprained the stick figure wannabe’s back. Skrawl kept his position, using his weight to hold him down, squeezing his neck tightly enough to make sure that he couldn’t speak, let alone scream. Then he raised his hand up in preparation for the attack. As he did so, a smile began to crawl along his face, distorting it. Many thoughts began to flood through his head. One in particular stood out amongst the others.

He was going to have some fun.

Skrawl struck down towards the human. His claws began to penetrate the human’s stomach. The man’s screams of pain were muffled by the other hand still squeezing his neck tightly. Skrawl started to drag his claws downward slowly, feeling his fingers start to tingle as they intermingled with the human’s blood. The human’s loud whimpering, even though muffled, rang through his ears. The human’s tears flowed like a faucet that was left on.

Despite the pain that did eventually start to travel through his fingers, Skrawl still did not stop until he dragged his claws about a foot down along the human’s stomach. Only then did he yank out his hand. He immediately wiped the blood on the ground before his claws became too damaged. After he was done, he looked down at his handiwork.

The sobbing human trembled his body in pain, twitching and shaking as he tried to cope with the pain. Blood seeped out of the three deep wounds that Skrawl had given the man. This was more than enough to incapacitate the man and keep him from trying to do anything to stop him.

But Skrawl didn’t want to stop.

Skrawl wanted more.

The fun didn’t need to stop right here, did it? After all, if this human thought he was dangerous, then he would be glad to give him a reason to believe so.

The human’s screams never echoed far down the hallway.

sss

Bardot raised his head up slowly as he smirked down at the body before him. The human on the ground gave out his last breath before shuddering and just collapsing altogether. Perhaps killing was a bit extreme and he was taking a risk here. But at the same time, what did it matter? He could easily escape capture anyway. But those humans in front of him...they couldn't know about this.

Narrowing his eyes, Bardot grabbed onto the dead human’s arm and began to drag him one direction. There was a nearby hallway just up ahead. If those two humans looked back here, so long as he moved swiftly enough, they would fail to notice the body that he was moving. They would be unaware of what was happening.

Pulling the human over hadn’t been the easiest task in the world to pull off, that much he could definitely say. But it wasn’t impossible. He just had to be careful not to lift the wrong way, or else he risked accidentally spraining his neck, or even worse.

In a matter of moments, he did manage to get the human where he wanted him to be. It took a bit of adjusting and some extra assertion of strength. But in the end, he felt like he had managed it rather well. He placed the man up against the wall, keeping his legs and arms tucked away so that no one could see him. Then Bardot stood there and peered over carefully, licking his lips slowly. The humans had not yet noticed anything, nor had they looked over their shoulders. But they were disappearing into the distance. Should he follow them?

He hadn’t yet figured out if this could benefit him or not. But he also knew that, since he came all this way, it would be a waste if he did absolutely nothing. These two could be the key to…

Bardot immediately stiffened up his body when he heard the loud wailing of a siren blaring through the hallway. He nearly let out a cry at this, which would have instantly given away his position. He did calm himself down, but by the time he did that, it was already too late.

The humans had seen him.

Bardot looked at them wide-eyed. Then he gritted his teeth tightly. “Shit….” He hissed under his breath. Just what the fuck had caused the siren to go off anyway?

That’s when he heard someone speaking over the intercom, describing the discovery of some human that was torn apart. At first, Bardot thought it was himself, which was ridiculous because that would have been too soon. And the injuries didn’t sound like his. Then when the person on the intercom described the appearance of the creature, his eyes blinked in realization. Had he really…

But then it go worse when the person said one more thing.

“The zoners are loose!”

Bardot’s eyes widened before they narrowed into slits deeply. That stupid jellybean… Did he have any idea what he had done…?


	42. Learned Something Learned Nothing

His blood ran cold as he stared out in front of him. He almost forgotten where he was. All that he knew was that something had happened, and that something was tearing into him. He struggled to keep breathing, his mouth going dry. His eyes widened further and he thought they were going to fall out. His mind ran in circles as though he was on some kind of merry-go-round.

And all the while, Mr. Cosmo just smirked at him.

Rudy couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He stared at the man in front of him, wanting and hoping that he had misheard him. He wanted to believe that he was just lying to him to get him all worked up.

And yet there was something about that man’s face that seemed genuine. There was a part of him that had a growing sense of doubt with himself. If it was made up, that would indeed help him feel better. But would it even be accurate? Or was he just wanting to believe in fairy tales? At this rate, he didn’t know what to believe anymore.

Mr. Cosmo took a step towards him, continuously smiling twistedly. “I’m telling you the truth, boy.” Mr. Cosmo stated calmly, letting his teeth going bared. “I can repeat his words if you’d like.” He tilted his head to one side. “Or do you wish to keep denying it?”

Rudy couldn’t bring himself to say anything. He just stared at him somewhat blankly, his eyes turning downward towards the ground slowly. He struggled to comprehend what Mr. Cosmo had just told him.

Mr. Wilter limped in front of him, putting a hand across of him as though to keep Mr. Cosmo from getting any closer. “You will leave at once.”

“Heheheh, is that so, Horace?” Mr. Cosmo turned his head a little further and leaned inward. “Since when were you the boss of me?”

Mr. Wilter growled under his breath. “I know what you’re trying to do. Stop teasing the boy. You know he’s been through enough.” He straightened himself up, his voice going lower. “You were the one to put him through this mess in the first place. So don’t act like you don’t know.”

Mr. Cosmo just smiled at this, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “That is something I expect you to say, old friend.” Mr. Cosmo turned to stare at Rudy, who jolted as the man had done this. “So how does it feel, boy, knowing that your friend now hates you?”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this. It hadn’t been the very first time Mr. Cosmo had said that. But it still drove a knife through his heart and he felt himself clutching at his chest. “H-How could... I mean.... S-S-Snap....” He murmured to himself as his voice trailed off.

Mr. Cosmo merely shrugged his shoulders. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you keep prolonging his pain by refusing to join me. He knows that if you did join, he would have a chance to live.” Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes into slits. “But because you keep refusing, it just keeps getting worse and worse. He is finally having enough of your bullshit, Rudy.”

Although there was a part of him that was suspicious and knew that something was up with this whole thing, Rudy couldn’t help but feel himself falling for the man’s words. He could feel himself being pulled under a rug of guilt and it was beginning to suffocate him. He couldn’t move and breathing became nearly impossible.

Mr. Wilter moved forward even more, his glare boring through Mr. Cosmo’s body. Although he wasn’t looking at him, Rud could almost sense the hatred seeping from this man’s body, like some kind of radiation. “Of all the dirty, underhanded things I’ve seen....”

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up to silence the old man. “I know how you must feel. I can sense your frustration too.” The red-haired man turned to face Rudy, holding his hand up slightly to motion to the teenager. “I know what it feels like to have a friend turn on you. If you become more cooperative, I can help you with your...friend issues. You just...”

“No, don’t you even think about it.” Mr. Wilter looked ready to charge the man. In fact, if it weren’t for his injuries, he likely would have. But that didn’t stop him from trying to sound as intimidating as possible. “If you lay one finger on the boy, if you try to decieve him like you did with me and everybody else....”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes and pushed Mr. Wilter back. “Who said anything about deception? Of course, you would know all about that, seeing how you practically worshipped the white chalk.”

Mr. Wilter growled, “It’s the black chalk that’s the deceiver! You’re just too far gone to realize that!”

Mr. Cosmo balled his hand into a pair of fists. Rudy watched as they shook and he took a step back. He feared what was going to come next and he felt the strong urgency to run. But just when it looked like Mr. Cosmo was going to release his rage, he suddenly let out a forced sigh and relax. He leaned his head back a little, his eyes becoming partially open.

“It’s a shame that you still think that way.” Mr. Cosmo said. There was a shift in his tone. Something felt rather uncomfortable about this change. It was almost...icier. “Is there nothing that I can do to sway you? Make you more willing to work with me? It would make things....so much easier.”

Rudy flinched at this. The man’s tone had become something unbearable, reminding him of....something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Mr. Wilter looked slightly shaken as well, but he didn’t back down. He just stood there, keeping his eyes narrowed, as he looked straight at the man, his glare unwavering. “Now you listen here, Teddisson. You’re not going to...”

“Oh? Aren’t I, dear Horace?” Mr. Cosmo chuckled softly as he leaned in closer to the old man, almost to the point of making Mr. Wilter fall down. “I have to beg to differ...”

As this scene played out, Rudy noticed something....strange going on that he could not explain. It was almost surreal and he couldn’t figure out just what was going on.

He noticed that Mr. Wilter couldn’t look away. His eyes were locked onto his former friend’s eyes. His expression was still that of anger, but it was easy to tell that it was starting to relax. And soon Mr. Wilter started to have an expression that seemed...slightly blank for a lack of a better term. The man was far from collapsing, but Rudy realized that something was wrong with Mr. Wilter.

“H-Hey...” Rudy said softly, swallowing hard. “What’s...what’s wrong..?”

“Oh Rudy... There’s nothing wrong with him...” Cooed Mr. Cosmo. “He’s just starting to have some second thoughts, weren’t you, Mr. Wilter..?”

The old man jerked his head a little to one side, but he was clearly weakened and partially subdued. He wasn’t acting quite like how Rudy would have expected him, and that set off a lot of red flags in his head. He looked carefully at Mr. Wilter’s eyes and eventually, he could see that something was wrong with them.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes looked like....they were staring at a distance, seeing nothing at all. That was not normal...

And Mr. Wilter seemed to realize this as well. With his eyes widening in realization, he started to pull himself back, not wanting to be drawn in by what the man was doing. Mr. Cosmo didn’t look ready to let go just yet. He tightened his grip on his shoulders to keep him there. He leaned in closer, and Mr. Wilter’s eyes went even wider in response. Rudy thought he could see the faintest hint of a glow wafering off from Mr. Cosmo’s eyes, making him shudder.

This display went on for several long moments. Rudy could feel his heart pounding as he struggled to make sense of what was going on. He could feel his brain moving this way and that as he tried to think of how he was going to handle this situation. A part of his brain was going on full alert, telling him that he should do something. But he was so frozen in fear that he couldn’t get himself to do anything. He was trapped and he didn’t know what he was going to do.

Mr. Cosmo kept his stance, but Mr. Wilter’s looks as though he was starting to falter. His expression was softening up further, and he was starting to look as though he was dazed. Rudy stared at his face, trying to find any signs of fight left in him. But he couldn’t see anything. It was like it had all vanished from him.

It was then that Rudy’s eyes widened in horror. Realization washed through his body and he started to feel sick to his stomach. He now knew just what was going on.

Mr. Cosmo was trying to brainwash the man into…

Or was he? Could be exaggerating? Maybe something else was going on? No, he couldn’t think of anything else it could be. If the black chalk could speak to him, if the black chalk was capable of trying to take over, and with all he had seen himself in ChalkZone, then this shouldn’t be a surprise. If the man had black chalk in him, then…

Rudy narrowed his eyes into slits. He was not going to give this man a chance to take control of Mr. Wilter, or whatever it is he was trying to do. He shrugged off his own feelings at the moment, concentrating on rushing towards the red-haired man. Once he got close, he pulled back his fist and he struck against Mr. Cosmo’s stomach. The man had been so focused on Mr. Wilter that he didn’t attempt to block the attack. And when it made connection, his eyes widened and he let out a small squeak before crying out in pain.

“You little…!” Mr. Cosmo shouted as he dropped to the ground. His knees pressed against the hard floor as he wrapped his arms around his stomach, holding onto it tightly. He trembled in pain, cursing under his breath.

Rudy gave him a glare before he turned to rush to Mr. Wilter’s side. He reached out and he placed his hand on his shoulder. Mr. Wilter still appeared dazed, his gaze now looking nowhere. Rudy noticed that his eyes almost seemed as though they glossed over a little. Biting his lip, Rudy started to shake him.

“Mr. Wilter! Snap out of it!” Cried Rudy.

Mr. Wilter spluttered a little, his eyes rapidly blinking. He looked left and right, stuttering and stammering his words, his tongue tripping over itself several times. He looked up and he could clearly see Rudy before him. Rudy noticed that his eyes had started to clear up again, becoming sharp and alert. Eventually, Mr. Wilter turned his head downwards a little, blinking a few times, before turning his head up and muttering, “What...happened…?”

Rudy would have said something, but he didn’t know how long Mr. Cosmo would be distracted. He moved forward and he grabbed onto Mr. Wilter’s arm, squeezing it tightly as he pulled the man forward. “We need to get going! Come on! Before he….”

“Not...so...fast…”

Before the two could even try to head on forward, there was a rush of blurred color, mostly green, that got in front of them. They nearly tripped up and they took a few steps back, staring at shock. Neither of them had expected Mr. Cosmo to move that fast. Especially not Mr. Wilter, who staggered back and nearly fell back down. Judging from his expression and groans, it was clear that the old man was still not yet fully recovered from what happened to him.

Although Rudy knew that it was best to give Mr. Wilter some time to rest, he just...couldn’t. He needed to at least try to get away. This was their one chance. The door was still open. And if they locked Mr. Cosmo in here, they had a chance to get away. They would have some time to find Snap. And then they could find a way to stop Mr. Cosmo for good.

Rudy didn’t attempt to wait much longer. There wasn’t any time to wait. Narrowing his eyes at Mr. Cosmo, he rushed forward before the man had any time to respond. He grabbed onto the startled man’s arm and yanked him forward. Mr. Cosmo was to taken aback by this that he didn’t try to fight back. This gave Rudy time to get him into the room, and then whirled around to push Mr. Wilter towards the door. He tried to move as fast as he could, ushering the still confused old man out of the room.

Behind him, he could hear Mr. Cosmo staggering back up to his feet. Rudy turned around and, with his teeth bared, slammed the door in the man’s face. He was quick to try to lock the door...only to realize that he didn’t have the key. His eyes widened in horror and he instantly grabbed onto the knob to try to hold the man inside.

Mr. Wilter realized what was going on. Rudy didn’t have to work on holding the door shut alone for too long. Mr. Wilter grabbed on as well and held on tightly, gritting his teeth. The two of them worked together to try to prevent the door from slipping open. So far, they were able to keep it up. But just...for how long?

As they held on, Rudy couldn’t help but look up at Mr. Wilter, recalling what happened before. He could still feel his blood chilling as he realized what effect this man had on Mr. Wilter. He wondered if anyone else felt this way around him, and he had to wonder...

Could he fall under that same spell as well?

sss

Draow pumped his legs as hard as he could as he raced down the hallway. He wanted so badly to spread out his wings to fly, only to be reminded that he wasn’t outdoors; he was in this crampy corridor which made it nearly impossible for him to open up his wings that fear. Despite his frustration with this, he just kept on going, showing no signs of stopping.

There was no way that he could stop, anyway. He was compelled to act upon this siren. Something was going on and he needed to investigate. He could hear humans nearby shouting in confusion and anger. His ears twitched at certain words and phrases, but he tried not to let them get to him. Unlike the humans, he already had an idea of what was going on. He had a better idea of who the culprit was, and he knew where to go.

Draow could feel his lips curling upwards into a snarl. He could feel his mind burning and his blood heating up. He swore, if it’s who he thought it was…

Draow headed through the corridor, keeping up the pace, until he ended up in a particularly familiar place. He slowed himself down, taking it easy as he went forward. He could immediately smell something was wrong here and he wanted to make sure that he himself didn’t get caught. He flattened his ears against his skull as he crept closer and closer, studying the smell intently.

Blood, definitely blood. And all around him, he could detect faint remnants of other things. Something had definitely happened here. He pulled his head back and he shook it once as he recognized the scents. And sure enough, the one that he felt was responsible was mixed into this all. Draow growled in a mixture of anger and annoyance. Of course it had to be this guy… With a small snort exiting his mouth, he moved around the corner and…

Sure enough, there he was.

Skrawl…

Draow could feel his ears folding downward even further, nearly becoming flat against his skull, as he stared intently at the jellybean zoner. He could see the blood on the ground. He could see the limp human that dangled there. He could tell that Skrawl had done something here, and it sent the zoner on high alert.

It didn’t seem like any other human was around here. So that gave him some time to deal with this little idiot before things got worse. Now wasn’t the time to....

Wait a minute.

Why were the glass containments open?

It took the wolf bat zoner a few seconds to realize what this had implied, what it signified. Skrawl hadn’t just killed this human. He had released the other zoners. They were somewhere in this building, running amok. Draow was suddenly aware of all the varying scents, the zoners having gone in different directions. How long had they been free and how far did they manage to get?

Draow wasn’t able to focus long on this before he could see Skrawl coming towards him. Draow didn’t know what the large zoner intended to do, but he wasn’t about to get dragged down with him. Reacting fast, he jumped into the air, raising his foot upwards. He brought it forward and pushed it against Skrawl’s body. He pushed downward, holding Skrawl in place.

Draow lowered his head, putting his face close to Skrawl’s. He bared his teeth and growled. In a low voice, he hissed, “Just what do you think you’re doing...?”

Skrawl glared up at him. He had grabbed onto his foot and was actively trying to push it back. “What do you think I’m trying to do? Giving this place some hell, that’s what I’m doing.” Skrawl seethed lowly.

Draow’s fur raised on end at this. “You’re going to ruin everything, you little asshole!”

Skrawl smirked in response. “That’s the plan.”

A million thoughts raced through Draow’s mind. He could just crunch his jaws around the jellybean zoner now and get rid of him. It wasn’t like he could fight back that well with that nail that was forcibly reinserted into his skull. He would be a bit too easy to take down. It would almost seem...boring.

But he also couldn’t just let him go. Skrawl was causing enough disruption as it was. And if those zoners tried anything.... He growled deeply. He knew that something did need to be done. So just what should he do about Skrawl here?

His first thought was to just kill him, but then, with his eyes widening, he saw opportunity with this. Skrawl was still an enemy of that one teenager, right? Perhaps he could be useful in some way. He knew what happened when he tried to challenge him. So maybe...he should try something more...cooperative this time.

Draow lightened his grip on Skrawl, keeping his eyes locked with the jellybean’s mismatched ones. “Say Skrawl... How do you feel about cooperation....?”

Skrawl blinked at this. His attempts to struggle against him died down, his frown replaced with a look of confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Draow chuckled softly at this. “Why don’t you just stay here and listen? I think I have a proposal that will work for the two of us...”

sss

The siren echoed across the area, rumbling through and making it impossible not to feel it turning into some kind of intense marching band-esque thing. Penny could feel her body stiffening up at this sound. She immediately moved in closer to where Ms. Saffron was, instinct taking control. In that moment, the girl didn’t recall what this woman had done to her friend, and to her. All that she knew was that she was the only one who stood between her and whatever was going on.

It was like something had sprung an attack on this place. She thought for sure she could feel the ground starting to shake as though things were starting to fall apart. She bit her lip firmly as she looked from side to side. She couldn’t see anything, but that didn’t help her relax at all. If anything, it just made things a lot worse. She felt her heart twisting and yanking in her chest and she tried to fight against the sense of nausea.

Ms. Saffron, as Penny eventually noticed, was glaring at something in front of them. Penny worked up the courage to try to follow the woman’s eye trail. And when she locked them onto something in front of her, she immediately gritted her teeth to the near point of breaking.

Some kind of yellow and red zoner stood there, several feet away. The yellow fur seemed to almost glow like sunshine, while the red immediately sent off a lot of danger flags in her mind. The thing could best be described as a reptilian mammal, with the fur of a mammal but a body plan closer to that of a reptile. The thing’s ears twitched forward and back, almost like a cat or a dog would. And those intense green eyes seemed to pierce right through her chest when she looked at them.

She could feel a wave of emotion striking her as they kept staring at one another like this. Penny couldn’t bring herself to speak. Something about this zoner just didn’t settle right with her. Why was he looking at them like that and why was his outline sparkling in some red? Penny couldn’t think of just what could be causing this and she just…

Ms. Saffron took a step forward. She raised her arm up, holding it out in front of Penny. Her narrowed eyes kept an eye on the creature in front of them. Penny wasn’t sure what to expect. But if the woman’s look was anything to go by, then this creature standing right there was a potential danger. She was better off staying out of it, considering her wounds. Without saying a word, Penny moved more behind Ms. Saffron as the blonde lady got ready to take care of business.

“What the hell are you doing here, Bardot? Shouldn’t you be in your cage?” Ms. Saffron hissed.

Bardot raised an eyebrow. “Well that’s no way to greet a friend.”

Ms. Saffron stomped on the ground once. “I am not your friend. So now, explain to me why you are out here. Are you going to cause more trouble?”

Bardot chuckled at this. “Me? Cause trouble?” Bardot put his paw to his chest momentarily. “You give me too little credit, woman. I would think that after all that we’ve been through, you would…”

“Knock it off! We were never friends and we spoke only once!” Ms. Saffron’s voice raised in volume. Penny found herself moving away a little. “So why don’t you just…”

“If we don’t know each other that well, then why are you accusing me like this? Why are you acting like you know what I’m going to do?” Bardot teased. He didn’t really sound that angry. If anything, he was more amused by this, like it was the first entertainment he’s had in a long time. And something told Penny she wasn’t too off on this thought. “Gee, you act like you know my every thought.”

Ms. Saffron took a step forward. From the look in her eyes, it did seem like she was trying to intimidate the zoner into leaving. But if that was her goal, then she wasn’t doing a good job of it. The zoner didn’t seem all that threatened by her. He looked like he was having a good time. It was like this was nothing more than stress relief for him.

But what was he so stressed out about…?

Bardot turned himself to the side, his tail swishing slowly around. He did show some hints of being irritated. It was hard to tell if it was them that he was upset with or if it was something else. Regardless, it was clear that he didn’t really want to linger around her. Every part of his body hinted that he wanted to just take off running. Yet he still looked at them intently. Was he waiting for them to do something?

Ms. Saffron was happy to oblige. The woman moved even closer. It was like she was silently accepting his challenge. Or was it a challenge at all. Penny had no idea what to make of Bardot. She didn’t know what this zoner wanted. Ms. Saffron seemed to have an idea, though, but she wasn’t making anything obvious or clear to her. At least, not yet.

“Mr. Cosmo told me what you did to Snap.”

Those words took Penny by surprise. She controlled herself before she slipped against the wall. She turned her head to look at Bardot. She then looked at those claws and started to imagine… Penny felt herself clutching at her shoulder, her mind shifting for a moment back to when Draow had attacked her.

“Oh that’s what you’re upset about? Oh isn’t that funny…” Bardot chuckled softly, shaking his head slowly. “You humans are always so quick to get freaked out.” Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes at this. Bardot raised his paw up in gesture. “Will you calm down? It’s not like I hurt him.”

“But you made him feel terrified. You messed with his head.” Ms. Saffron growled. “You made him think that Mr. Cosmo was hurting him more than he already was.”

Penny blinked at this. Despite her fear for Snap’s safety, she also felt a wave of confusion slapping her in the face. She looked over at Bardot, her mind asking how he could have done that, over and over again. He didn’t exactly look like the man and she doubted that Mr. Cosmo would listen to this guy.

So how in the world could Bardot have made Snap think that his suffering with Mr. Cosmo was higher than it really was? The only way that she could think of was…

….wait, was there something more to Bardot than she was initially thinking? Did he hold some kind of a dark secret? Penny looked back at him carefully, staring intently at those red pieces in his outline. Then her eyes widened and she felt herself start to lose some color in her face.

Was….was Bardot part red chalk…?

If he was, then could that mean that…

Penny felt a rush of cold blood at this and she found herself taking a step back. This action didn’t go unnoticed by Bardot, either. His ears pricked up and he moved himself over to look at her, looking almost like a curious dog. But there was nothing cute about the expression that he was giving her.

“Is there something wrong, sweet cheeks?” Bardot asked.

Ms. Saffron moved in front of Penny, blocking Bardot. “Stay away from her.”

“What?” Bardot asked innocently, feigning a shocked look, raising himself up to sit on his hind legs. “Did you think I was going to hurt her? Come on, I was just asking what was wrong.” Bardot waved his paw dismissively, going back down onto all fours.

“Just keep your filthy paws to yourself.” Ms. Saffron warned, her teeth gritting tightly against one another.

Penny remained silent, unsure of what to do. She watched the showdown taking place, all the while the ringing around her swirled in her head. She couldn’t make it stop, no matter what she did and she found herself holding onto her head. She let out a few small grunts as she took a step back, pushing herself up against the wall. Her thoughts returned to what she believed she had discovered earlier.

If Bardot was part red chalk, then that would give way to a whole new set of issues. She knew what red chalk zoners were like, and she knew what it would entail with Bardot. She realized that he would be unpredictable and aggressive. Not a good combination to have. If she wasn’t careful, then…

“So are you two just going to stand around there…” Bardot got back up onto all fours. “Or are you going to actually do something? I saw you heading down somewhere.” He licked his lips slowly, intentionally taking his time. “Aren’t you going to go continue doing that? Or are you just going to stand around here, gawking at me?”

Ms. Saffron snarled at this. She held up a tightly clenched fist and she looked like she was ready to attack him. But she seemed to think better of it. Perhaps she knew what Bardot was capable of doing. She took a step back, glared at him some more, before turning to face Penny. “Let’s just go. Your friends are waiting for you.”

Penny gulped and nodded her head. Yeah, they should have kept their focus on that instead of wasting time with this...creature. For all she knew, he was deliberately trying to delay them to make it harder for her to get to her friends. Penny didn’t give Bardot another look before she turned to follow Ms. Saffron.

They didn’t get that far before Bardot called out to them once more.

“Your...friends…?” Bardot chuckled softly. Penny could almost feel the smile creeping along his face. “What is this about friends?”

Ms. Saffron stopped and gave the zoner a sideways glance. “It’s none of your business, Bardot. Go away.”

Bardot gave a chortle at this. “Aww but I just want to help. Maybe I can…”

“No!” Ms. Saffron shouted, raising her head swiftly to the side as if she was going to smack the zoner. “You should consider yourself damned lucky that I don’t care about Mr. Cosmo and his plans anymore. I could can easily report to him that you are out, and then you’ll be…”

“You don’t care about Mr. Cosmo? I thought you worked for him.” Bardot asked innocently. He raised his paw and tapped his claw against his chin. “I do have to wonder what would happen if word of that got out. If I recall, the employees here are pretty...dedicated to him. What if they find out that you’re no longer part of the pack?”

Penny did notice that Ms. Saffron did look a bit shaken up by that comment. But rather than give in, the woman merely shook off her nervousness to continue glaring at the zoner before her. It was clear that she was not going to allow this to get the better of her and she was not going to back down from the fight. Penny was rather impressed by this display of courage and determination.

“You aren’t going to scare me, Bardot.” Ms. Saffron said through gritted teeth, her voice gaining a growly edge. She huffed and puffed for a few moments as she kept her glare on the yellow and red zoner, unwilling to move. Bardot just watched in silence, feeling little threat from the woman. “So just back off.”

Surprisingly, Bardot didn’t seem to do much after that. He smiled at the two of them, but did nothing else. He sat down like a dog begging for treats. He curled his tail in and tapped the tip like a cat. He just watched them like this, keeping his mouth corners curling up and distorting his face in a rather creepy fashion. He stayed like this for several moments and it did look as though he had given up.

On this cue, Ms. Saffron and Penny continued down the hallway. They had almost forgotten about the sirens blaring about and they still weren’t aware if the situation was taken care of. Yes the sirens were still going, but that didn’t mean that…

Penny nearly stopped in her tracks when she realized that they were not alone. It wasn’t Bardot that she was hearing. These footsteps were heavier. She looked around, stopping in her tracks completely as she tried to find just who was coming over. She ignored Ms. Saffron’s calls to her in the process, her wide eyes scanning the area until…

A shadow loomed over her and she froze completely. Penny slowly turned her head and she looked up at who was standing there. Her eyes widened at who it was and she had to stifle a scream.

sss

No, no... It didn’t make any sense. Nothing about this was adding up. This didn’t match anything that she knew about. It was a whole new world for her. She just...

But she couldn’t just give up. Her friends needed her. Their condition might be worsening and she needed to do what she could to help them. That meant treading along through this dreadful possibility to unearth what was possibly going on. Even if it was taking her in a direction that she did not like.

Mrs. Sanchez felt her teeth grinding against one another. She could almost feel them break from under the pressure. She let out a small hiss through her gritted teeth, her head spinning about. She shook it a few times as she tried to force her tense body to relax. She was not going to solve anything like this. She was just going to end up making things much worse.

But she just didn’t know what she was going to do about this. She couldn’t even think of how she was going to understand this. If she couldn’t do that, then what good was she in trying to figure out what could possibly have...? She now understood exactly why the doctors were so confused.

She was ashamed to admit to herself that she needed to do something rather....unorthodox. She never thought she would be taking blood from her friends like that without permission. She hoped she’d never have to do something like that again. She hoped that they understood why she did it. She would deal with the consequences later. Right now, she just...couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

Under the microscope, she could see something...dark moving around. That was the best way she could describe it. Several dark things that zipped this way and that. She hadn’t seen a lifeform like this before. All she could take from this at the moment is that Joe and Millie were indeed infectd by something. But just by what, she wasn’t sure. This things, they weren’t acting like any bacteria that she had come to know. Was it something new?

The thought of it being a new thing did chill her. In that case, it would be much harder to help her friends. This stuff could be dealing much more damage than she realized. And yet despite that, somehow it also seemed....okay? This was a confliction that she wasn’t prepared for. In other infections, clear damage could be seen. This was the first time she had seen anything quite like this. It was both hurting and healing, it would seem.

She would love to be more excited for this discovery as she would be the first ever to deal with something like this. But the thought of fame was not something that entered her head that easily, and this was her friends she was dealing with. She was not going to let herself fall into greed just because of this. No, she was going to find out what was ailing her friends and that was that.

But it was going to be harder than she thought initially. She thought that she had some kind of an answer, but more confusion was just tossed her way. She could feel her brain ache as she tried to make logic out of nonsense.

It didn’t matter how hard it was going to be, though. She knew that she had no choice but to figure this out. The alternative was not acceptable.

sss

“...you’re joking, right?”

“What? I thought you would have wanted the extra help.”

“I would have rather you talked to me about this first.”

“Well it’s too late now, isn’t it?”

“Whatever.”

His ears twitched in irritation at this. He could feel his teal-colored eyes narrowing a little. Had he really just wasted all that time just to be rejected by this zoner? Oh no, he wasn’t going to back down that easily. This zoner was not going to get away with wasting his time like this. Draow felt the urge to charge Bardot, a way to get back at him for making him do that work with no results.

Though of course, he did choose to do this behind his back. He didn’t really ask Bardot if letting Skrawl in on their little quest would be a good idea or not. He just did it because he felt that it would have been a smart choice. Get the annoying jellybean to work for them and all.

But it would seem that Bardot was not very appreciative. In fact, not only was he not happy about this, but he also didn’t like that Skrawl had set the other zoners loose. Draow could understand why, though. As they both explained to the jellybean zoner, such a move would just create unnecessary chaos and make things harder to pull off. Bardot wasn’t so much against having some fun, but he had wanted to wait until a certain point before doing something like that. And now it was too late.

Skrawl did suggest wrangling the zoners and bringing them back. But Bardot refused. He didn’t want to waste time on that and instead opted to just move on, working with what was still available. When asked about what he wanted to do instead, that prompted the yellow and red zoner to smile darkly, giving away that he had rather sly intentions. Draow shifted himself a little bit as he listened to what the zoner was saying to them.

“We need to get that man into ChalkZone.” Bardot stated, his voice beaming with importance and urgency. “And once there, he needs to be take to the Chalk Mine.”

Skrawl scratched the side of his face. “Why would that be helpful? He’s a human, ain’t he? That means that he can use the magic chalk.”

Draow took a step forward. “That’s right. What if he tries to use it against us?”

Bardot chuckled softly at this. It was as though he was prepared for this kind of question. “Ah, but you are missing one thing.” Bardot tilted his head a little to one side, giving a grin. “He needs to be holding a piece of chalk before he can use anything against us.”

“And what exactly would stop him?” Draow motioned his head to the side and forward. “Do you have a way to keep him from grabbing anything?”

“Oh my Draow, I’m surprised that you even need to ask.” Bardot’s eyes glinted at this. It was hard to tell if he was just amused, or if he was actually upset that Draow was reacting in this manner. “You should know this. You out of all zoners should know how to keep a human from using magic chalk.”

Skrawl spoke up, his claw raised up. “You keep him from the chalk!”

Bardot motioned to Skrawl. “Exactly! You see?” Bardot turned his paw upside down as he motioned to Draow. Skrawl smiled proudly. “Even the walking potato bud there gets it.”

“Yes, I, Sk….” The jellybean zoner suddenly froze as he realized what Bardot had said about him. He narrowed his eyes at Bardot, grinding his teeth together. “What the fuck did you say about me?!”

Bardot just waved his paw dismissively, keeping his gaze upon Draow. “You’ve fought creators before, haven’t you?” Draw nodded his head. At this, Bardot’s smile broadened. “So you know how to….round them up, per say?” Slowly, the yellow and red zoner licked his lips. “You know how to keep them away from a certain spot?”

Draow raised a claw up and turned the tip towards himself. “I have successfully managed to keep them away from Teddisson Cosmo.” He cocked his head to one side. “Does that count?”

“That’s fine. So you have experience.” Bardot began to pace in front of Draow, keeping the same smile on his face. “So I would like to imagine that keeping your creator away from the magic chalk, am I right..?”

Draow hesitated to answer at first. He gritted his teeth, feeling his ears lowering just a tad. He still was up in the air on doing all of this and he still wasn’t sure if he wanted to go against his creator or not. Despite this all becoming increasingly tempting, despite wanting to ensure his own safety, something about helping to harm his creator made him feel queasy inside. He felt fine about going after other humans. But his creator was an entirely different story. He wasn’t sure if he would ever feel right about it.

And yet...he did ultimately understand that, with that man’s fear, he could turn on him at any moment. If he wasn’t prepared for that, then he could risk termination. As much as he did, in a way, care about Mr. Cosmo, he did care about himself more. He wasn’t interested in dying, after all. And he was willing to do what it took in order to escape that sort of fate.

Gritting his teeth, Draow finally gave a response. “Yes. I’ll be able to do it.” Draow straightened himself up, trying to make himself look dutiful. “You can count on me.”

Bardot simply smiled at this and said, “Good. I am glad that you’re seeing things my way…”

Draow didn’t respond to that. He instead looked out of the corner of his eye and he could see Skrawl glaring at him suspiciously. After their little song and dance before, exchanging injuries, they both realized that things were going to be tense between them for a while. Not to mention between Bardot and Skrawl. Didn’t Bardot offhandedly mention doing something to Skrawl just a little while ago? Skrawl did not look very pleased when he found out.

Regardless, Draow could sense that things were about to move forward. They just needed to get Mr. Cosmo into ChalkZone. That shouldn’t be too hard as far as he knew. All that needed to be done was to give the man a reason to head into ChalkZone.

His eyes twinkled as a thought came to him. There was one idea that just might work.

sss

Oh no, not this. Anything but this. She’s already dealt with Bardot earlier. She did not need something like this to happen.

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes and kept her teeth gritted as she glared at Mrs. Panthea before her. The fact that she was not with Mr. Nicolas wasn’t enough to cheer her up. She knew that this woman was still going to be a problem. Especially that she could clearly see her with Penny, someone that Mr. Cosmo had ordered be killed a while ago.

Mrs. Panthea hadn’t said anything yet, but she still blocked their path. She looked a little shaken up, Ms. Saffron noticed. It was as though she had seen a horrible thing prior to this. Ms. Saffron had no idea what that could be, but right now, she did not care. She needed to figure out how she was going to make this woman move. She had been standing in the way for what felt like that last several minutes, and after all the effort put forth, she was not interested in throwing that all away.

“For the last time, Mrs. Panthea..” Ms. Saffron hissed softly. “Either get out of the way, or I will make you move.”

Mrs. Panthea made her first expression change since she arrived. She blinked once before she lifted her head up a little higher, smiling. But this smile wasn’t the one that the woman was used to. Oh no, this seemed...different. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly what it was. But Ms. Saffron still didn’t attempt to back down. She remained in front of Penny as she confronted the woman, raising her hand to point a finger at her.

“Did you not hear me?” Ms. Saffron asked, her voice gaining a tinge of a growl. “If you think you’re going to get me to come with you…”

“What made you think I was trying to do that…?”

Ms. Saffron froze when the woman said this. She stared at her for a few moments, blinking her eyes slowly. “What…?”

Mrs. Panthea said, “You must be so vain to think that I am worried about you. No, what I am really interested in is…” She turned her head so that she could focus on Penny. “...is how she is still alive. Draow did a lot of damage to her, I see. How long will it be before it happens?”

Ms. Saffron turned to stare at Penny. The girl hadn’t said anything. The look in her eyes told Ms. Saffron what she needed to know. Penny looked downright frightened. Ms. Saffron returned her glare to Mrs. Panthea. “I’m pretty sure Mr. Cosmo changed his mind and wants her alive.”

“Is that so? I suppose it makes sense. That man can change his mind a lot...and make poor choices..” Mrs. Panthea glared directly at Ms. Saffron when she said this. It made it rather obvious exactly what she was talking about. “Considering his...recent history of that…” The woman gave a long pause, almost deliberately, as she glanced from Penny and then back to Ms. Saffron. “...how do I know that this isn’t another mistake?”

Penny managed to speak up. “I have no idea what you are talking about, miss…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Mrs. Panthea turned to smirk at her. “Oh don’t you try to act so innocent, girly. I know that you’re the one responsible for the zoners getting out!”

Penny stuttered. “I-I did no such thing! I wasn’t even anywhere near….”

Mrs. Panthea took a swipe at Penny. It was only half an effort, so Penny could get out of the way easily, jumping back. But the mere act of trying to harm someone already injured was enough to make Ms. Saffron’s blood boil. She rushed forward grabbed onto Mrs. Panthea’s shoulders. She pushed her back hard, causing her to press up against the wall behind her.

For a few brief moments, the woman struggled against Ms. Saffron’s grasp. She didn’t struggle for too long, opting to just glare at the blonde woman before her. This seemed to indicate that she was not that interested in fighting, but that didn’t make Ms. Saffron let up any. The two just glared at one another for several moments, their teeth gritted tightly, bared at one another.

“That did not give you the right to attack her. Not now, not earlier.” Ms. Saffron growled. She recalled how this woman had tried to assault Penny when she first arrived. She almost tackled her. Had she herself not responded quickly enough, Penny might have been more hurt than she already was. “Can’t you see that the poor thing is hurt? She doesn’t need some asshole like you making things worse for her!”

Mrs. Panthea laughed coldly at this. “And yet explain to me how, since she arrived in here, the zoners had escaped?”

“You know it wasn’t her fault! You’re just looking for someone to blame!” Shouted Ms. Saffron.

“....are you trying to tell me something, Ms. Saffron?” Mrs. Panthea’s voice grew chillingly lower. The shift was fast, enough to startle the blonde woman. “Are you telling me that you are the reason why I found a dead body before? More than one? Are you the reason Mr. Nicolas is dead?”

Ms. Saffron felt her eyes widen in shock at this. “Mr. Nicolas was….?”

“Killed. Along with some other employees. Someone is responsible for this.” Mrs. Panthea tilted her head to one side. “And I think that one of you two are responsible. Are you willing to lay that claim? Are you going to confess the truth to me?”

Ms. Saffron stammered at this, unable to think of how to respond to that statement. She could feel something causing her body temperature to lower inside of her. She soon forgot where she was for the moment, everything darkening around her. She wasn’t aware of what was happening, only her thoughts swirling in her head.

Ms. Saffron could feel Mr. Cosmo’s words echoing inside of her head now. She began to remember how he had told her how dangerous zoners were. She could remember it all, her heart beating quickly. She felt herself starting to become ill as she thought of the people dead because of the zoners. She could feel her vision blurring a little as her head pounded with question after question.

Had she made a mistake? Was it wrong of her to try to turn against Mr. Cosmo? Had he had a good point the whole time? Was he right about zoners? Should they continue on with their original plan and…

“Aaaaahhhhh!”

The blonde woman was taken out of her trance by a sudden scream. She shook her head a few times before blinking herself back into reality. She looked out in front of her and she could see Mrs. Panthea’s face was lit up in agony. Her body was shaking and she had staggered back a little. Then, within a few seconds, she dropped into the ground. Ms. Saffron stared in shock at this for a second before she looked to see what caused this.

“Penny…?!” Ms. Saffron cried out, her eyes wide in shock. She noticed the item in the teenager’s hand and she trembled once. “I-Is that a….”

Penny nodded her head solemnly. “Yes. A taser. My mom gave it to me before she let me go with you. I kept it because….” The girl stopped herself for a moment. She stayed silent for a little while before she shook her head once and looked away. “Just forget about it. We should head on out anyway.”

Ms. Saffron didn’t like how Penny went silent there. She could feel her heart thumping harder than usual when she realized what Penny was most likely implying. She could feel her eyes widening and her hand went to her chest, clutching it tightly. While it didn’t seem like Penny had actually wanted to… But she had the chance and she did… Ms. Saffron tried to push the thoughts aside as she began to move down the hallway once more with Penny.

It was hard to leave the spasming Mrs. Panthea there on the ground like that. But there wasn’t much of an option right now. They had to get going. Who knew what would happen if they… She tried not to think about it.

sss

Ms. Saffron nearly felt herself falling to the ground. A wave of shock had struck her and she realized that she wouldn’t be able to stand up straight for a while. She tried to get herself into the nearest chair, preventing herself from dropping down further. Her mind raced faster than before and she felt even more sick than she had been earlier.

She had tried to study this hard, examining it further, in hopes of discovering something else. Anything that would have helped things out. Anything that would have aided in finding out how she was going to help her friends.

But all it did was make things worse. The more that she studied it, the more horrible her discoveries became. As if it being new wasn’t bad enough, other things came into play. Not only was it contagious, it was far more so than even she would have realized. There was something about this that allowed it to be ‘influential’ even in the air. It would not remain just in the blood. This stuff was airborne.

That was why she had to wear a mask. She couldn’t risk breathing it in. She stared at it intently, her eyes close to the microscope, seeing how it moved about. The black smoke-like substance just swirled through the blood as if nothing of importance was going on. But she could have almost sworn that it knew that she was watching it. Such a thing sounded silly, she knew. But she couldn’t shake this feeling off. It was almost as if something was...drawing her to it.

She realized right away how off this was and she struggled to fight against this the best that she could. A part of her wondered if she should just flush it down the toilet and be done with it. But at the same time, would that be smart? She was hesitant to do something like that. For all she knew, it might have resulted in something worse happening. It could just pave the way for...

She stopped her thoughts when she looked back at the microscope. She curled her lip up into a snarl. She realized that something did need to be done about this. She couldn’t just let this linger. She was only going to endanger the public if she didn’t try to contain this thing.

Without hesitating another moment, Ms. Saffron went around to grab something that she could put this stuff in. She was done studying it. If she continued on, she might wind up dying of a heart attack. She did at least learn enough that she could warn people of this mysterious new bacteria that’s out, or whatever the hell that it is.

She did still feel bad that she learned so much and yet nothing on how to stop it. But regardless, she did need to contain it before it managed to spread. So with the container in hand, gloves adorning them, she approached the terrifying new specimen.


	43. Branch Off

Neither of them stopped running. There was no way that they could stop now. They didn’t know how much time they had to get to their destination. All they could do was keep on moving and hoping that they would be able to get to where they needed to go before someone found them.

Penny struggled to keep breathing, adrenaline still racing through her body. She felt like she was going to collapse at any given moment and it was a pain to try to keep pushing herself like this. She could feel a burning sensation in her legs and she thought she was going to have one of her legs buckling without warning. The only thing that kept her going was just the urgency of the situation.

She never thought that she was going to use that taser. But then again, she also never thought that she would have been taking to this place by Ms. Saffron. Life was just full of surprises, wasn’t it?

She knew that the taser was not going to keep that Mrs. Panthea person delayed for too long, however. It was only temporary and once that woman was up and about, she was going to be pissed. She and Ms. Saffron would have to keep a move on and stay ahead of her. She had no idea just how well that would work, though. But here was to trying, anyway.

The two of them made their way down the hallway, keeping up a steady pace. They must have been really lucky as they hadn’t seen anyone here. This did not really calm Penny down that much, though. She had a feeling that the human workers were too busy rounding up the zoners. They might even be succeeding… She tried not to let herself think about that too much. She will be able to help them once she found out a way to…

Rounding at another corner, going into a new hallway, Penny suddenly stopped her advance. She could feel skidding behind her as Ms. Saffron struggled to stop. Penny was hardly aware of any light grazing that occurred, her eyes instead focused on something echoing along the walls.

Voices.

Familiar voices.

Penny’s eyes widened and she immediately rushed over, not saying a word to Ms. Saffron.

“P-Penny! Hold on!” Ms. Saffron shouted from behind her.

Penny didn’t stop, though. She hardly even acknowledged what the woman said. Right now, she was just focused on getting there as soon as possible, wherever ‘there’ was. She recognized these voices. They had to be who she thought they were. And if they were right down here, she could get to them before Mr. Cosmo could try anything else with them.

Then she could hear a muffled voice joining in, and she realized that Mr. Cosmo was already with them.

Oh no… She was not going to let this happen. She was not going to let Mr. Cosmo take away Rudy and Mr. Wilter. She would make sure that he never got that chance.

Her legs pumping with more energy, she rushed down faster. Her breathing grew faster and more intense as this happened. She could feel sweat moving down her face, her eyes remaining straight open. She ignored the strain that they were having, all of her willpower being focused on getting to them as quickly as possible.

The voices grew louder. The desperation could be more easily sensed. Her head began to ache more, her throat going dry as though a fire raged through it. She struggled and continued to push herself forward, refusing to stop for anything. The voices that rang through the air only increased her urgency to move faster.

“Keep it shut!”

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder!”

“Let me out of here! You are really asking for it!”

Penny turned one more corner and…

There they were. She blinked and rubbed her eyes a few times in order to make sure that she was not seeing things. Once she was able to determine that, yes, they are who she thought they were, she then let her mind take note of what was happening. This is not exactly hat she had been expecting.

Rudy and Mr. Wilter were on the outside of the door, rather than inside. It rapidly became clear, from how they were holding the doorknob and pulling it back, that they were trying to prevent someone from coming out. That someone being Mr. Cosmo.

And from the looks of it, it seemed that the two were starting to fail.

“Hold on tighter!” Mr. Wilter cried out. His face was red and sweaty. “We can’t let him…!”

“I know! Don’t you think that I am trying?! If I pull any harder, I’m going to yank my arms right out of my sockets!” Rudy sounded so exhausted, making it obvious just how much energy he was putting into this.

Penny remained frozen in her place until she could hear Ms. Saffron approaching. The woman’s heavy breathing did not seem to attract Rudy and Mr. Wilter’s attention. Likely because they could not hear it. Penny looked up at Ms. Saffron for a second, just long enough to see the look of concern in her eyes. Then Penny looked back. Her eyes slowly narrowed.

Penny didn’t waste any time. She rushed over as quickly as she could. She could hear Ms. Saffron approaching behind her, joining her in what needed to be done. It didn’t take long for them to reach the two, and almost immediately, questions began to fill the air.

“Penny? What are you doing here?”

“What’s going on?”

“What are you trying to pull, miss?”

Some of the questions were aimed at Ms. Saffron. Others, mostly from Rudy, were aimed at Penny. But neither female human tried to answer. They had something else to take care of first. They grabbed on, both offering their support in keeping the door shut. Not one of them had any clue on how well this was going to hold. But all they could do right now was just keep holding on, preventing Mr. Cosmo from getting out.

But how long could they hold like this? They were going to need to let go eventually. How were they going to be able to lock it up completely so that they could get away? Penny was certain there was an obvious answer. But at the moment, her mind was too distracted by what was going on. She concentrated her energy on just holding the door shut, feeling her muscles start to pop from their locations.

sss

That stupid bitch… Just wait until she got her hands on her.. She was going to..

Mrs. Panthea struggled up to her feet. She could still feel herself become shaky and wobbly, even after resting for a bit. She could still feel some pain shooting through her limbs, making it hard for her sore muscles to move about. She gritted her teeth tightly, feeling every temptation to just tear into someone. Anyone…. At this rate, a part of her didn’t care.

But her biggest target right now was that little brat who had shocked her. How fucking dare she try to intervene…. That provided even more evidence that she was responsible for what happened. She didn’t know how she succeeded, but she would be sure that it wouldn’t happen again.

She began to move down the hallway, going in the direction that she knew they had gone off to. She found difficulty in doing this, her body swaying back and forth. She had to use the wall for support. Her movements were quite slow and she had a feeling that it would take her much longer to find that girl at this rate. But she didn’t care. So long as she got a chance at making that little shithead pay for what she had done. It was her fault that Mr. Nicolas was dead. She was responsible and she was going to regret it all.

Mrs. Panthea gave a shudder as she recalled how she had found the man. She had been on her way to check how he was doing with feeding the zoners. He hadn’t yet come back and she knew that this was not like him. Concerned, she headed over, and what she found disgusted and horrified her.

She had never seen anyone that torn up before. Literally. Blood was everywhere, guts were strewn on the ground, Mr. Nicolas’s face was twisted in agony, and the zoners had vanished. She already knew which zoner had done the attacking, but she also knew that someone had to have let the things out before anyone could be attacked. And what happened to Nicolas had not been an isolated incident. Other similar attacks had occurred.

Someone had let them out. Someone had allowed those filthy, horrible zoners get free to attack her comrades. Someone had enabled that big zoner to kill Mr. Nicolas, her only true friend in this shithole. And that someone had to be the little brat named Penny.

Mr. Cosmo should have just killed her off. He should have let Draow rip her apart. Because of that display of stupidity, her friend was gone. She could feel her blood burning at this realization and it was enough to help her keep moving down the hallway. She could practically hear Penny, and though it could have been just her imagination, she still felt herself ‘responding’ to what she believed was there.

“I am going to make you regret this! Do you hear me?! I am going to find you and I am going to kill you! I will make sure that you rot here, you fucking little…!”

She had to stop and take a few breaths. She sucked in deeply, breathed out heavily. Each breath seemed to burn more intensely, her eyes remaining narrowed. She almost thought she was going to pop them open from how hard she was glaring. She didn’t see anyone, and yet she still found herself becoming angry. She rushed herself forward, her body swinging from side to side. She staggered a little, and her voice grew more desperate.

“C-Come on out here, Penny! Come out and fight me! You willing to fight dirty? Try to fight me fair and square! I will kick your ass, you hear me?!” There was just more silence, and Mrs. Panthea’s breathing grew a little ragged. “Don’t you fucking dare ignore me, you little brat! Stop being a coward and face me like a woman!”

“...oh but you have other things to worry about…”

Mrs. Panthea froze. That voice was obviously not Penny’s. But she still recognized it. She felt her blood chilling and she felt denial raising over her head. It couldn’t be whom she thought it was, right…? Mr. Cosmo had that zoner locked up. There was no way that he could have gotten out.

“Ah, I remember you.” The voice said. More clear than before. Too familiar… “I see you’ve haven’t changed much. Then again, it hasn’t been that long since we’ve last...chatted.”

Mrs. Panthea felt her heart skipping several beats as she forced herself to look behind her. She immediately felt her skin crawling and her hair raising on end when she saw that it was indeed whom she thought it was, whom she had hoped that it was not.

“Bardot..” Mrs. Panthea felt herself breathing out. She stared at the zoner with wide eyes for several moments before shaking her head and narrowing her eyes into slits. “Y-Y-You’re not going to get the best of me.. D-Don’t even try it, you little creature…”

“Is that all you can come to call me?” Bardot asked, mocking a sense of hurt. But it was clear that he was more amused by this than anything. “I think you have more to worry about, anyway. It is not I who should fear you. It is you who should fear me. I think you’ve come to realize that already, though.” Bardot tilted his head to one side. “Haven’t you?”

Mrs. Panthea breathed in and out quickly, but she wasn’t going to be deterred that easily. She took a step forward, taking a defensive posture, and shouted, “J-Just get the hell away from me!”

Bardot’s ears drooped slightly. “Aww, but I have only just got here. Don’t you want to catch up? I’ve missed you so much…” He then started to smile as he went from his previously seated position to walking on all fours. He made his way towards her slowly. “Come on, we have some catching up to do…”

Mrs. Panthea growled, baring her teeth at the small creature before her. She had no idea how Bardot thought that she was going to listen to him. But if he thought that, he was going to be in a world of disappointment. She remained in her defensive posture, looking more willing to just attack. There was little that she could lose at this point, anyway. So why bother trying to hold herself back? Besides, if she couldn’t get to Penny, then going after Bardot would be a nice replacement.

Mrs. Panthea tensed up her leg muscles and she started to make her way towards Bardot. The small zoner didn’t try to move. It wouldn’t take long for her to reach that spot. All she had to do was close in the gap, pull back her foot, and kick him. He would be easy to strike.

But when she made the effort, Bardot moved faster than she had anticipated. The small zoner twisted himself around, skidding off to one side. His claws, firmly planted into the ground, scraped loudly as his body moved about from one side to the other, as if someone had pushed him this way. He soon came to a stop, his tail raised up into the air. He looked back at the woman, his eyes narrowed for a moment. Then he started to smile again.

“My, my… aren’t we so excited….” Chortled Bardot. He licked his teeth slowly. “If you were so eager, you could have just told me. I would have entertained you sooner.”

Mrs. Panthea felt her body shivering. She hadn’t expected this zoner to move like a zipping blur. She hadn’t expected him to be able to dodge like that and be so nimble. She shook off her feelings of fear and she went over to try to strike at him again. She wasn’t going to give up so easily. Determination raged through her body. She pulled back her leg and…

Suddenly she could feel something large and heavy striking against her. Mrs. Panthea let out a loud grunt of pain as she was pushed up to the well. Something with slender fingers grabbed her neck, squeezing it tightly. Mrs. Panthea gasped loudly and tried to speak. She struggled and clawed at the unusually thin limb before she opened up her eyes. She could see a familiar massive zoner staring at her. The one with the mismatched eyes, antenna, and crooked yellow-stained teeth. The one who had killed Mr. Nicolas.

Her body immediately froze when she realized who this was. She stared at him with wide eyes, fear racing through her body. Her urge to get even with somebody diminished rapidly, her heart nearly stopping its beating. She realized what kind of situation she was in, and all she could do was just stare and hope that she had a chance to get away.

But her hope for that diminished when she could see another zoner, this one larger than this jellybean-like one, approaching. She gulped and cringed when she realized that it was Draow. Mixed feelings filled her chest cavity. Draow was in on this as well. Mr. Cosmo’s creation.

So it was true. No zoner could be trusted.

She wasn’t able to finish her train of thought before she could feel herself being pinned down into the ground. The massive jellybean zoner kept her pinned there while the other two, Draow and Bardot, moved in closer, their gleaming eyes staring at her intently. The woman could feel all six eyes watching her coldly, each feeling as though they had a different intent for her. She struggled a little before her body just gave out. She was not going to get away, she realized. It was fruitless to waste the effort.

But she still had the energy and will to glare up at them, her teeth growing bared. With a loud hiss, she said, “You are all going to go to hell for this.”

Bardot’s ears twitched a little as he raised his head up, cocking it a little to one side. “Ain’t that adorable? I would love to hear more of this ‘plan’ of yours.” He chuckled a few times. He then lowered his head and hunched his body up, moving towards her slowly. “But I already know what we should do with you. We heard what you said before. And I’m sorry, but you would have gotten in the way.”

Mrs. Panthea jerked herself to one side. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“It’s already well past the time for questions.” Bardot sat down in front of her, almost like a dog. He tapped his tail as though it was one long finger. He raised his paw and made a few quick gestures. “Now don’t think any of this is personal. It’s just something that needs to be done. Don’t worry, though.” He lowered his paw down, pressing it firmly against the hard ground. “It won’t take too long.”

“You’re not going to…. Aaaargh!” Mrs. Panthea could feel claws already penetrating her skin. She barely had time to look up, her vision becoming watery, before the second blow came down upon her.

sss

“Open up the door now! I’m not going to keep repeating myself! Either you open the door right now, or when I get out, I am going to have you all skinned alive!” Mr. Cosmo couldn’t fully control himself right now. He felt adrenaline racing through his body to a too high of a degree, impairing his ability to settle down. “I mean it! You’re all going to die if you don’t let me go!”

But there was no reply. There hadn’t been a reply for a while. In fact, there had been no one there for the past several minutes. They had somehow managed to lock the door. They had no need to stay here any longer. They had fled as soon as they had the chance, leaving him alone.

Mr. Cosmo growled loudly as he pulled his fist back and struck at the door again and again. He knew that it was useless. He had designed these doors to be strong. There was little that he could do in order to escape this place. If even a zoner couldn’t get out, then he himself had no chance. He didn’t even put in any emergency exit in this place out of fear of the prisoner inside, human or zoner, found it.

But he wasn’t about to give up. He didn’t know how long it was going to take. But eventually, he would find this way out of here. And once he did, he was going to find those punks and he was going to deal with them. Screw any of his previous plans. He was just going to straight up force through what he wanted. He was going to get rid of Penny and Mr. Wilter, and he was going to claim Rudy as his. That’s what he should have done in the first place. There was no need to use Snap as a bargaining chip. He should have just forced Rudy to join him. The black chalk would have helped out. And then this whole mess would have been avoidable.

But he couldn’t do anything about that now, could he? The red-haired man growled at this, grinding his teeth together. His mind raced as he tried to think of what he was going to do now. He wasn’t yet willing to call it quits, but he also needed to figure out how to get out of here in the first place.

After striking the wall one more time, he started to rub his bruised hand as he took a few steps back. He tried to think about this from another angle. What other way could he deal with this? How else was he going to get free? There was Draow….but he didn’t respond before. He wasn’t sure if he was going to respond this time. But there were other people in this building. Someone was bound to realize that he was missing. Surely someone would come to find him, right?

But then again, it was also likely that they would not try to find him. The zoners were loose, weren't they? He heard the message. The monsters probably killed most of his comrades by now. Mr. Cosmo could feel dread rushing through his blood, chilling it. What if no one is able to come and he was trapped in here for a long time? He didn’t want to…

Suddenly he heard some small buzzing. He whipped his head around, expecting to see some fat ass fly trying to land on him. What he saw instead was not much better. Upon seeing Spy Fly, he immediately jumped and moved back.

“Well I certainly didn’t expect that.” Spy Fly commented. “Just what are you doing in here, anyway, comrade?”

Mr. Cosmo had to take a few quick breaths to calm himself down. He couldn’t let a zoner get the better of him. He put on a tough front, his eyes narrowing, as he responded, “Unlock this door.”

At first, Spy Fly just remained in the air, blinking a few times as though confused by this command. When Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at her, however, she seemed to get the memo pretty quickly. Moving back fast, she turned around and she went towards the lock that held the door shut. With her small frame, it was easy to get inside.

Mr. Cosmo glared at her as he waited for her to unlock the door. He could hear everything clicking inside, rattling and turning. The bug-like zoner was working as hard as she could, but to the man, she wasn’t working hard enough. He resisted the urge to say anything, though, trusting that she was going to be able to get it open in no time.

And eventually, the door clicked and at this, the man knew that the door was opened up. He moved forward, and as he grabbed the doorknob, Spy Fly had gotten out as quickly as she could. Mr. Cosmo tested the door by rattling the knob. After feeling how loose it was, he started to turn it more firmly. He pushed the door open and he stepped out. He looked left and right, trying to see which way those idiots had gotten off to.

At this point, it was too late to try to find them through sight. They had been gone for several minutes. While they could not have gotten too far, this still did mean that they could have gone in either direction. It wasn’t going to be easy finding out where they could have gotten off to. He would have to work fast if he wanted a chance to catch up to them.

Turning his attention to Spy Fly, he growled, “Did you see anyone coming down the hallway when you came over here? Anyone at all?”

Spy Fly shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. “I’m sorry, comrade. I did not.”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this. He slowly turned to face Spy Fly, narrowing his eyes further. Spy Fly, obviously unnerved by this, moved back, staring at him in confusion. Mr. Cosmo approached her and his glare intensified. “Are you sure about that?”

“Y-Yes, comrade! I’m serious!” Spy Fly stuttered. “I-I don’t know what you’re trying to…”

Mr. Cosmo reached out and grabbed onto Spy Fly, squeezing her tightly. Spy Fly let out a squeaking gasp almost like she was some kind of a toy.

“C-C-Comrade?! Wh-What are you….?!” Spy Fly cried out, terror hanging on the edge of her voice.

Mr. Cosmo brought her close to his face, his breath hitting her, his eyes looking like they were glowing brightly. “I don’t believe you. If you were trying to lie to me, you should try harder.” He tightened his grip on her, forcing her to gasp once more. “Now, how about you tell me the truth, bug? Or so help me, I won’t be afraid to squash you…”

Spy Fly trembled at this, her segmented eyes dripping with terror. She didn’t bother to struggle, as though that willpower was zapped away from her by his mere glare. In a frantic attempt to save her sorry little hide, she shouted, “O-O-Okay! I’m sorry! There was something but I-I didn’t know if you wanted to hear it or not!”

Mr. Cosmo raised her up slightly. “You know you are supposed to report everything to me. Failure to do this in the future will result in your termination. Consider yourself lucky. I am not going to give you a third chance.”

Spy Fly nodded her head. “Y-Yes...I-I-I understand, comrade.”

“So what did you find…?”

sss

What was happening to her? What the hell was going on around here? Why did she feel so sick? Why did everything hurt? No matter what she did, no matter how hard she tried to fight it off, nothing would ease her pain and agony. She could feel her body feeling as though it was setting on fire, concentrating around her head. Oh gawd, why did it hurt so much…?

She just kept running. She didn’t know where she was or how she got here. The pain dominated her mind, and her brain just told her to keep going. There was nothing else to really think about. There was nothing else to concern herself with. She just needed to run. Perhaps if she kept on heading this way, she might be able to find her way out of this trash heap.

She was hardly aware of much that was around her. Everything seemed to push against her, refusing to let her go. She could feel her eyes starting to blur and she rocked herself from side to side during her running. She thought she could feel things beneath her feet starting to break and this prompted her to move faster. She couldn’t stop, not even for a moment. She might end up getting herself lost or…

Suddenly she became aware that she wasn’t alone. There was someone else in this hallway. Her racing mind made out something like a shadow, but not too much beyond that. She grabbed onto her head and yelped in pain, staggering backwards. She could feel blood moving down her forehead, her teeth gritting tightly. Her then could feel something buzzing around her. The closer to the walls she got, the stronger this feeling became. She let out a loud yell before moving herself back, her body trembling as she struggled to deal with the pain.

Soon she could hear voices trying to reach out to her. She lifted her head, realizing that this person was trying to talk to her. But she couldn’t understand what they were saying. She strained and struggled to hear them, but nothing was working. She could only hear a garbled mess. This caused her to shrink back away, shaking harder, her wide eyes watching the distorted, unrecognizable figure in front of her.

Questions raced through her head. Just who was this person? What did they want with her? Why were they trying to corner her like this? She gritted her teeth tightly and panted heavily. Her breath drew in and out, in and out repeatedly, showing no signs of stopping. She stared out ahead, and as the pain surged through her skull more heavily, she realized that the tall figure was warping and twisting, almost like a disgusting blob trying to resemble a person. And now it was getting closer and closer, and soon it was going to…

She began to back away quickly. She hunched her body, baring her teeth defensively. This didn’t seem to be working. The figure was getting closer, raising its long, twisting limb into the air. She widened her eyes at this, her dreadlocks almost moving on their own as fear swam through her chest and heart. She felt the urge to run increasing inside of her.

Yet she could not just flee. She realized that in her pained state, her attempts to run would only trigger this person to run after her and perhaps catch her more easily. There was no way that she could get away from them so easily. She was going to need another way to get free.

And there was only one thing that would work.

Without even trying to stop herself, she rushed towards the figure, letting out a loud, almost feral yell. What other choice did she have? The pain seemed to intensify, making her feel more urgent, making this feel even better as she laughed out. Everything was going to be better once she took care of this. She knew this to be true.

She bit down hard, causing the figure to scream in pain. She hissed when she felt something stinging her. She couldn’t taste anything, but this still burned her mouth, as though it was acid. This only gave her pause for a moment before she began to use her fists instead, holding down her would-be attacker as she relentlessly attacked.

It was only after she laughed out for several minutes, constantly attacking, that she finally had a clearer sense of what was around her. With her vision now sharp, she looked down to see what she had been attacking.

She gasped.

It was a human.

sss

Racing through this hallway never felt so adrenaline filled before, and that was saying something, considering what has happened. Rudy could feel his feet pounding against the ground, each time aching more and more pronounced. He was surprised that he hadn’t yet broken them yet. He couldn’t stop, though, even if they did start to ache. There was somewhere that he needed to be.

And that brought on a question.

“Wait, so why did you decide to find us instead of Snap first?” Rudy asked. He tried his best to remain calm, reminding himself that it wasn’t like they abandoned Snap on purpose. But he was curious as to why they changed their minds.

Ms. Saffron bit her lip. “It was too much of a risk. From what we’ve heard, it sounded like Mr. Cosmo was busy with him.”

“What? That’s more of a reason to go help him!” Rudy was shocked by this.

Mr. Wilter didn’t look too pleased, either. “So you thought it was best to just leave him with Mr. Cosmo? Gee, that’s sure good thinking there.”

Penny raised her hand up, catching their attention. She didn’t look at them, but it was clear that she was aiming her speech at them. “Look, I know you two are upset with Ms. Saffron. I was too at first. But she made a good point.” She paused for a moment, as if to make sure that they were listening to her. Penny closed her eyes lightly. “If Ms. Saffron had tried to go to where Snap was while Mr. Cosmo was doing whatever with him, then that would have increased the chances of us getting caught.”

She lowly looked over her shoulder. Her eyes were filled with worry and sadness. It almost made Rudy stop his walking altogether.

“Then we wouldn’t have been able to save you.”

Silence.

Rudy glanced over at Mr. Wilter, trying to see his expression. The man was clearly still not sure about Ms. Saffron, and he looked as if he was unsure about Penny’s words. Not because of Penny herself, but because of who told her that information. The man must be debating this inside of his head without much result. He just stayed fully silent.

As for Rudy himself, he also wasn’t sure. Even though Ms. Saffron had come back to help them, the fact still remained that she helped them get caught in the first place. She had tricked them before. What would stop her from that again? Rudy licked his lips slowly as he pondered this. He wanted to believe Penny’s words, that so far, Ms. Saffron had been living up to her promise. But it was still early yet. Something might still happen.

Rudy did his best to keep his ears, eyes, and mind open as they made their way through this place. He made sure that Ms. Saffron remained in front of him and he watched her carefully. She wasn’t going to get the best of him. He was going to make sure of that.

So far, their trip through the hallway remained uneventful. There hadn’t been anyone seen for a long while. They hadn’t heard any footfalls near them or any shouts for them to stop, even though they must have passed by plenty of security cameras. It was likely that no one was watching them. He remembered when Ms. Saffron took him and Mr. Wilter there. It didn’t seem like it was a heavily monitored place. Had Mr. Cosmo only told them about the cameras to make them more nervous? It would seem like something that he would do.

Despite this, however, Rudy was not going to be complacent. He knew that the moment that he let down his guard, that’s when something was going to happen. For all he knew, someone might be coming down this hallway and was getting ready to pounce on them. He had to be prepared for the inevitable. Something could happen the very next second and he…

“Yaaah!” A voice suddenly cried out.

Rudy had been so focused on his thoughts that as soon as he heard that cry, he jumped. He nearly collided with Penny as he backed up, his eyes becoming focused on what was in front of him. Thinking fast, he found himself moving in front of Penny, recalling how she had been injured by Draow. He shuddered as he tried not to think about it, glaring ahead at…

Wait a minute..

Was that..? No, it couldn’t be... Could it?

But Rudy couldn’t deny who he was seeing. He wasn’t the only one looking at her. Other sets of eyes could clearly see her as well. He could hear the gasps of horror, Ms. Saffron stifling a scream, and Penny calling out her name. The one name that was recognizable only as this person before them.

“Rapsheeba?!” Penny shouted. Her voice was laced in horror. “Wh-What happened to you?!”

Rapsheeba didn’t answer. From the look in her eyes, she did seem a bit out of it. She was looking at them, but her gaze was distant. It was unlikely that she was even aware that they were there at all. She looked a bit dirtied up as though she had gotten into a fight. But there was a specific detail that had made all of them freeze. There was one thing they all could see staining Rapsheeba that caused them all to become horror-filled.

She was covered in blood.

Rudy’s wide eyes looked over her as he took notice of the blotches of blood that stained her hands, mouth, and chest. He thought at first she had been injured, but he could see no gashes on her. His mind ran cold with denial when he realized what the possibilities were now.

Either Rapsheeba collided with someone who was bleeding or…

...she had attacked a human..

And upon seeing how the blood stains were causing some steam to rise off from her body, Rudy realized that had happened. This blood came from a human. He struggled to keep himself breathing as he started to move towards her slowly.

“Rudy, be careful.” Mr. Wilter warned him.

Ms. Saffron nodded her head slowly in agreement. “What he said. I don’t trust this….”

Rudy and Penny ignored them as they moved in a little closer. Rudy moved out further, reaching his hand out towards Rapsheeba. In a small, weak voice, he said, “R-Rapsheeba, I…”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence. Without warning, Rapsheeba collapsed into the ground. A loud thud sounded off and her whole body went limp. Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at this. He and Penny immediately rushed to her side, kneeling down before her. They grabbed onto Rapsheeba and tried to shake her awake. But the zoner was unresponsive, doing little more than just laying there while they tried in vain to wake her up. When it became clear that it wasn’t working, they moved back and settled her back on the ground gently.

Penny put her fingers against Rapsheeba’s neck. She held them there for several seconds before pulling back. She looked pretty solemn when she turned her head back towards Rudy. The boy half expected her to give some bad news. But when Penny’s frown turned into a small, reassuring smile, Rudy relaxed.

“She’s still alive. I think she’s just exhausted.” Penny said.

Rudy stared down at Rapsheeba. He couldn’t imagine what she had been through. And that wretched mind control device… He stared at intently, wanting to rip it out. He had to struggle to keep his burning stomach from yanking outward and spilling all over the ground. He just barely managed to succeed at this.

Rudy looked over at Mr. Wilter, his eyes narrowing slowly. The man seemed to almost cringe when he did that, as though he knew what this was going to mean. Rudy didn’t hesitate to give him an order. “Give me that tin foil…”

sss

Mr. Cosmo strode down the hallway, having picked a direction to go in. His fingers were curled tightly against his palms and he seethed through gritted teeth. Many thoughts raced through his head as he tried to think of what he was going to do. There was no way that he was going to stand idly by while those idiots tried to…

He shut his eyes tightly, seething even harder, almost to the point of pushing his teeth out. He could feel the burning anger swelling up inside of him and he felt the temptation to just yell loudly into the air. He wanted to tear into the next person he saw. He had to wonder just how well he would be able to control himself if that happened. He could feel his body quaking the more he tried to think about this. And in the end, he didn’t have much of an answer.

This isn’t how his plan was supposed to go. He could already feel it unraveling all around him. He could feel his mind burning at the realization and it was making him sick. There was no way that he was going to allow this to happen. Somehow, someway, he was going to do something to make sure that things will go back on track.

To do this, though, he would need to try to remain calm again. He managed to do it before. He should be able to do it now. The black chalk had often helped with this. With that in mind, as he continued to head down, he reached into his pocket to pull out the piece he had brought with him.

The feel of his fingers against the black chalk was cold and icy...and yet somehow very comforting. He could feel the aura of the black chalk wrapping around him as though to reassure him. It caressed against him and secured itself around his fingers and wrist. He could hear silent words echoing in his head as the black chalk reassured him. Slowly, his vision began to blacken, soon looking as though he was wearing a pair of sunglasses. While the unenlightened would see this as horrifying, for him, it was the only true source of comfort that he had right now. He could feel himself letting out a sigh of relief, his previous anger melting away.

He took in a deep breath and he let out a small sigh. There, that felt much better. He could feel his fear melting away and he couldn’t help but smile. Pleasure began to take over and he soon could feel himself slowing down, despite the fact that he knew that those idiots were trying to escape. But there was no need to worry. They would not get out of this building. He was positive on this.

After all, they were still going to want to save Snap, right? That little boy was definitely not going to allow his friend to remain here. Not after all of that. So they were going to wind up staying here longer. He knew where they were going to go. And he knew what he was going to do.

But he didn’t need to do anything right away. There would be enough time. There was little to fear, little to worry about. Because when Rudy would find Snap….

...he was going to realize that something was different about him.

He wondered how Rudy was going to deal with that. How would he react to seeing what happened to Snap? The result that would play out would surely offer more than enough time to get what he needed and to make sure that those...whoever were involved, were not able to escape. With all that was going for him, nothing was going to shock him out of his mood.

Then he suddenly heard something down the hallway. A small growl and a whimper. He felt a bit of his calm demeanor go away as his heart tightened and ached, nearly skipping a beat or two. He then drew in a deep breath and forced himself to become relaxed again. With his grip on the black chalk tightening, feeling its wifty form reassuring him, he moved closer to the crossroads of the corridor, where it branched off into three different locations, to see what was going on.

That’s when he saw it.

Someone spasming on the ground.

Blood gathering around them.

And a large white bear wearing sunglasses looking right at him.

Mr. Cosmo never felt his turn to ice this fast.


	44. Unexpected

Almost immediately, Mr. Cosmo froze as he stared at the bear-like zoner before him. The world around him went dark, his eyes almost flashing in intensity. He could feel his mouth hanging open just barely, enough so that he could keep breathing slowly, or at least, as slowly as he possibly could. He didn’t want to make any sudden movements, and yet a part of him just wanted to run as quickly as possible.

He had no idea what this thing was going to do next. He could see the way that it was looking at him. The white-furred bear just stared at him long and hard, yet did nothing, said nothing. The mind control thing was still lodged in its head. But it was not acting like it should have. Had something caused the device to malfunction a little? He was aware that if led out improperly, there was a small chance of some damage that would result in the zoner not acting how they should with that thing in their head.

And that was likely what happened to this zoner.

Wasn’t that just fucking fantastic…?

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes slowly as he tried to assess the situation. He didn’t want to kill this zoner if he could avoid it. Now wasn’t the time for that. So he was going to need to figure out how he was going to get the zoner away from here and back into its pen where it belonged. But all by himself, how was he going to accomplish that?

“Oh don’t tell us you’re giving up all ready.”

“Yeah that zoner is not the boss of you. Go on, show it who is really in charge.”

Despite the black chalk’s clear attempts at cheering him up, Mr. Cosmo still felt unnerved. Besides, it wasn’t like the black chalk could do much help in the Real World. It could have some influence over another person, and it might have an even slighter effect zoners, but it wasn’t going to be enough in this case. If only he was in ChalkZone, then he could handle this thing far better.

But considering that he needed to hold off on that, he had to think of something else. Whatever he needed to do, he had to do it fast. The bear was still staring at him and now it had begun to approach him.

As the bear moved, Mr. Cosmo was able to take note of how badly hurt that man had been. He flinched at the sight of that guy...no, he had been mistaken. It was a woman. She had her neck ripped out and some other bloody marks on her. Judging from how the injuries themselves looked, it was almost like the bear zoner had attacked out of desperation. Almost as if it was trying to escape from something, like…

Mr. Cosmo only barely had time to look up at the nail in the zoner’s head before the bear zoner dropped on all fours and began to growl. Its fur raised up on end and its teeth became bared. Its eyes seemed to glow from behind those dark shades, making it all the more apparent just what it wanted to do with him. Mr. Cosmo’s body went tense and he jumped back as the massive zoner came hurdling towards him. He narrowed his eyes and braced himself for the impact, holding his hands outward. Was this a smart way to go about things? Probably not, but he was not going to let this zoner get the better of him. He…

Suddenly, he could see flashes in front of his face. Edged in white and black, spreading outward almost like a monochrome rainbow, visions assaulted his mind, refusing to stop or slow down. He could see flashes of his rabbit creation opening his mouth to bite him with those teeth. He could see other zoners surrounding him and preparing for the assault. Horror and terror surged through his body, getting stronger with each horrific image.

Mr. Cosmo started to stumble backwards, his feet slipping on the ground. He soon found his head colliding with the floor, and when he tried to get up, the polar bear zoner was already upon him. Although smaller than most polar bears, it still had a lot of weight to it. And it still had the jaws and claws of a polar bear, as he found out shortly after.

“Aaaahhh!” Mr. Cosmo screamed as the polar bear zoner dug its claws into his arms to hold him down, its teeth biting into his shoulder. Mr. Cosmo managed to prevent further damage by kicking the large white zoner between the legs. But as he got up to his feet, he knew that htis was only temporary.

Before he had a chance to try to get away, he could feel another swipe across his chest. The claws didn’t deal as much damage as they could have, but that was of little comfort to him as he was knocked up against the wall. He gritted his teeth as he glared up at the zoner before him. He clutched at his arms and his body trembled in pain as the white zoner drooled and stared at him with dilating pupils, or so he had imagined. The zoner opened up its mouth and a guttural growl could be heard as those teeth seemed to glint. Despite the growing fear inside of him, he still managed to keep his glare on the zoner.

The zoner drew in closer, its shadow moving along the human’s face, encasing it in darkness. The jaws opened wider, almost at an impossible range, distorting its face. Then, with one more growl, the zoner charged towards Mr. Cosmo. The man held his ground, preparing for the inevitable attack.

But it never happened.

“Comrade!” A tiny voice called out, a high pitched sound that was enough to startle the bear zoner into retracting its attack. “What happened? Are you okay?!”

Mr. Cosmo stared in shock as Spy Fly came flying over quickly as though to escape some fire behind her. Just what the fuck was she doing here? And why would she come after him after he had threatened to kill her? He resisted the temptation to shake his head at this. Sometimes, zoners can be so stupid.

When he did not answer, Spy Fly was seemingly starting to worry about him more. It was hard to tell with zoners. But he couldn’t deny the wide-eyed stare that she was giving him. She started to move towards him, reaching her hand out as she started to call out to him again.

But she wasn’t able to get that far when the polar bear zoner had shifted his gaze upon her. With teeth exposed in a snarl, he rushed at her, letting out a loud roar. It was loud enough to rumble through the ground. It startled Spy Fly enough to make her unable to escape. The polar bear zoner’s jaws opened up and he snapped down on her. Or at least, part of her. She had started to move as the zoner came up to her, but it was not enough for her to escape those jaws. The teeth pressed down on her wing and there was a slight tearing sound before the beast yanked her in its direction.

The man watched as Spy Fly struggled to get free. Her wing was already damaged at this point, however, and she seemed to become quickly aware that if she struggled too much, it would rip off completely. She froze in horror at this and soon she turned her head to Mr. Cosmo.

“Please help me, comrade!” Spy Fly called out in terror, her gaze at him pleading.

Mr. Cosmo simply narrowed his eyes at her. He didn’t think he should risk his life for something that he could easily replicate later. Spy Fly had done a good job, but he could draw another spy that was even better. And besides, he had to get out of here. He might have something that he could use to stop this and other loose zoners. Spy Fly was providing the perfect distraction for that.

“Comrade!” The fly zoner sounded more terrified than ever. “I need your help!”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at her a few times before he started to smile and chuckle. “Oh, but I can’t. I don’t have the right...weapon to stop it.” He looked into the confused tiny zoner’s eyes as he took a small step forward. With the fly zoner in its jaws, the polar bear zoner seemed distracted. “But don’t worry, Spy Fly. I still commend your services. You’ve been a great help. It hasn’t all been in vain.”

Spy Fly’s eyes widened in horror when she realized what the man was implying. “N-No…! You can’t just leave me here!”

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand up and motioned it dismissively at her. “Please don’t disappoint me, Spy Fly. I expect the best from you.”

With that, Mr. Cosmo started to move down the hallway quickly, his legs pumping to get out of there as soon as possible. As he ran, he could hear Spy Fly cursing at him even as he headed down a new hallway.

“You fucking coward! You faker! They had been right about you! I hope you get your eyes ripped out, you… Aaarghh..!”

Mr. Cosmo heard a tear and a grunt and...not much else. He didn’t know if this meant that Spy Fly was dead or alive. But he didn’t have time to really check. Besides, he had something far more important to worry about first. So without looking back, he tensed his muscles and worked them harder, moving even faster towards his destination.

sss

“Rudy, I’m not so sure about this…” Penny whispered under her breath. “How do you know that this would even work?”

Although he understood her skepticism, Rudy wished that Penny would try to trust her a little more often. It wasn’t like that this was going to make things worse than they already were. And besides, if something happened, they should be able to subdue her before she managed to do anything. If there was one good thing about the constant pain that the zoners here were forced to experience, it was that it distracted them from remembering that they had the ability to flatten against any surface.

Rudy could feel Mr. Wilter’s and Ms. Saffron’s eyes on him as well. The two adults seemed more willing to give him a chance. But he could tell that they were skeptical as well, at least to some degree. They seemed to be muttering something softly to one another. Rudy couldn't hear what they said, but he had a strong hunch that it was criticism.

Rudy tried his best to focus on the task at hand. He was doing whatever he could to keep the tin foil on Rapsheeba’s head. The zoner was still out cold. This was his only chance to do this without risking an attack from her. Licking his lips slowly, he eventually managed to crumble the tin foil around the nail in her head. It wasn’t the best and he had a feeling that it would dislodge if he couldn’t find an adhesive soon. But it would at least do for now and he could see if it worked or not.

Slowly, Rudy leaned back away from Rapsheeba, watching her carefully. He refused to even blink as he watched for any sign of movement. He expected Rapsheeba to wake up at any moment, but it would seem that this wasn’t the case. She still remained on the ground, doing little more than just twitching her foot, just a simple reaction from her brain.

He could hear Penny approaching him. And soon, he could hear her voice gracing his ears. “Rudy, what if this doesn’t work?”

Rudy frowned at her, gritting his teeth. “It has to work! It...has to.”

Penny reached out and grabbed onto his shoulder, squeezing it tightly. She stared at Rudy intently, her eyes furrowing in seriousness and empathy. She remained like this for several long moments before she managed to start speaking to her. “Rudy, I know you want this to work. But we can’t be too certain. You know that we have to restrain her just in case something goes wrong.”

The thought of tying up Rapsheeba made Rudy shudder. He didn’t want to have to do something like that if it could be avoided. He really didn’t want to treat his friend like she was some kind of a monster.

And yet he couldn’t deny the reality before him. They found Rapsheeba with human blood on her. They didn’t want to believe that she hurt anyone. But after seeing what both Mr. Cosmo and Bardot could do, he just...didn’t want to completely discard the possibility. It was just too dangerous to do so. Something could still change and if he wasn’t careful...

Rudy turned away from Penny as he stared down at Rapsheeba. Still no signs of her waking up. She breathed in and out slowly, almost looking like she was simply trying to rest. But he knew that this wasn’t the case. If they were going to restrain her, then now was the best time to do it.

“All right...” Rudy said, finally caving into Penny’s suggestion. “Let’s...get this over with.”

The process wasn’t as bad as he thought, and it was over before they knew it. Since they didn’t have any rope, they had to use tears of their own clothing to accomplish their goal. Ms. Saffron’s suit was the best material. Thick and a bit stretchy, enough that they could tie Rapsheeba’s arms and legs together. It wasn’t the best, but it would at least prevent Rapsheeba from trying to get away or attack if she was under the influence of anything.

But what if she uses her 2D powers to move through the rope? The thought did cross his mind, and unfortunately, there wasn’t anything that he could think of that didn’t involve cruelty. They would have to make do with what they’ve got now.

Rudy soon realized that they couldn’t just stay around here for much longer. They had to get going. Even if the hallways were empty now, there was no guarantee that it would stay like that. So, givine a nod to the others, he picked up Rapsheeba in his arms, cradling her gently.

“We need to get going.” Rudy looked over at Ms. Saffron. He still felt uncertain about her, but she was still the only one in here with any sort of knowledge of where to go. “Which direction?”

Ms. Saffron stared nervously at Rapsheeba’s limp form for a few seconds before the woman pulled her head back to look around a bit. She furrowed her eyes as she seemed to study the area around her. She tapped her chin thoughtfully before she pointed her finger down one direction. “I do believe that this is the way.”

Penny turned to glare up at her. “I thought you said you knew the way.”

Ms. Saffron defended herself. “Of course I do! But I haven’t went through these parts as much, so it will take a bit more thinking.” Ms. Saffron started to head on forward, refusing to listen to whatever else Penny had to say. “Besides, instead of yelling at me, why don’t you tell your friends there on what your brilliant plan is.”

Rudy glared at Ms. Saffron. He didn’t know what was up with her right now. She didn’t need to speak to his friend like that. He shook his head before turning his attention back to Penny.

“What plan, Penny? Did you have an idea on how to deal with Mr. Cosmo?” Rudy asked, trying to sound extra gentle.

Penny bit her lip. She looked at him while she still walked, her eyes searching through his. The two of them remained locked like this for several moments. By some miracle, none of them crashed into anything yet. “Well, I was talking to Biclops about an idea. I am..not sure if you’d like it, though.”

Rudy let out a small sigh. He wasn’t sure if he liked where this was going. But then again, he shouldn’t be surprised. Considering the situation, whatever Penny had planned, it was probably the best thing any of them could hope for. He tried his best to smile as he said, “I’m sure whatever you’ve come up with, it’s for the best. When we get somewhere safe, you can tell us all about it.”

Penny looked at Rudy, still unsure. She looked as if she should be ashamed of what she was going to suggest. But why should she be? They both knew what kind of situation they were going into. There wasn’t anything that Penny could suggest that would make him upset.

The two of them fell silent, however. It wasn’t the time to chat any longer. They began to follow Ms. Saffron, hoping to reach their next destination without interruptions. He hoped that it wasn’t too far away. The sooner that they could get to Snap and bring him out of this horrible place, the happier that he was going to be.

But how were they going to save Snap? He doubted that Mr. Cosmo would make that task so easy. He might have guards there even, ensuring that Snap remained his victim. The thought of Snap being forced to stay in such a place made his blood boil. He clutched his fist, making a silent promise to get his friend out of there as soon as he possibly could.

Then a few moments later, he could feel something starting to move in his arms. He looked down and he could hear a groan emitting from Rapsheeba’s partially open mouth. Slowly, her eyes opened up, staring into his eyes. Rudy froze immediately.

sss

Where were they? They should be around here somewhere. If they were truly headed to where he thought they were, then…

Mr. Cosmo stopped himself when he could hear some distant voices. He gritted his teeth against one another, his eyes narrowing as he watched carefully. He didn’t see anything yet. No shadows or anything like that. But that didn’t make him feel all that relaxed. He kept himself tense and just waited.

The voices never became that loud. And he couldn’t really ever make a good case of what they were saying. The only thing that he was certain on is that one of the voices sounded an awful lot like Ms. Saffron.

He snorted at this realization. So Spy Fly had been telling the truth. When the bug zoner had told him about how a group of people were going to try to ‘take care of him’, a part of him wondered if her including Ms. Saffron in on that was based on reality, or if she had just been upset with Ms. Saffron and only said that in hopes of getting her in trouble. He had his own reasons to distrust that woman, but he wanted to find out for himself just what she was up to. If this all added up how he was thinking it was, then Ms. Saffron was still finding courage to disobey him. He narrowed his eyes into slits. Perhaps he should try for a more permanent solution.

With that thought in mind, he glanced down at the black chalk that he held in his hands. He kept his eyes steady on it for a few moments, letting his eyes practically burn right through it. He shouldn’t have relied on just coming in contact with her. He should have known that the black chalk couldn’t have helped her see the light using that more minor method. It had been enough to sway most people, but Ms. Saffron wasn’t like most people, was she? He was going to need to be more...forceful this time.

And it wasn’t just her. Rudy would need to come next as well. He still saw potential in the boy. He could become his best helper. He knew more about how ChalkZone presently was, based on what he was able to get from his chats with him. His knowledge would be invaluable. Then maybe he would even become his successor should something go wrong. The idea pleased his mind.

Adding in Mr. Wilter and Penny might be ideal in the mind, but would that be a bit too much? Getting rid of them would probably be the better choice. It would be easier to keep track of two people instead of four.

And that zoner they had with them…

He recognized her voice. It was weak yet still frightened. He knew her as one of the zoners that was recently captured by Draow. So at least he now knew where another one of the zoners had gone off to. He still wasn’t sure about where all the others were. But he would round them up later. He felt that right now, it was best to focus on taking care of this first. If they succeed in getting in his way, then all that he worked for would be for naught.

He continued to make his way down slowly. So far, it didn’t seem like they knew he was here. So long as he kept himself slow and steady and so long as he wasn’t interrupted by anyone, he should be good.

He tightly clutched the black chalk in his hand. He hadn’t heard any of its voices for the past several minutes, but he could still feel its soothing aura washing over him. This caused him to hold on tighter. He was going to need as much of this comfort as possible. He couldn’t afford to let up, not even once. His eyes remained narrowed in determination. He whispered softly for the strength of the black chalk to see him through these hard times. Most of the time, the black chalk would deliver. But way back when Tsere had been created…

Mr. Cosmo tried not to worry about it. He had nothing to fear from Tsere anymore. After all..

He had been dead for decades now.

Mr. Cosmo would have loved to think about the time that Tsere was finally dealt with, but not only was he busy right now, but the memory was more bittersweet. Sure he was able to get rid of that annoying pest, but it was still the day that he had been defeated. So that victory was kind of moot. But at least he wouldn’t have to worry about it again.

After what felt like several minutes of walking down, he stopped himself around a wall. Now he could see the shadows. He narrowed his eyes. They were almost at Snap’s enclosure. If he wasn’t careful, then they might be able to succeed in their plan. He didn’t think they would get this far this fast.

Furrowing his eyes deeper, he pressed himself against the wall and looked over the edge. He tried not to let himself peer too far out. It was a bit difficult to keep himself hanging back with how smooth the walls were here. Not much traction to really grab on. But he still somehow managed to hold on and watch from afar. Or at least, as much as he possibly could.

There they were. He didn’t see them for long. Just quick flashes. But they were definitely there, he knew. He could see them moving through, trying to avoid detection. He gritted his teeth tightly, feeling a low growl emanating from his mouth. He could see that traitorous Mr. Wilter and Ms. Saffron with Rudy and Penny. And there was that humanoid zoner, being held by Rudy. She had been restrained but showed no signs of trying to escape.

But he cared little about that zoner right now. His eyes were largely focused on the boy, the one who kept evading him. Then his eyes shifted to the two traitors. He was going to need to still be careful in his approach. He realized that the best way to get to them was if he waited here until they disappeared into the room. That’s when he could take action.

Mr. Cosmo licked his lips as he drew himself closer. He felt nervous about doing this. He was essentially exposing himself to them. If they looked over here, they were going to be able to see him. It would be no contest for them to figure out who he was and they had the advantage of numbers and distance. Perhaps they would even try to formulate their plan right here and now if they saw that he was here. In order to prevent this from happening, he needed to remain one step ahead of the game. That was why he immediately moved to the side to hide in a corner instead of taking the chance to get much closer. He kept his ears wide open, listening intently, peering over carefully, and moving in almost inch by inch.

Soon he settled into one spot. He could have chanced it to get closer, but he felt it was better to just stand here and wait. He watched them carefully as he licked his lips slowly. He waited silently for his chance to take action. They would not escape this time.

sss

Rapsheeba shuddered as she cuddled herself closer to Rudy. The act of trying to do this while she was in this present situation caused Rudy’s heart to tighten up. He hated to see her like this. He hated to see her struggling, tied up, treated like she was a threat. He knew that it was for the best, but he did wish that they could allow her to walk on her own.

Rapsheeba didn’t even try to fight. When she woke up, she was confused for a little bit, but ultimately she just remained limp in his arms. It was almost as though she realized she had done something terrible and she wanted to make up for it by basically surrendering.

This isn’t how this should be. There had to be something that he could do. There had to be away to allow Rapsheeba to walk amongst them without any sort of issues.

But he did have to listen to Penny on this one. She agreed with the adults that it was best to keep her restrained. While he did agree as well, it was more reluctant than anything. He would have preferred not having to do this. But considering their situation, had there really been any other choice? It was either this or risk her attacking them. The tin foil might be doing its job, but it was so hard to tell right now. And there was just no time to make sure that it really worked.

Especially since they had arrived at their destination.

Ms. Saffron stood in front of the door, the closest one to it. She was examining it, making sure that Mr. Cosmo wasn’t in there. Rudy gritted his teeth as he waited. It was so unnerving. He didn’t know what to expect. Anything could happen at this point. Mr. Cosmo might be getting ready to spring a trap right now, and if he did, they’d have nowhere to go.

The fact that Ms. Saffron gave a nod to them to signal that Mr. Cosmo wasn’t in the room did little to comfort him. That man was surprising, and Ms. Saffron might still pull a fast one. He had to keep himself vigilant.

“So how do you want to approach this, miss?” Mr. Wilter asked cautiously as he stared at Ms. Saffron. “Do you want us to just barge right in? We don’t have that much time, you know.”

Ms. Saffron shook her head. “That would be not very advisable. He may still have set up something to make going in there more difficult. And then there’s Snap.” He shifted her eyes downward a little. “Considering what he has gone through, I don’t think he could handle too much excitement right now. Just rushing in there might cause the poor thing to have a heart attack.”

A low growl escaped from Mr. Wilter. “You really need to stop pretending that you care about him. You don’t know him.”

Ms. Saffron glared back at him. “I’m certain I’ve spoken to him more times than you have.” She took a step forward, pushing a finger against his shoulder. “I think you should do something about that attitude of yours. If we end up in trouble, I swear if it’s because of you…”

Mr. Wilter snapped his head back and growled. “Look who is talking! You’re the one who trapped us, remember?!”

“And I told you that it wasn’t my intention! It was just a miscalculation my part! How was I to know about these last minute decisions by Mr. Cosmo?” Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes. “And besides, what about you? Don’t try to tell me that you’re so innocent.”

Mr. Wilter took a step towards her. “Why you…”

“Hey, stop it!” Penny rushed forward. She got between the two, using her hands to push them back. Rudy was grateful for her interruption. “Now isn’t the time to fight like this! Really, I thought you two would have known this!” She glared at the two adults for a few moments. Her disdain for their behavior was evident on her face. “Why don’t you two wait until after we rescue Snap and help the zoners before you two go at each other’s throats, okay? Can you at least do that?”

Ms. Saffron and Mr. Wilter looked from Penny and then at each other. Rudy wasn’t really sure how well this was going to work out. He could see how they were staring at each other, and he could feel the tension rising. They had already tried to agree to work with one another. But it was clear that Mr. Wilter’s distrust of her was going to keep getting in the way. While Rudy did understand given his history in ChalkZone, he still wished that Mr. Wilter would at least try harder to get along with Ms. Saffron. At least until either they were done or she proven herself to be a threat.

The two adults didn’t really answer Penny, but they did seem to agree to back down. They moved back from each other, giving one another a slow nod. They didn’t say anything else. They just kept looking at each other, refusing to take their eyes off of one another. It was as though they were afraid that the other would make a move if they did anything.

It took a while longer before Ms. Saffron finally broke the stare so that she could turn around and focus on unlocking the door. The rest of them fell silent as they waited for the woman to get the door opened up for them. As she did so, they kept an eye and ear open for any approach of someone, regardless if they were human or zoner.

Rudy could feel himself growing tense as the seconds passed. He couldn’t stop looking at Ms. Saffron, watching her hands fumble at the door knob. She was taking it easy and going slowly, but that was just increasing Rudy’s anxiety. He understood the need to be careful, but at the same time, it wasn’t like they had a lot of time to work with, like Mr. Wilter said. Every second that he had to wait was grueling and tense and he thought something was going to happen just before the door was opened and…

Just then, before he finished that sentence, the door was opened up. He could hear the click and the soft creaking. Ms. Saffron was painstakingly opening it up, like she had indicated before.

But for Rudy, seeing that door open also meant seeing his friend. With that realization came a rush of adrenaline and he could feel his heart thundering in his chest. Without thinking or trying to stop himself, Rudy bolted forward.

“Rudy! Stop!” Ms. Saffron called out, reaching her hand out towards Rudy. “You’re going to…!”

“Rudy, come back here this instant!” Mr. Wilter shouted, trying to sound like his usual authoritian teacher self.

But the male teenager wouldn’t listen. He just couldn’t stop. Not right now. Not when he was so close to seeing his friend again. Not when he knew that Snap was in here, waiting to be rescued. He knew he had to get him out of this place above all else. To hang back would be to prolong this. And he couldn’t afford to do that. He could never bring himself to do something that horrible to his friend. Not after what he had done to him before.

He was not going to abandon him this time.

Rudy rushed into the room completely, feeling the darkness of the room closing all around him. There was very little lighting in here, at least when compared to the hallway. He guessed the lights were turned off, but he paid little mind to it as he began to move slower, looking left and right carefully.

“Snap..? Snap, where are you?” Rudy called out, trying to keep his voice low and soft. “It’s me, Rudy. I’ve come to rescue you. Please come out, I…”

Rudy slowly began to recognize the room as the same one he had been dragged into before, at least once. It was the same room where Mr. Cosmo had placed Snap in a…

He suddenly froze at this realization. If that was truly the case, then that meant that..

When Rudy looked around again, he started to notice some sparks, which were moving in a wave-like pattern. He could hear a small whimper and he knew who it was. Rudy headed on over towards this, his eyes adjusting enough that he could see the water bars. The ones that had been electrified to keep Snap in…. Rudy shuddered at the memory of that. He tried to keep himself focused as he moved in closer towards Snap.

Behind him, he could hear the others coming in. He could hear them chastising him quietly for just running in like that when they had no clue if this was a trap or not. Rudy ignored their words, however. The only thing on his mind right now was Snap. He could see his friend curled up on the ground in the middle of the cage, shivering. He bit his lip, feeling his heart sting as he saw what condition his friend had been left in. He couldn’t believe the cruelty of Cosmo and he thought that man couldn’t possibly get any worse.

And then he had.

Rudy tried not to gasp in horror when he saw that the zoner was trapped around a pool of something strong-smelling. He realized that it was vinegar. Mr. Cosmo had forced Snap to reside in this one place or else he would get burned by the vinegar. As if burning his feet wasn’t enough for the man….

Rudy tried not to let his anger get the better of him. He would have plenty of time to get enraged with Mr. Cosmo. Right now, he needed to focus on getting him out of this place before it was too late. Slowly, the young boy approached his friend.

“Snap..” Rudy called out again. Snap still didn’t stir. Rudy tried another time. “Snap, come on.. Please look at me. Can’t you see that I am here? Don’t you know that your suffering is going to finally end?” Rudy had to pause at that, flinching when he realized that it did sound a little...morbid when worded like that. He swallowed hard and he moved forward a little. “Snap..please...I..”

Slowly, Snap started to turn his head towards Rudy. At first, Rudy began to smile. But when he saw that Snap was looking at him with a blank expression, he immediately held his tongue. He didn’t know what was going on. Why was Snap looking at him like that?

Then Snap pushed himself up a little on his hands. He pushed and pulled himself a little so that he was facing Rudy more directly. His eyes stared intently at the teenager, glowing with a mixture of emotions. Rudy couldn’t identify them at the moment, but seeing Snap like this was enough to make him shake. He had no idea what was going on with his friend. He had never looked at him this way before.

Then Snap did something that Rudy never thought he would o.

He started to growl at him.

Snap bared his teeth slightly, a low rumbling growl echoing throughout his body. He almost looked like a frightened, feral animal getting ready to defend itself. But mixed in those eyes, it couldn’t be just fear, Rudy realized. There were other emotions as well. One in particular stood out like a sore thumb.

Anger.

“What’s going on with him?” Ms. Saffron asked. “This isn’t...how he normally is with you, right?”

Rudy could only numbly shake his head, unable to look away from Snap.

Penny moved in closer. Soon she stood by Rudy, looking sadly at him and at Snap. She placed her hand on the male teenager’s shoulder, squeezing it gently. “Rudy, it’s...it’s going to be okay.” Penny told him, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. Rudy couldn’t respond.

Moments later, there was a loud bang behind them, and then a click echoing against the walls as if something had snapped.

“What the…?!” Mr. Wilter shouted as he whirled himself around. He stared at the door in shock for a few seconds before he rushed over towards it. He grabbed the handle and tried to open it off. No matter how hard he pulled back, however, it just would not budge. He stopped pulling and took a step back. He stared at the door for a few seconds before looking back at the others. “We’re trapped!”

While the others gasped in horror, Rudy’s mind could barely register that. It was nothing more than background noise. His mind and attention was focusing squarely on Snap, who was still snarling at him like he was some kind of a threat. Rudy shut his eyes slowly and let a few tears stroll down his face.

“Oh Snap….what has he done to you?”


	45. Just A Theory

“Come on, help me get this door open!”

“It’s stuck!”

“Well no duh, genius! Find some way to open it!”

“That’s easier said than done!”

“Just keep fucking trying!”

Penny watched as Mr. Wilter and Ms. Saffron worked together to try to pry the door open. She bit her lip firmly, feeling horror washing through her body. She replayed the recent incident over and over again in her head and she found it hard to fully accept it.

Of course they would be dumb enough to fall into an obvious trap. Of course they would be stupid enough to go in here without looking to make sure that nothing else was going to happen. Of course they were going to overlook things and ultimately get themselves in trouble and…

Wait, no, it wasn’t their fault. Ms. Saffron had warned them to wait until she was certain there was nothing going on here. She had wanted to play it cautiously, knowing full well that things could go wrong if they weren’t careful. Despite his displeasure with the woman, it did seem obvious that Mr. Wilter was willing to go along with what she said.

No, there was somebody else here who was to blame.

Penny narrowed her eyes a little at Rudy, feeling her newfound anger towards him rising up in her stomach. She could feel her hand tightening around his shoulder even more. She did manage to stop herself before she went too far. But it took all of her willpower not to plow into the boy for his stupidity.

Just… why had Rudy gone and done this? Why couldn’t he just wait? Thanks to his overeagerness to get in here, they were all trapped. She understood the urgency to get Snap, but now they had bigger problems to worry about.

Penny was tempted to at least scold Rudy for this. He did need to know just how much he had screwed up. He did need to know that, despite the limited time they knew they all had, they couldn’t just go running around willy nilly. And Penny herself especially couldn’t overexert herself. Not with her still healing injuries on her shoulder and chest. She could still feel them stinging, but her anger towards Rudy was overriding that in the current moment.

This hadn’t been the first time that Rudy screwed up. There had been times in the past when he would make a hasty choice and it ended up biting him back in the end. So many problems wouldn’t have happened had Rudy just paused and really thought about it for a moment. This was just the most recent incident of that.

But when she started to open her mouth to say something, she had to stop when she looked at Rudy’s face and took notice of something. She could see how his face was contorted in sorrow and horror. She could see the tears that were flowing down her face. She let out a small gasp as she remembered what else had happened. Looking over, she could see Snap was still glaring and growling at Rudy. All of a sudden, Penny started to feel guilty over what she almost did.

“I didn’t want to believe it…” Rudy whispered softly. Penny looked at him with a confused stare. Rudy continued, his gaze away from her, “Mr. Cosmo said that Snap hated me. I thought he was lying…”

Penny could feel another gasp coming to her. Rudy hadn’t said anything after that. But she had heard what she needed to know. Her anger returned, this time directed at Mr. Cosmo. He must have done something to induce this. He was trying in all his power to guilt trip Rudy into submitting and he was using Snap to do so. What a disgusting man…

Penny once more squeezed Rudy’s shoulder more tightly, but this time more gently. She wanted to say something. But she couldn’t think of anything. What could she say at a time like this? She moved her gaze back over to where Snap was, her heart twisting tightly.

She wished that she knew what they were going to do about this. She wished that she had all the answers. She wished what steps should be taken after this. But she had no clue on what should be done. While knowing it all would certainly help things, she had to face reality. This was not a situation they had encountered before. They had never experienced anything like this, so how could they know what to do? Penny wanted to talk to Snap, but she doubted that he wanted to talk to either of them right now. She could only look at him sadly. Just what had Mr. Cosmo done to make Snap this upset?

She could hear footsteps behind her. She forced herself to move her gaze away as she stared over at Ms. Saffron. Mr. Wilter was still at the door, trying to break it down. It didn’t seem like he was succeeding. Ms. Saffron stared at Rudy and Penny with a serious, fearful expression.

“We have to find another way out.” The blonde-haired woman explained. “We can’t stay here. I have a feeling that Mr. Cosmo set a trap in here and he is going to come back soon.” She narrowed her eyes a little and lifted her head up, staring in one direction. “I do think I know a way out of here, but it…”

Mr. Wilter cut her off. “Does your way involved going through more risks?”

Ms. Saffron stared at him wide-eyed, her mouth partially open, before she put her hands on her hips. “Are you insinuating something?”

Mr. Wilter gritted his teeth tightly. “I’m just saying… It’s still hard to trust you.”

“After all we’ve been through and I never once turned you in… That wasn’t good enough for you?” Ms. Saffron sounded almost shocked. But Penny could detect something else in her voice. A small hint that she had still expected this kind of response all along.

“Well you worked for Mr. Cosmo and… No, I take that back. You still work for him because you trapped me and Rudy!” Mr. Wilter pointed his finger at her accusingly. “Don’t keep pushing that under the rug! You should at least be honest about your treachery instead of burying it in the ground!”

Ms. Saffron growled under her breath. “Don’t act like you know me.”

Penny growled and she shouted, “I told you two to stop fighting!” She froze when she saw the two adults glaring at her, almost as though silently telling her to stay out of it. But she didn’t give up. Keeping her teeth gritted, she said, “This is not going to get us anywhere and you both know that.” She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She didn’t bother reopening them when she spoke again, this time in a quieter voice. “Where do you think we should go, Ms. Saffron?”

The woman didn’t hesitate to answer. “There’s a portal nearby. It goes straight into ChalkZone.” An obvious statement and Ms. Saffron seemed to realize this. Regardless, she continued. “It’s large enough to allow Draow through. We should obviously fit.” She paused for a moment, as though to assess the situation. Then she said, “But I doubt Mr. Cosmo will have made it easy to get in. We should at least get to there as soon as possible, before that man shows up here. Once we’re through, then that will give us a chance to fight back.”

Penny and Mr. Wilter nodded in silence. They looked at each other, exchanging knowing glances. This would help give them some edge, but it would still be an even fight. It was still the best chance that they’ve got.

Penny could feel solemness spreading through her head. She realized that she hadn’t been able to set up her plan the way she wanted to. Considering what’s happened, it was understandable why it didn’t happen. But if they had a way to get the man into ChalkZone, if that portal truly was there, then it was just a matter of subduing him here and pulling him through. So long as he didn’t have a piece of chalk, he was defenseless. Then they could make sure that he would never hurt anyone again.

But how was Rudy going to react to the plan? She did fear what he would do if he found out… But he was going to find out soon enough, anyway. And he did understand that there were times when difficult choices had to be made. Surely, he would understand about this.

Ms. Saffron interrupted her train of thought. “Let’s grab your friend. We should start heading out right now.”

Penny stared at her in confusion. “How are we supposed to do that?”

Mr. Wilter looked over at Ms. Saffron, his face furrowing a little. “She’s right. How are we going to get him with those electric bars in the way?”

Ms. Saffron didn’t answer either of them. She just headed on over slowly. Penny and Mr. Wilter watched her carefully. Rudy, however, didn’t seem to notice. His gaze was still facing towards Snap and he still had that same look on his face as before. Even when Ms. Saffron took out something and pointed it at the bars, even when she pressed a button that caused them to blip away, still the boy did not respond.

“I stole this from Mr. Cosmo.” Ms. Saffron explained as she held up the device. She motioned to Rudy and Penny. “Go on and grab your friend so we can get going.”

Penny looked over at her friend. “Rudy…?”

The boy did not respond.

Penny bit her lip. She looked over at Snap for a few moments, who still looked like he was on the defensive. She wasn’t sure how he would react to her. And somehow she had her doubts that he would let Ms. Saffron approach. That left only one option.

“Mr. Wilter, can you take our friend? Would you be able to?”

Mr. Wilter looked at Penny for a second, blinking his eyes in confusion. Then he gave her a small smile. “I might be a bit sore right now, but I could handle holding some small zoner.”

Penny smiled in appreciation. “Thank you.”

Penny watched in silence as Mr. Wilter went towards the cage, entering through the opening that was put there by Ms. Saffron. The old teacher was careful not to step into the vinegar. Though he wouldn’t have been hurt by it, he could have easily splashed some onto Snap, and Penny didn’t want to know how much more irritated that would have made the already tense and shaky Snap.

Watching Snap being picked up was almost a horror show. This is what finally got Rudy to stop staring, and he pulled his head back and gasped. The two of them watched with wide eyes as Snap seemed to go feral, yowling loudly when Mr. Wilter grabbed onto him. The old man hissed softly as he held the zoner against himself, trying to get him to stop struggling. Without warning, Snap bit down on his arm, causing Mr. Wilter to cry out in pain.

“Snap?! What are you doing?!” Penny found herself shouting. Snap glared at her with those white eyes and for a few split seconds, Penny could not recognize her friend.

“Whoa whoa there, little fellow!” Mr. Wilter called out. “There’s no need to… Ouch!” Snap had struck against his injured side. Mr. Wilter started to buckle a little, but he still managed to hang on. “What is wrong with you? Don’t you see we’re trying to help?!”

“Let me try.”

All eyes turned to Rapsheeba, the zoner that they had forgotten was here. Penny felt a clutch of dread in her chest when she realized she was guilty of this as well. They all had been so focused on Snap and figuring out what to do next, they had forgotten about Rapsheeba, who was still tied up. Penny felt horrible and she wanted to punch herself in the gut for doing such a horrible thing.

With the others still frozen, likely stunned as they realized as well what they did, Penny nodded her head slowly. She got up and went over towards Raspheeba. She was still fearful of what the zoner might do, but she was still willing to take the chance. She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, then she dropped onto her knees and untied Rapsheeba. She moved back and watched her, waiting to see what was going to happen.

Everyone held their breath as they watched Rapsheeba slowly approaching Snap, still held in Mr. Wilter’s arms. None of them knew what to expect and they acted as though she could go feral as well. They didn’t know what had caused her or Snap to go crazy and they had to act as though something could go wrong at any moment. Penny and Rudy were the most tense, both of them recalling how they had initially found her and all that blood…

So far, things seemed to be going fine, though. Rapsheeba reached out towards Snap and gently caressed him, her hand moving up and down his leg, which was the only thing that she could reach. Although the man had been rightfully skeptical, Mr. Wilter did eventually lower himself down enough to hand Snap over to her.

The reaction was almost like night and day. While Snap seemed angry and defensive at the prospect of being touched by a human, when it came to a fellow zoner like Raspheeba, he immediately calmed down. Snap didn’t speak, but the look in his eyes as he stared at her showed just how much more relaxed he’s become. He leaned himself into Rapsheeba, cuddling up against her. His growling and hissing had all but stopped, replaced by shaky, terrified breathing.

Penny exchanged worried glances with Rudy. He stared back at her, looking just as worried. Then they both continued to watch as Rapsheeba gently settled Snap back down, keeping her encased in her arms, fighting off whatever pain she herself had been feeling.

Ms. Saffron and Mr. Wilter were also quiet. They hadn’t attempted to bicker with each other and Mr. Wilter didn’t make any sort of remark against her. Penny was glad for this, but she also knew just how unnerving this situation was in order to make them stop fighting like that. She did still hope, though, that they would remain this way until they at least got somewhere that they could hide in.

Knowing that time was ticking away, and with Snap currently subdued, Penny stretched herself out a little and, grabbing onto Rudy’s wrist, tugging on it a little. Rudy stared over at her, his eyes still filled with pain. Penny looked at him sadly and patted him on his arm. Then she looked over at where Ms. Saffron was. “Which way do we need to go?”

Ms. Saffron lifted her head up to acknowledge Penny’s question. “It should be down this way.” She said as she motioned with her hand. “It shouldn’t be too far.”

No one said a word as everyone began to follow the woman. Even Mr. Wilter, who glared suspiciously at her, didn’t say a word.

As they left, Penny looked over at Rudy, exchanging glances between him and Snap. She wanted to say something to comfort him, but nothing would come out of her mouth. Instead, she opted to just reach out and squeeze his hand. Rudy stiffened up at this and looked at her, surprised by the gesture. Then he smiled back, filled with sadness, and he tightened his grip right back.

sss

“Draow?! Draow, where the hell are you?! Of all the times for you to disappear like this…!”

Draow’s ears twitched as he heard his name being called. He raised his head up and he looked over at where the voice was coming from. He couldn’t see anyone yet, but then a shadow moved along the ground. He growled deeply, recognizing the shadow, and the voice, as belonging to only one person.

Mr. Cosmo.

The human was looking for him and judging from the tone of his voice, he was not happy with him. This caused the zoner feel a tug in his chest and he started to wonder if choosing to work for Bardot had been a good investment. Would this have only quickened his punishment? Would this have given Mr. Cosmo more of a reason to ‘retire’ him?

But then he reminded himself that it probably didn’t matter what he did. Mr. Cosmo might still try to get rid of him later on, anyway. Mr. Cosmo saw him as a threat. He was a zoner. A large, imposing, practically invulnerable zoner. Why would Mr. Cosmo want to keep something like him around? He narrowed his eyes slowly as he watched the human moving through the nearby hallway. He hunched his body a little, letting his wings rise up a little.

He could soon feel a paw on his thigh. He jumped from the touch before swerving around to glare at who had touched him. Of course it had to be Bardot.

“Gee, you are so jumpy.” Bardot cooed.

Draow raised a wing up, the pointed tip aiming at the small zoner. “You should take care to warn me before you pull that kind of shit!”

“Yes, of course. My apologies.”

Draow narrowed his eyes. Something told him that Bardot wasn’t really sorry at all. Nonetheless, he remained silent as he watched the zoner started to hold out his paw, palm facing up, and moving it forward and back a few times, signaling something. And that something, Draow found out in a matter of seconds. He didn’t need for Bardot to say anything else.

It was clear that Bardot wanted him to follow Mr. Cosmo. This was confirmed when he nodded his head slowly. Though all Draow could do was just stare at Bardot, keeping his eyes narrowed.

“Draow! Come on out!”

Draow hissed at how loud that voice was. His ear gave a few twitches and he turned his head to look over at Mr. Cosmo. He was moving away this time, having missed him entirely, somehow. He grumbled softly under his breath as he tried to figure out what he should do. He knew that he would only piss the human off further if he didn’t do anything and Bardot did appear to want him to go confront the man. But a part of him wondered if that was the best way to go about this, or if he should try something else.

He didn’t spend too much time trying to dwell on that. He already knew what he had to do. If he were to delay this, that just endangered things further. And there was the repeated, exhausted fact that, yes, he still felt something for Mr. Cosmo. That bit of lingering loyalty was still there. And so, giving one last look at Bardot and a passing glance to Skrawl, he turned and he started to head down the hallway to catch up to Mr. Cosmo.

He wasn’t really sure if he was making the right choice or not. But he would find out in due time.

sss

Hmph, that took a little longer than he thought. He would have figured that Draow would have responded more quickly. Had he gotten slow? Or had he just expected too much from him?

Oh well, at least the beast started to move on. Bardot watched as the large zoner approached Mr. Cosmo. He smiled at this, opening his mouth to lick his lips slowly. Things were about to get very interesting. He could just see it now. If Draow understood what he wanted him to do and if he did manage to actually do it, then he was…

The yellow and red zoner suddenly got interrupted when he felt something grabbing onto him. He felt his tail poof up and his crest rise up briefly before he forced himself to relax. He narrowed his eyes and smiled as he watched Skrawl down below him. It would seem that the zoner had gotten a wee bit grumpy and was now holding him in the air like he was some kind of disposable cargo.

“Oh hello there, Skrawl.” Bardot said in a pleasant-sounding voice, as if nothing bad was going on. “How are you doing? You seem a little upset right now and…” He grunted when Skrawl pulled him forward a little and then smashed him up against a nearby wall. Bardot hissed in pain. “Hey, take it easy!” He glared up at Skrawl, his teeth becoming bared. “You could have broken something there.”

Skrawl just glared at him, his mismatched eyes looking as if they were going to shoot lasers at him. The large zoner moved in closer, enough for Bardot to almost see something like a reflection off of the massive jellybean zoner’s teeth. For the first time, Bardot did start to feel some uncomfortableness 

“Don’t you dare think that for one minute, I’d forget what you did to me…” Skrawl’s voice rumbled in his throat. He gave him a glare that would have surely killed Bardot if glares were lethal.

Bardot blinked at this, and then he smiled softly. “Oh but dear Skrawl, you know that I…”

“Raawrr!”

Skrawl’s mouth opened up and he let out a loud roar, the hot air hitting against Bardot’s face like he had gotten stuck in the middle of a tropical storm. Then he slowly shut his large mouth and growled at Bardot, his grip on him tightening. Bardot flinched as he felt those claws pressing against his flesh, nearly poking through. He closed his eyes and grunted before glaring back at Skrawl.

It would seem that this was going to be one situation that was going to be tougher to work around than he thought.

sss

Mr. Cosmo growled as he looked around, trying to figure out where that beast had gotten off to. He gritted his teeth together in frustration. It wasn’t like Draow to not come to him. There was that one time, but he had doubt that Draow was still ‘distracted’. He was a big, tough zoner. He should be able to handle himself.

….perhaps a little too well…

He shook the thought out of his head. He didn’t need to worry about Draow. He was a loyal creature, probably the safest of the zoners to be around. He had control over him. He would do whatever he said. There was no way that Draow would ever think of disobeying him….right?

As much as he did want to be positive on that, the truth was, any zoner was unpredictable. This included Draow. Perhaps it was time that he started to be cautious around him.

Mr. Cosmo soon heard a small growl behind him, then the sound of something thudding the ground and tapping. He turned his head and he could see Draow approaching him slowly. Mr. Cosmo turned himself around to face him, keeping his eyes narrowed. Draow’s body was a bit low, but more like he was just being cautious. The lowered head and straight back ears and the lowered tail also indicated that Draow still knew his place. The sight of this made the man smile.

“Ah, there you are, Draow.” Mr. Cosmo set aside whatever previous frustrations that he had. “I am so glad to see you. I was wondering where you have gotten off to.”

Draow let out a low growl and continued forward. His head lowered down further. Mr. Cosmo walked forward. He reached out and he placed his hand on the middle of Draow’s forehead. The zoner immediately made a low rumbling moan, almost like a cat that was purring. Mr. Cosmo stroked Draow’s head and then moved his hand down to the wolf-like zoner’s furry cheek. The beast leaned into it, closing his eyes softly, obviously enjoying this attention.

Mr. Cosmo continued rubbing and scritching his cheek as he said, “I do have a special assignment for you. I think that if there’s anyone I can count on to get this done, it’s you.”

Draow lifted his head away a little and stared at Mr. Cosmo. He soon moved in closer, his snout pointing to the ground, as he pushed the top of his head against Mr. Cosmo. The man chuckled at this as he wrapped his arms around the massive beast’s head. He pulled him a little close to him, staring into his teal eyes.

“I have locked up some ‘special guests’ in my office.” At Draow’s ear twitch, Mr. Cosmo said, “I take it you know who I’m talking about.” Draow’s low snarl answered his question. “I would like for you to come with me so we can take care of them. I was going to just have you hold them down for me, but you know what…?” He lifted Draow’s head up a little, looking intently at that muzzle of his. He shuddered at the thought of his teeth, but today, they will come in handy. “I think we outta teach them a lesson, right?”

Draow’s tail raised up a little and he started to move it from side to side. He was starting to get excited.

Mr. Cosmo grinned. “So when we get in there….” He leaned himself forward and he whispered into Draow’s ear, “Kill Penny.”

sss

Finding the room hadn’t taken that much time. In fact, it was much sooner than Ms. Saffron had anticipated. A part of her had been worried that they would be wandering around back here and she would once again be accused of trying to mislead them. While she couldn’t blame the others for their suspicions, she wished that they would at least be more willing to give her a chance. Especially that old man.

Ms. Saffron looked behind her to make sure that the others were still following. She was happy to see that they had been and they were moving alongside her to take a look at the large room. She could see their expressions and she could tell that they were mystified, as though they hadn’t been expecting this.

All of this was intermixed with what they were feeling before. Even when she wasn’t looking, Ms. Saffron could easily sense the pain radiating around them. The hopelessness and fear, it congregated together to form a tight ball, and there wasn’t much that could be done to escape it. This was especially strong with Rudy and Snap. Both had an aura that was tense and almost completely….she wasn’t really sure of what the appropriate word was here, but she knew it was nothing good.

Ms. Saffron could also sense something with that Rapsheeba zoner. Something did feel off about her and she wanted to bet it had been that nail in her head. Seeing how Rapsheeba seemed to be acting normal, she wanted to guess that the tin foil Rudy had put on her was working. But there was no guarantee this fast. They still needed to wait and see if it can hold up to the test. And if it did, then it could be applied to the other zoners, including Snap and…

“So this is the portal, eh? I have to admit… It’s pretty impressive.” Mr. Wilter said. From the tone of his voice, it was clear that this had been a very painful thing for him to admit. He licked his lips slowly and swallowed. “Just like how I imagined Mr. Cosmo to build it…”

Rudy and Penny exchanged nervous glances. They nodded their heads in agreement. They moved a little closer together, as though to comfort one another for what they were now approaching. Snap didn’t really do anything, but Rapsheeba’s eyes were furrowed in a determined expression. It was like she was sensing she was getting close to home.

Ms. Saffron looked back at the portal, recalling just how amazed she was when she first saw this thing. It hadn’t even been that long ago, but it almost felt like an eternity since she was last in there.

The portal was square-shaped due to the large frame that had been build around it. It stood up tall with thick bars offering support to the massive brick-like sheet that it held. It was not just chalkboards that chalk portals could be created on. All Mr. Cosmo needed was a huge slab of concrete and he was set. Now this seemingly useless piece of concrete was held up, surrounded by round, metallic bars with some inscriptions on them, most likely just for show, and the portal that had been drawn on it still glowed brightly. The light radiated outward, sifting around like it was being filtered.

All in all, it was a rather impressive portal like Mr. Wilter stated. It was huge, designed to allow Draow to go back and forth. Mr. Cosmo had needed a way to send in his ‘precious pet’ in ChalkZone to fetch some zoners. It had been going on for a while and Ms. Saffron couldn’t be precisely sure when it all started. She had a feeling that Mr. Cosmo would contradict anything that she had to say.

She did get something of a weird feeling as she approached the thing. It was difficult for her to describe. Perhaps it was the feeling of true accomplishment. Perhaps it was something akin to feeling free, doing something that she decided on rather than what Mr. Cosmo wanted of her. Either way, it was something that she’d never forget.

Mr. Wilter broke her train of thought. “Well, it’s nice to see that you can speak the truth once in a while.”

Ms. Saffron growled at this, indignant that this man was still treating her like this. But she knew better to open her mouth. She recalled the last few times that she had done that.

Mr. Wilter continued, “So exactly where does this thing lead out to?” He folded his arms to his chest as he scrutinized the portal, his narrowed eyes moving up and down its structure slowly. “I mean, it’s huge. How did that man even hide this?”

“Yeah that does seem odd.” Penny admitted. She looked over at Ms. Saffron, her eyes narrowed in confusion. “Did Mr. Cosmo do….something to keep this hidden? And just where in ChalkZone does it lead?”

Ms. Saffron didn’t know how to respond to that. She had never actually been through the portal. She was nervous about the idea of crossing dimensions and she didn’t know how it would feel like. A part of her feared that it would hurt badly and another part of her feared that it could be something worse.

But there was perhaps at least one of those questions that she could offer some kind of answer to.

Ms. Saffron cleared her throat. Then she said, “Far as I know, he’s somehow made this a one-way mirror kind of thing, where we can see it just fine on the outside, but on the inside, it’s invisible. Don’t ask me how he’s managed that.” She waved her hands from side to side. “I don’t know if he actually did something special with the chalk, finding a way to control the portals themselves, or if it’s an optical illusion given wherever this portal leads out to.” She turned her head to look at the large portal once more. “But I can promise you that it works. Draow’s able to use it. I assume it should be safe for the rest of you to use.”

“...You assume… But you don’t know…”

This comment had come from not Mr. Wilter, but from Rudy. The young boy’s gaze was downward, his hands forming into small, loose fists. Poor thing was still reeling from what happened between him and Snap earlier. Ms. Saffron couldn’t help but feel sorry for the child.

Rudy lifted his head up to stare at Ms. Saffron. His gaze held not anger but a sting of disappointment. “But I guess...this is as good as it’s going to get right..?”

Ms. Saffron was silent at first, unsure of exactly how she should respond to that statement. This one was even more difficult to answer for considering the tone of voice rudy had used. It was almost as if he was starting to surrender to fate. The thought horrified the woman, but she feared that if she said anything, she would only hasten this decision. So she just swallowed hard and nodded her head slowly.

Rudy did not respond.

“So which one of us should go first?” Mr. Wilter walked around the portal slowly. He was still examining it. Ms. Saffron bet that he was just trying to find some sort of ‘hidden trap’ so that he could accuse her of something. But so far, the man didn’t seem focused on that. “This looks pretty stable, though it’s been a while since I’ve used one of these.” The old man gave a small smile, as though reminiscing. “It’s….going to be quite the experience going back in.”

“Hey Mr. Wilter, I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Penny approached the man slowly. “I know there isn’t much time for this but I do feel it needs to be asked.” She looked up at the man, who was staring at her expectantly. “If humans were kicked out of ChalkZone years ago, then how did Rudy come into possession of the magic chalk in your classroom?”

This question caused everyone else, including the still disgruntled Snap, to stare over at Mr. Wilter. The old teacher looked as if he had been caught off guard, with how he was cringing a little. He looked at everyone one by one, mostly focusing on Penny herself. He opened his mouth and he tried to speak.

“Well I...umm…” But his voice kept fumbling and distorting.

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes slowly. “Why are you acting like this? It was just a simple question.”

Mr. Wilter shot a glare at her. “It’s not any of your business! Just…!”

“But it is our business.” Rudy was the next one to speak up. He sounded a bit more alert this time, as though this turn of events had caught his attention. “Just how did I get the magic chalk in your classroom? Did you plant it there?”

Penny took a step forward. “And if you did, just where did you get it? How could you have gotten any chalk if you were kicked out?”

Tension was rapidly rising in the room. Not to the point of boiling over into a fight, but it was so thick in here that you could use a knife to cut out a slice. Mr. Wilter was almost literally backed into a corner as the others watched him, waiting for an answer. It was obvious that the question made him nervous, and this was a red flag to Ms. Saffron. Did he actually have something to hide?

Though as much as she would have loved to point out the hypocrisy, she knew that there wasn’t time for that. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that no one was coming. Then she turned her attention back to the others. She could hear them constantly asking the increasingly frustrated Mr. Wilter questions. She drew in a deep breath and then she did something she didn’t think she’d ever do.

She aided that old, grouchy teacher.

“Hey now, let’s wait until later before you pester him about this.” Ms. Saffron spoke as firmly and authoritatively as she could. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we are far from out of the woods.”

“Yes, but we also need to make sure we don’t leave too soon.” Penny said quickly, obviously not taking it as slow as she should have. “If we’re going to trap Mr. Cosmo….” Her voice trailed off as if she finally realized what she just did.

Ms. Saffron flinched. She waited to see what fireworks would come out of this.

Rudy was already staring over at Penny. His face was filled with shock, his eyes widened like saucers. He remained this way for several seconds, not even trying to speak. Penny looked over at him with a worried expression. She tried to speak, but she too was silent.

Snap and Rapsheeba both looked horrified. Snap huddled closer to Rapsheeba for comfort, while the dreadlocked zoner looked like she couldn’t believe what she just heard. And Mr. Wilter wasn’t much better. The man’s face looked like it had lost all of its color and he became whiter than usual.

But Penny’s focus was only on Rudy. The boy was looking at her, his narrowing eyes piercing through her heart and chest and mind. The aura that the boy had was unnerving, making Ms. Saffron back away slowly. She wanted to say something to try to prevent this from getting any worse. But she felt that she would make Penny’s situation more problematic, especially if they found out she was in on this plan. She could only watch and hope that things don’t fall down too far.

“You were going to...what…?” Rudy asked. His teeth were gritted against one another. His voice had a growly edge to it. “Penny… why would you…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. He looked away, shutting his eyes tightly. “I-I thought that..”

“Rudy… I know what it sounds like, but I assure you… I’m not trying to…” Penny reached out towards Rudy. He growled and moved away from her, causing Penny to flinch a little, pulling her hand back, her fingers curling inward. She bit her lip firmly and said, “Rudy, I’m just trying to help save ChalkZone and…”

Rudy rushed towards her quickly, moving faster than anyone would have anticipated. He reached over and he grabbed onto her shoulders. He then pushed her forward, practically running, before he rammed her against the nearby wall. The girl let out a yelp of pain when he did this.

Everyone else looked on in shock but weren’t sure how to intervene or if they should.

Rudy tightened his grip on Penny, nearly digging his fingers into her shoulder. “How could you be so stupid?! I thought you would have known how risky that would be!”

Penny looked at Rudy with wide eyes. She struggled a little in his grasp, trying to get herself free. “R-Rudy...please stop… Y-You’re hurting me…”

“Rudy Tabootie!” Mr. Wilter cried out. “That’s no way to treat your friend!”

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes. “Rudy, let Penny go. Now….”

Ms. Saffron watched the scene play out before her. Rudy glared back at them, looking almost pissed that they were trying to interrupt him. He didn’t say anything, but words weren’t needed to describe that expression that he was giving them. Then he looked over at the zoners. Rapsheeba and Snap weren’t saying anything, but they held different expressions. Rapsheeba looked stunned, and Snap had a more angry expression, and it was clear that Rudy was reacting to it.

Rudy shuddered once before he turned to glare back at Penny. He gripped her harder, his body shaking, emotion rumbling through his body. He gritted his teeth more tightly and he looked like he was ready to lash out at the frightened Penny.

...but then he just shoved her to the side. Penny tumbled back and fell into the ground, landing on her side. She pushed herself up on one arm and she looked up at Rudy. She drew in a few shaky breaths as she stared at her friend, shock and fear written clearly on her face.

Rudy just snarled down at her, still shaking. But he soon exhaled forcibly, which seemed to cause the shaking to subside for now. But for some reason, this made him look more intimidating than he did before. He looked straight into Penny’s eyes and hissed, “You’re no protector…”

Penny gasped at this. The zoners looked uncomfortable and Mr. Wilter’s mouth dropped open. Ms. Saffron watched this with a tug in her heart. While Rudy had not gone as far as disown Penny as a friend, it was clear that his words were still devastating.

“R-Rudy…” Penny whispered. “Y-You don’t mean that… do you..?”

Rudy glared at her in response before looking away from her swiftly. That provided all the answer that Penny needed to know. The girl looked away from him, her gaze pointed towards the ground.

Ms. Saffron watched this in silence, looking over at Mr. Wilter. She could see the concern in the man’s eyes, mirroring her own. No, it was more than that. This man knew these children for longer, didn’t he? He had seen them interacting before. He was their teacher for crying out loud. She wondered if he had ever seen them like this before. The thought caused her to shudder internally. She couldn’t imagine what he was feeling right now.

And she also had concern for the zoners. They must have known these guys for a long time as well. They looked just as shocked by this turn of events. Ms. Saffron watched carefully as the zoners moved back away, going towards the portal. She didn’t try to stop them. She could understand why they felt the need to get out of here. She doubted anyone wanted to get between this. That included Ms. Saffron herself.

Though the tension in the air was still strong and Rudy didn’t look like he had settled down any, Ms. Saffron didn’t want to stay here a moment longer. Who knows how long it would be before Mr. Cosmo would…

A low growl emanated through the air, sending chills through Ms. Saffron’s body. Her eyes widened in horror. She just had to be right, didn’t she..?

“Raaawrrrrr!”

Without warning, Draow crashed into the room loudly, his mouth open and snarling. His feet slipped on the ground a little, scraping along it with a high pitched noise. The beast moved faster than it would appear that he was capable of doing. He rushed around and ran towards the portal. He jumped into the air, spreading his wings out to carry him forward more, and then he landed on the ground in a pounce, his flexing talons nearly striking Rapsheeba and Snap. Draow let out a loud roar as he moved in closer towards these two zoners, arching his body like he was ready to strike.

Rudy snapped out of his rage mode as he saw Draow getting ready to attack. He shook his head before rushing forward. “No! Leave them alone!”

Draow looked over in his direction and snapped his jaws at him. Rudy grunted and jumped out of the way. He looked up at Draow with a horrified stare, his eyes wide and teeth bared. Draow snarled, his eyes glowing, before he moved in to try to attack Rudy again. The jaws closed down much closer and Rudy was lucky to avoid any of it at all.

Ms. Saffron backed away when she saw Draow looking at her next. He uttered a low growl and he looked so spiteful of her. But then he looked away. The creature turned his head until he was looking straight at….

Draow suddenly charged towards Penny.

Rudy stared in shock when this happened, unable to do anything. Mr. Wilter shouted Penny’s name as he ran towards her. Despite his injuries, he managed to push Penny out of the way, wrapping his arms around her as the two crashed into the ground. Draow rushed by, grazing them. Their hair moved about in response to that. They looked up, wide eyes upon Draow, who was turning around and walking deliberately slowly back at them, his body hunched and tail raised.

Ms. Saffron watched this in horror and her mind raced as she tried to think of what she could do. They were so close to getting out of here, but with Draow now present… She swallowed hard, feeling a sting in her stomach. She didn’t know how they were going to get out of this. Not unless…

Her eyes widened as she realized something. There could be something that she could do. She didn’t know if it would work or not. But she had to try something, right? And if this could buy them time, then…

Suddenly she felt someone grabbing her from behind. She let out a pained grunt as she was pushed up against the wall, more painfully than Rudy had done to Penny.

“Ms. Saffron!” Penny shouted in shock.

Ms. Saffron could feel someone pushing their elbow against her in a painful fashion, digging into her arm. The attacker’s hand grabbed her head and was pushing it against the wall firmly, nearly scraping her cheek against it. She forced herself to look behind her the best that she could. With her straining eyes, she was able to see who stood there.

“Mr. Cosmo…” Ms. Saffron hissed softly.

“Ms. Saffron… I see you’ve been busy.” Mr. Cosmo responded coolly. He leaned in closer to her, nearly whispering into her ear, “When were you going to tell me about this? Were you trying to keep secrets from me?” Ms. Saffron grunted as the man pushed her even harder into the wall, pain spreading throughout her body. “Oh Ms. Saffron, you should know better than that. I’m very disappointed in you.”

Ms. Saffron grunted as she continued to struggle against the man’s grasp. She ignored the pain that she was feeling as she tried to get the man to let go of her. But he twisted her arm now and she let out a cry of pain. Unwillingly, she forced herself to hold still. If she didn’t, the man would have surely twisted her arm out of its socket.

“S-So I was right about you...” Mr. Wilter growled from where he was on the ground. “Y-You really were trying to trap us again...”

Ms. Saffron stared at the man in shock. “Th-That’s not true!”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this as he grabbed her chin and twisted her neck, forcing her to look at him. “My, my, looks like you’ve developed a reputation with them as well. You really get around, don’t you, dear?”

Ms. Saffron had to struggle to not throw up when the man put his lips against hers. This time, she was able to react and she jerked herself away, stopping the kiss before it lasted that long. But she could still feel those lips on hers and she shuddered. She used the wall to wipe off the man’s saliva before she glared back at him.

Mr. Cosmo just smiled at this. “You want to fight me? Isn’t that cute...” He leaned in and whispered to her, “Go ahead and try. I...” The man’s eyes suddenly widened and he let out an airy gasp.

Ms. Saffron had managed to shove her elbow sharply against the man’s diaphram.

The man let her go, staggering back as he grabbed onto his stomach. He trembled as he lifted his head up, his hair covering part of his face now. He glared daggers at her and he hissed, “Y-You bitch....”

Ms. Saffron widened her eyes at that tone. She backed away, staring at the man for a few moments, before she turned around and she started to bolt away from him. But she wasn’t trying to flee form the room. She had another target. And she wasn’t going to miss.

As Draow was opening his wings upward and his jaws wide, Ms. Saffron launched herself at Draow. She clung to him tightly, gripping his fur and trying to wrap her legs around him. Draow was so startled by this that he basically froze for several seconds before he started to struggle, swinging himself from side to side as he tried in vain to dislodge her. He let out several snarls and snaps of frustration, his eyes wide and glowing.

“What are you...” Penny started to say.

Ms. Saffron held on as tightly as she could as she stared at the others. Through gritted teeth, she shouted, “Just get out of here! I’ll try to keep them busy!”

Ms. Saffron wasn’t sure how long she could keep this up. She would imagine only a couple of minutes, if even that. But she had to keep trying. If there was any time that she felt she could make up for what she did before, now was the time. She could only hope that it was good enough.

sss

Mr. Cosmo blinked in surprise when he heard of what Ms. Saffron was trying to do. His anger still lingered, though now it was being suppressed by a small smile of surprise and amusement. She never ceased to amaze him, didn’t she? Just when he thought that she couldn’t shock him, here came this. Oh how noble she was…

It was just a shame that she was soon going to regret this decision.

He hardly watched the others leave. Before, he would have been pissed to know that Rudy and the others escaped into ChalkZone. But right now, all that mattered was this woman whom was bravely fighting Draow. He was impressed that she was able to hold on for so long. It was just a shame that she was using this talent for the wrong purposes. He wished that she would start seeing things his way again.

Slowly, he started to make his way towards her. He could deal with the others later. Dealing with Ms. Saffron shouldn’t take too long.

Draow shook his head from side to side, trying to shake off the woman. He would charge forward and push against the ground. He would roll over, collide with the walls nearby, so many stuff just to make her loosen her grip. But though Ms. Saffron was clearly taking a beating, she still refused to let go. Something was compelling her to keep holding on, and Draow’s attempts just were not enough to stop her from clinging to his fur.

This only made the winged beast zoner even more determined. He ran around the room, scraping the ground in sharp turns, and collided with the walls, smashing himself against it, pressing Ms. Saffron between him and the wall. He then charged forward and lowered his head, pressing his nose against the ground, and then pushing up with his massive legs. This caused him to do a somersault. Flipping his body forward like this did seem to work a little, but Ms. Saffron would still hang on. It was quite amazing, really. Mr. Cosmo had to wonder how long she could take this before she would have to give up.

As such, he decided to hold back and watch this play out a little while longer. He folded his arms to his chest and he smirked as he watched Draow continuously try to dislodge the woman. He got more antsy, more determined, more energetic. He would swing himself more violently to each side. He would somersault and roll around and collide more often. Whatever pain it was causing him, apparently it wasn’t enough to stop him. That was second nature to him compared to this annoying woman who just would not let him alone.

Eventually, Draow took a stance, his feet spread out and talons pushing into the ground, his wings partially raised at either side, and he pulled his head back. A loud screech came out of his mouth, a cry very reminiscent of that stupid pterosaur, Tsere. Encountering that creature all those years ago did have some benefits, such as learning new tricks.

Mr. Cosmo was able to cover his ears up, ensuring that he wouldn’t be as affected. Though it was still difficult to keep anything from hurting. A dull pain was already forming in his ears and he had to struggle to keep himself from crying out.

But Ms. Saffron was a different story.

Mr. Cosmo could see that she was clearly suffering from this. She was trying to hold on, trying to fight back. But she found it impossible. Not without trying to cover her ears. She opted to use one hand but that only meant protecting one ear at a time. And with only one other hand gripping Draow, this allowed the winged wolf to finally knock her off of him. The woman hit the ground in a loud thud, curling up as she struggled to cover and protect her ears.

That was when Draow struck down with this foot. He hit against her body and held her down. Ms. Saffron squirmed about, her body twisting and turning this way and that. But she could not free herself. She opted to glare up at the beast who now held her down, trying to look like she wasn’t afraid of him. But both Mr. Cosmo and Draow could tell just how terrified she really was. Draow seemed to sneer at the woman and Mr. Cosmo offered his own look of confidence and humor.

“My, Ms. Saffron, that was quite the show.” Mr. Cosmo said as he slow clapped a few times. Ms. Saffron squirmed a little before shooting him a sharp glare. “I never would have guessed that you were a good wrestler. If I had known earlier, we could have made use of this.”

“There’s no ‘we’ anymore!” Shouted Ms. Saffron. “Whatever you think you are planning for me, just forget it! I’ll never work for you again!”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled softly at this. He moved in a little closer, watching the woman carefully. He had little fear of her trying to get away. She had nowhere to go. But he was getting rather curious. Exactly what was the right path to go with this woman?

Should he keep her?

Or get rid of her?

That was the question.

Mr. Cosmo fully understood the risks of both. Ms. Saffron had already betrayed him enough times for her to be considered a threat. It might be best to just get rid of him and move on. He had other, more loyal followers for him to use in his plans. And they were much easier to control. There would be no need to worry about fighting or struggling with them.

Yet at the same time, he did think that it would be such a waste to get rid of Ms. Saffron so soon. She had been helpful and she did help push things forward more quickly than with the others. And with how she handled herself with Draow, even if she ultimately lost… Did he really want to give up on that kind of talent? Were there any other employees that he had that could say that they took on Draow chalkless and managed to hang on for more than a minute? He didn’t think so.

This was going to be a tough decision. He thought he knew for certain before, but now he didn’t know.

His eyes suddenly twinkled. But there was still something that he could do with her. Even if he didn’t know how he was going to deal with her later, she could still be of some help to him.

Mr. Cosmo reached out and started to pat her on the head. As he ran his fingers along and through her blonde hair, as she hissed at him. He did not seem too deterred by this. He was more interested in testing out his little ‘theory’. Surely this woman knows of what the others were going to try to pull. Spy Fly couldn’t tell him everything, only that they were going to try to stop him there. But he didn’t know how.

Ms. Saffron, if his theory is correct, would surely know. And she was going to tell him everything. He would make sure of that.

“I think you have something to tell me, Ms. Saffron.” Mr. Cosmo cooed gently. He moved his hand along the back of her head, soon moving it down to her cheek. As he caressed there, he added, “I promise your punishment will be gentle if you willingly tell me what I want to know.”

Ms. Saffron just bared her teeth and snarled. She then lobbed a bit of spit in his direction. Mr. Cosmo hissed a little when it landed on his cheek. He wiped it away, his eyes narrowing as at her.

“I see we are going to have to do this the hard way then.” Mr. Cosmo growled lowly. “You just can’t make this easy, can you?”

“Go to hell…” Ms. Saffron’s eyes blazed.

“Hmrph. Uncooperative. Tsk, tsk… and here I thought you would have learned your lesson about that.” Mr. Cosmo tilted his head to one side. He stared at her with one eye, studying her carefully. He silently searched for any sign of weakness, but though the woman was slightly faltering, he doubted that she would give in any time soon. And he needed results quickly. “Why can’t you just make things easier on yourself and stop trying to resist so much? You aren’t going to get any benefit from it. It’s not like they even appreciate your help.”

Ms. Saffron narrowed her eyes further.

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head the other direction. “So why are you even bothering to help them? I can tell that they don’t really like you. They don’t want you anywhere near them. They think that you’re their enemy. So why don’t you just become that?” Mr. Cosmo put his face close to hers. “Come back to me, Ms. Saffron. I am willing to give you another chance. Join with me one more time. Tell me what I want to know, and I promise that you will not get hurt.”

Ms. Saffron seemed to start settling down a little, but that didn’t last long before she started to squirm and fight against his stare. She forced herself to look away, keeping her eyes shut. “N-No… I won’t..! I…”

Mr. Cosmo grabbed her chin and forced her head upwards. The swift motion was enough to cause the woman’s eyes to open up, and soon as she did, they were locked onto his. She immediately froze, her mouth dropping partially open. Mr. Cosmo continued to stare at her, his eyes starting to give off a small bit of a black glow.

“It’s all right now. You’re safe. All I want is some information. All I want is your help. There is nothing to be afraid of. Just relax and give yourself in…”

Ms. Saffron did struggle a little, but quickly, all of that stopped and soon she was just stuck rigid, her body still. Her eyes became relaxed and somewhat dulled. It wasn’t long before they, too, began to glow black, though a much fainter version than his. “...y-yes… I’ll...help… you…” She whispered under her breath.

Mr. Cosmo smiled at this. “Good girl. So tell me, Ms. Saffron. Just what are those little dears trying to do with me?”

sss

Bardot let out a low growl as he stared intently at Skrawl. He had his tail raised up, swishing it from side to side. His narrowed eyes bore right through him, almost seeing what was on the other side of the jellybean zoner. He kept his teeth bared, his gums exposed with his lips curled up. His green eyes were narrowed into slits, looking almost like crescent moon shapes than anything, and they would have appeared to almost glow to anyone watching.

Skrawl was on his knees at this point, hardly moving at all. Bardot had managed to get free from him and now his claws were pressed against him. His paw gripped on the large zoner’s body, and there was a soft glow coming from his claws that seeped into Skrawl’s body. The zoner gave a few shudders at random, but was otherwise mostly still. Despite this, Bardot still refused to move his paw away from him, continuing to growl lowly.

How dare this stupid zoner try to get in the way… How dare he try to usurp him… Did he not feel any sort of gratefulness towards him? He had been willing to give him a chance and look at what he had tried to do…

Well, now Skrawl could enjoy just standing there, unable to move, yet being somewhat aware. His eyes were open and dulled, and his breathing had grown heavy. The glowy aura had started to spread through his outline slowly, seeping into other parts of his body. It was a more subdued version of what he had done to him before. Bardot didn’t want to waste that much energy on this zoner. He just wanted to stop him.

A part of Bardot wondered if he should just get rid of him. Did it really benefit him at all to keep this big thing around? He did already have Draow and shouldn’t that be enough? But then again, Skrawl here might still have something to offer him. He just needed to figure out how he was going to get that benefit.

He slowly licked his lips, trying to think of what he was going to do now. It had been more difficult than he thought to make the zoner let go of him. If he were to let him go now, then as soon as the effect would wear off, Skrawl may try again. With the knowledge of what had happened before, he might be able to escape this fate, dodge, and get a lethal strike in, if the zoner so desired to try to kill him. If Bardot wanted to protect himself, now was the best time to ensure that.

Bardot tightened his grip on Skrawl, causing the zoner to flinch and hiss. He held his paw down like this for several moments before he finally pulled back. A few sparks of red flashed as he did so, and when the final spark was gone, Skrawl had collapsed on the ground completely, on his side. He twisted a few times, his limbs kicking out once or twice, before he lifted his head up and stared over at him. It was hard to tell if he was fully back yet. His eyes looked almost as if he was just looking straight through him. Nonetheless, Bardot still approached him slowly, keeping his gaze locked onto his.

“I don’t know where you got the idea to do that with me, Skrawl. You should have been grateful that I still had use for you. Now you are leaving me with quite the conundrum. I don’t… I can’t afford to have anyone getting in the way. And unlike Mr. Cosmo, I’m not soft.” Bardot put his head close to Skrawl’s, his snout pointed downward so that he could see him more easily. “So tell me Skrawl… Do you wish to join that human? You know, the female one that you helped to kill?” He tilted his head to the side as he leaned in, his back legs stretching outward, his tail growing rigid. “Because I will be more than glad to grant you that same fate.”

Skrawl didn’t respond. There was a flash of fear in his eyes, though he hardly moved. He was still subdued by the red energy that now flowed throughout his outline.

Bardot gave a small smile at this, chuckling softly. “You know, it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t need to keep having these run-around-in-circles situations. We could work together. We could both get what we wanted. All you have to do….” Bardot reached forward and touched Skrawl’s cheek. “...is listen to what I have to say, and put these silly notions of trying to ‘get back at me’ far behind you. I thought you were better than that.”

Skrawl couldn’t seem to bring himself to answer. But it didn’t really matter if he did or not. Regardless of how Skrawl would reply, that didn’t change the face that he was certainly a threat now to what he wanted to accomplish. If Skrawl had done this before, he would certainly try again later.

So he would keep him around for now. But eventually, something needed to be done about him. Skrawl couldn’t be permitted to have the same amount of freedom as he once had before. Thankfully, the red energy would keep him subdued enough so that when came time to get rid of him, if he so desired to, it should be very easy. And using this red energy would give him more direct control of the zoner’s body, or at least a great deal of manipulation.

Skrawl had, for the second time, literally became his weapon. And soon, if he were to encounter him again, so would Snap. Both of these zoners had been fun to toy around with earlier. Perhaps Draow should join in the mix. Now he would be a real grand prize. The thought made him grin.

But first…

Bardot reaffirmed his stare into Skrawl’s eyes, his pupils growing in size. “Hey Skrawl, let me show you something…”


	46. At The End Of The Line

“Come on, hurry! Get in through!”

“We’re coming! Please hold on!”

Racing through the portal was something that Mr. Wilter never thought was going to happen. And it created an experience for him that he never thought he would feel again, especially not as an adult.

There was an immediate change when he went through the white light, feeling it crawling over him like some kind of solid beam, and then racing upwards throughout the rest of his body. He could feel himself tripping forward a little, struggling to right himself before he wound up falling down. The air had went from that ugly stagnant from before, to something that was somehow simultaenously dirtier and cleaner.

Chalk air.

He was in ChalkZone.

Mr. Wilter held his breath as he looked around slowly, getting a full idea of just where he was. The portal had led into a deep cave structure, set in far into the ground. He licked his lips slowly, realizing that this was how Mr. Cosmo had kept the portal secret. Clever man...

He shook the thought out of his head as he started to walk forward slowly. He guessed that the exit must be ahead. The path seemed to twist around, and with how jagged and rough the tunnel looked, he guessed that it was made by hand. Maybe Mr. Cosmo had... No, it was most likely Draow. This looked like something that he would do. And with the tunnel itself winding around where the giant portal was, it would definitely explain why the light doesn’t reach outside, wherever outside happened to be.

Before he headed out any further, he looked behind him to see where Rudy and Penny were. They were standing near the portal, panting heavily, their attention turning to Snap and Rapsheeba. The zoners themselves looked more shaken up than the human children, which kind of surprised Mr. Wilter. But he didn’t think too deeply into it. After all, they were all still recovering from what had happened.

But they couldn’t rest here. They were too close to the portal. Even if Ms. Saffron was going to try to stop Mr. Cosmo and Draow, he had his doubts that she was going to win that fight. That meant that, if they want a chance to escape, they needed to leave now.

Mr. Wilter approached the group, staring at them intently. He tried to speak gently, not wanting to trigger any unwanted emotions in any of them. “Come on, we should start heading out. We’ll rest elsewhere.”

He had expected them to listen right away. He thought that they knew the danger of where they were and how important it was to leave. But instead, he got something that confused and frustrated him.

They just...stared at him. For several moments, it was just quiet, nothing but stares. He couldn’t even tell if they were considering his advice or hearing his words. It was like, to them, he was speaking a whole different language or something. It was so confusing and so irritating that Mr. Wilter nearly shouted those words again. Come on, these guys had to know they had to leave, right? They weren’t stupid. They...

Then they did finally start moving. But not the way that he would have hoped for. Rather than moving slowly towards him in a more professional manner that he would have expected, they instead were remained focused on one another. There were some specific behaviors that Mr. Wilter was rapidly taking note of.

Rudy glaring at Penny, moving away from her, and Penny looking guilt ridden.

Rapsheeba looking rather nervous about something, like she thought something horrible was going to happen at any time. And Snap once more glaring at Rudy like he had committed a crime.

And both groups were silent.

Mr. Wilter let out a forced sigh. As much as he would have ‘loved’ to let this continue on, there was just no time for that. He wasn’t going to just stand there. He was going to take action, and sure enough he did. He didn’t care how they were going to react to him. He needed to force them to get moving.

The old man managed to get between the pair of humans and couple of zoners. He turned his back to the zoners and he grabbed onto Rudy and Penny’s shoulder, pushing lightly against them to force them a bit apart. He glared at them intently as he growled, “Like I was saying.... It’s time to get a move on.”

Rudy and Penny stared at each other. Rudy still glared at Penny, uttering a low growl from his mouth. But he didn’t attempt to say another word and opted to just snort at her. He then started to walk away, heading towards the same winding tunnel that Mr. Wilter had been looking at.

Penny just stood there quietly for several long moments. Her hands were formed into what was best described as loose fists. She put them close to her mouth as she breathed in and out shakingly. It was clear that she was trying to fight back a few tears. He couldn’t really blame her, given what happened between her and Rudy. And quite frankly, he was still in shock about that as well and he wasn’t sure what to think of her at this point. That didn’t stop him from feeling sympathy for her, though.

Eventually, Penny just started to walk slowly behind Rudy. The sight was rather heart-breaking for the old man to watch. He was used to the two walking together, side by side, but now Penny was deliberately pulling herself back, being behind Rudy rather than beside him. Mr. Wilter hoped that this was only temporary. Getting into a fight like this right now could spell disaster for them later on.

He looked over at where Snap and Rapsheeba were. They hadn’t really said anything since they got out. The only thing that Mr. Wilter could be sure of is that Snap wasn’t happy with Rudy for whatever reason. Yet he still seemed to have enough awareness of what was going on. Mr. Wilter couldn’t tell exactly what was going on with that zoner. He just knew that he didn’t want anything to do with Rudy right now.

But despite wanting so much to talk and to figure things out, Mr. Wilter held his voice. They needed to get a move on first and find a safer place to be. He didn’t know exactly where they could go, but anywhere was safe from here. The sooner they got a move on, the better.

And so Mr. Wilter joined in Rudy and Penny in heading towards the exit, which was surely around the bend. The two zoners were much slower to respond, but soon he could hear the pitter patter of their feet as they joined in. Mr. Wilter looked over his shoulder to see how they were holding up. Aside from looking slightly relieved from being back in ChalkZone, the pair didn’t look particularly pleased right now.

Mr. Wilter kept his attention in front of him. He shifted his eyes left and right, making sure that there was no sort of booby trap anywhere. You could never be too careful when it came to getting away from Mr. Cosmo. That man could just...

Then Rudy and Penny stopped, becoming frozen into statues. Mr. Wilter blinked and stared at them in confusion. He wondered what the hold up could be. Mr. Wilter bit his lip and he forced himself to walk forward further. He could hear the zoners stopping walking just as they hit the spot he was just in. Neither approached further to see why Rudy and Penny had stopped. And when he got there, a part of Mr. Wilter wondered if he should wish that he had done what Rapheeba and Snap did instead.

The tunnel had opened out behind the Chalk Mine.

sss

The boy’s eyes opened wide and he stared out ahead of him. He took in a few shaky breaths as he tried to register what had happened. He last knew that they were rushing to get out of Mr. Cosmo’s place and they had gone through the portal and it wound up….here? Something about that didn’t add up. Was something else going on here that they were missing?

Just how could they have gotten to the Chalk Mine? Rudy thought for sure it was in a different direction. He thought that they couldn’t have been anywhere near it. Nothing about this was adding up correctly. He bit his lip firmly as his mind raced about. He struggled and he fought with his mind to figure out just what the heck was going on around here. Yet nothing would come to mind. He was just...stumped.

The fact that they were so close to the Chalk Mine from here had some horrific implications. He could just feel those thoughts creeping up through his head, tormenting him, and forcing him to mentally deal with what the reality was. No matter how he looked at it, he just could not deny that things had just gotten more complicated.

And the others were sharing his sentiments as well.

“It was this close..?” Penny whispered softly. She approached a little closer, her wide eyes watching the mines before her carefully. “He was this close…? But… But… How did he…” Penny looked over at Rudy, almost as though she thought that he was going to have the answers to this question. “How did Draow even get through here without Biclops noticing?”

Rudy’s eyes widened in shock at this, his body going stiff. Penny was right. Biclops was almost always in the mines. He would have seen or at least heard Draow. And whenever Draow would take someone, Biclops should have heard the screams. And yet he did nothing. What the heck was going on there?

Rapsheeba’s voice came out as a small squeak. “B-Biclops said he would try to protect us…” Her voice trailed off as emotion rushed through her body. It sounded as though she was feeling betrayed. And why wouldn’t she? Biclops should have been aware of what was going on.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes furrowed slightly. “Maybe something happened?” He suggested, holding his hand up in gesture. “If I know anything about Cy….I mean Biclops, it’s that he isn’t the type to neglect things. Maybe he did nothing about Draow because he didn’t know Draow was here?”

Snap looked up and stared at Mr. Wilter in confusion. At first, Rudy thought that he was going to be quiet like he was before. But this time, he did speak. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to startle Rudy. With a somewhat croaky voice, Snap said, “Like what…?”

Mr. Wilter tapped his chin thoughtfully at this question. “I’m not really sure. But there has to be a reason, right? I doubt he would have just….”

Rudy looked away from the scene, ignoring what Mr. Wilter said next. He focused his attention on the Chalk Mine before him. He did take the man’s words into consideration. There did have to be something else going on. He refused to believe that Biclops would have just purposefully neglected his duties. That just didn’t add up in the boy’s mind. But with how close this opening was to the mines….how could he have…?

Nothing was making sense. It seemed nothing that Rudy came up with would explain this. The only thing that would was if Biclops purposefully neglected protecting ChalkZone, which Rudy found doubtful. The giant zoner would have been dedicated to helping protect the zoners if he knew a threat was lurking about. With his massive size, he would have been able to stop Draow easily. He could have even ended it quicker, if need be. The thought made the boy shudder, but sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures.

At this, Rudy suddenly gasped, his eyes going wide once more. Desperate times...desperate measures…. Why didn’t he see it before?

“Rudy? What’s wrong?” He could hear Penny ask. He could see her motioning her hand towards him. “You look like you’ve seen something terrible.”

Rudy instinctively moved away from her hand. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at her. He was still more pissed off at Penny then he was with Biclops. He still couldn’t believe what Penny had almost done before. He could feel his hand tightening into a fist and he had to struggle to keep himself from shouting at her. Penny did move a step back and lowered her head a little. But this wasn’t enough to make Rudy feel better. He had to physically move away from her.

Rudy turned his attention to the others. He began to make his speech.

“Hey, I think I have an idea of what might have happened.”

The others looked at him carefully. He could see Mr. Wilter and the two zoners looking at him. He could feel Penny’s stare behind him, which made him shudder in anger. Snap’s stare wasn’t much better. He could see how furious the zoner still seemed to be with him. He wished that Snap would try to….

He pushed the thought aside for now as he continued, “I’m thinking that Draow must have been sent during whenever Biclops was asleep. I mean, think about it. Biclops wouldn’t have been as likely to hear anything if Draow were to only come whenever he was taking a nap or sleeping.”

“That...does make sense.” Penny admitted. “And Biclops did say that Mr. Cosmo knew him well. Perhaps Mr. Cosmo knew when Biclops would be too tired to do anything about Draow.” She lifted her head up, her eyes going wide. “...that would also explain why Biclops didn’t try to stop Draow…”

Rapsheeba was apparently on the same mindset. “Yes, that does make sense. If Biclops didn’t see Draow, then…”

Silence fell upon the group as they glanced at each other nervously. There was no more need for any words about this. They all could comprehend what this meant. There was no doubt in their minds that Mr. Cosmo would have done something like this. Wait until he knew Biclops was asleep and take advantage of that. To make a move when there was no way for Biclops to even fight back. Such a low, disgusting act… It was something they all would have expected that horrible, disgusting man to do.

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly. That man must have had some kind of agenda. He must have wanted to make it seem like Biclops was at fault. To turn the zoners against him, to make things harder for… Rudy shook his head, keeping his thoughts under control the best that he could. But he was not sure how long he could keep this up. Just how could Mr. Cosmo do something like that? How could he try to get the others to blame the giant for something that wasn’t his fault? Even though it didn’t end up being that terrible, just the mere fact that this was even attempted…

But at least Biclops did try to do something. Even if it happened to be at the wrong time, it wasn’t like he was deliberately trying to get ChalkZone in danger. He was doing all that he could to keep it safe and any endangerment that resulted from that was accidental.

He couldn’t say the same thing about Penny’s plan.

But he didn’t have time to try to scold Penny again. That would have been a waste of time. He didn’t even give her another glance as he looked back over at the Chalk Mine. They had been standing around here for way too long. Now was the time to take action.

“Come on, you guys…” Rudy whispered softly. “We should try to…”

Just then, they all heard a loud scream.

“Aaaahhh!”

Everyone froze, looking back at the tunnel they came out of in shock. They remained frozen like statues, breathing in and out shakingly, their bodies trembling from the sudden sound that ‘graced’ their ears. Rudy and Penny moved back quickly, Snap hung onto Rapsheeba more firmly, and Mr. Wilter moved his arm away and his wide eyes stared intently, as though he thought something was going to come out at any given moment.

The scream echoed everywhere within those tunnels, making it grow louder and louder. Soon it appeared to spill out as though part of some kind of instrument. They could almost feel it moving upward and then out before it finally dispersed, fading out and leaving everyone in a stunned state of mind. They stared at the tunnel opening for several seconds before glancing at one another.

Horror spread through Rudy’s mind, his blood going cold, as that scream, even after it was gone, kept echoing in his head. Rudy found it difficult to breathe, goosebumps spreading along his body. Realization crawled through the back of his head and he pulled his head back as it dawned on him just whose scream that belonged to.

“That was Ms. Saffron…!” Penny called out. Rudy just stared at her in silence. So he hadn’t been the only one to notice. “What...What are we supposed to do now…?”

Not one of them present had any sort of answer to that. They could only keep silent, their bodies still having emotional shakes, still taken aback by what just happened. Even Mr. Wilter wasn’t left unaffected. His face looked as though he had lost a few shades of color. And Snap looked almost worried, as if in a way, he sort of liked Ms. Saffron, or at least knew her long enough to feel something for her.

But Rudy knew that there was only one thing that they could do. There was only one option that they could take that could finally lead them to victory.

“We talk to Biclops.”

sss

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes as he watched Ms. Saffron squirming in the jaws of Draow. She kept struggling in his grasp, striking at him, trying to force him to open up his jaws, anything. She even went as far as trying to pry his mouth open with her bare hands. That only resulted in her getting her hands torn up, blood seeping from the puncture wounds.

Mr. Cosmo still had to give her credit for keeping on fighting. Even with Draow having the upperhand, getting an attack in before she could do anything, Ms. Saffron still tried to fight. Once she was out of that trance he had put her in, she had tried to attack almost right away. She was too late of course, but that didn’t stop her from trying. That much he had to admire her for. It was a shame that things had to turn out this way, but he could at least say that she went out with a bang.

In front of him, he watched as Ms. Saffron hung up in the air, her limbs going nuts. She was kicking at Draow, punching at his neck, ripping at his neck fur. And Draow was hardly responding to it. To him, her moves were nothing more than the bite of a mosquito. Annoying, but doable. There was nothing stopping Draow from holding her up in the air, his jaws pressed against her upper chest and neck area. Even Ms. Saffron’s really desperate attempts involving biting and saliva weren’t enough to make Draow let go. He did little more than hiss before gripping her tighter in his jaws.

Mr. Cosmo watched with a frown upon his face, staring at Ms. Saffron with a look of disappointment. He kept his arms folded around against himself, intended to make himself look indifferent, but in reality, it was just his attempt to hide his own sorrow about what needed to be done. He knew that he had no other choice. He just didn’t like having to kill his own employees if they were still useful. And Ms. Saffron could have been useful...but given what happened with her before, it just wasn’t worth the risk.

With a slow nod of his head, he signaled to Draow to make the final move.

Ms. Saffron turned to glare at him. As Draow’s jaws tightened around her, drawing more blood, the beast shuddering and trying to ignore the pain, Ms. Saffron called out to him, her eyes blazing with both tears and emotion. “You will fall! Mark my words, Teddisson Cosmo! You will burn in hell!”

That was the last thing that the woman said before Draow’s jaws closed all the way. There was a sickening crack and Ms. Saffron let out a gasp of pain. Blood splattered on Mr. Cosmo’s face as well as the ground around them. He slowly wiped the blood from his face as he watched Ms. Saffron’s final desperate attempts to live. She struggled to scream again like she had before, but something stopped her. It didn’t take long for Mr. Cosmo to realize that Draow had punctured her lungs, the air hissing out like a leaky balloon. Blood poured down the wolf bat’s face and it finally got to be too much. Draow released the woman to shake off the burning, acidic blood steaming from his mouth. Ms. Saffron thudded in the ground, releasing an airless grunt of pain.

Mr. Cosmo stared at her with an almost expressionless face. He looked almost disinterested as he watched her spasm and choke on her own blood. In truth, this was hurting him on the inside. He would have loved to avoid this, but there had been no other choice. She would have just kept getting in the way. So as Ms. Saffron finally released her shuddering, final breath, Mr. Cosmo could only close his eyes softly. If only things hadn’t need to go this way…

Mr. Cosmo reopened his eyes and he moved in closer. He stopped in front of Ms. Saffron’s recently deceased corpse, which was already going through its death throes. He dropped onto a knee in front of her, staring at her with a slightly sad expression. He reached out towards her and planted his hand on her head, stroking her hair slowly.

“I’m so sorry about this, Ms. Saffron. You will be missed.” He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her forehead and moved back. “Rest in peace.”

The man brought himself back up to his feet before breathing out a deep sigh. He stared down at Ms. Saffron for a few more seconds before he shifted his gaze to Draow. The massive zoner was still wiping off the blood, and he could see some of the burn marks on his muzzle. He narrowed his eyes a little. Even though he gave the order, he still felt some anger towards Draow for following it. But again, he couldn’t blame him. After all, he was the one who told him to kill Ms. Saffron.

But it wasn’t Ms. Saffron that he wanted dead right now. No, the one that he felt truly deserved to die resided beyond the portal. The one that he had neglected to go through because Ms. Saffron here decided to play hero. Feh...and look at where that had gotten her…

Mr. Cosmo shook his head slowly. There was no more need to concern himself with that, anyway. Right now, he needed to focus his attention on dealing with those idiots in ChalkZone. Ms. Saffron had told him what they had planned, and the thought amused him. Just how ironic it was that their plan was to trap him in the same place where he would have the most advantage.

Did they not notice where they ended up…?

Mr. Cosmo chuckled as he turned to face the massive wolf bat zoner. He whistled to the creature, causing him to come rushing over at him and staring at him eagerly. Mr. Cosmo reached over to rub the underneath of Draow’s muzzle as he stared over intently at the portal. “Guess where we’re going..” Mr. Cosmo cooed to the zoner.

sss

“Why won’t you let me go?” Mrs. Tabootie screamed at the doctor. “Why won’t you let me try to find my son?”

“We just want to see him. How could you be so cruel?” Mr. Tabootie joined in.

The doctor just looked at them sadly, her head lowered a little. There was obvious pain in her eyes. It was not hard for Mrs. Sanchez to see it. It was clear as day that the female doctor standing in front of her didn’t want to keep her friends tied down like this, cuffed to their beds. But she did know that there hadn’t been any other choice.

“The police are doing what they can. You two have to remain here.” The female doctor said. She sounded slightly exhausted, possibly from having to tell the same thing over and over again. But she still explained anyway, knowing that it was the right thing to do. “Whatever is going on with you, it’s making you more hyperactive and more anxious. We need to treat it first before we let you go out anywhere.”

Mr. Tabootie’s eyes blazed. “We’ll tear you apart if you don’t let us go!”

Mrs. Sanchez just flinched at this, cringing a little when she heard her friend talk like that. Saying that they were more ‘hyperactive and anxious’ as an understatement. A word that she would use in this case was ‘paranoid’. That word alone best fit what she saw before, and she did know of people who pass out from intense paranoia and…

Her thoughts trailed off. She couldn’t help but shudder as she recalled that black stuff she had looked at. She did not yet share her findings with the doctors. She wasn’t sure how to explain how it could have induced fear in these two people, nor could she figure out how to explain how it could be contagious. She had little fear here given that the hospital likely would have kept the disease at bay. But that did little to keep her fully calm. She knew that something was going to need to be done soon.

The one thing that she couldn’t find out for certain though...and that was whether or not there was a cure. She had no clue if the disease would reverse itself if removed from the body. And how could it be removed? Which how it moved through the bloodstream and how it behaved, it didn’t act enough like any microorganism that she knew in order to figure out what kind of medicine would be required. That made this situation even more tense.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she could hear another shout from Mrs. Tabootie. No words, just a purified cry of rage. Mr. Tabootie joined in as they both tried and struggled on the bed. They were yanking themselves from side to side, trying to force themselves free. They were trying to pull their arms from the bed as if they hoped that the cuffs would break. All the while, they thrashed about, almost sounding like a couple of wild animals trying to get out of their cages.

Mrs. Sanchez couldn’t stay here another moment longer. Seeing her friends like this hurt her too much. The longer she stared at this, the more urgent she could feel her heart racing. She clutched her chest tightly as she started to back away quickly. She had hoped to visit and talk to her friends, but not while they were like this. Not while they were….feral...terrified…

Mrs. Sanchez was soon out of the room. She put her back against the nearby wall as she panted heavily. She struggled to keep her heart from beating too quickly, her mind going dizzy. She ignored this dizziness sensation as her mind sifted through her thoughts. There had been so much going on lately and she could feel herself getting sick from remembering it all. From Ms. Saffron and Penny, to Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie to this darn mystery disease.. It was all becoming too much for her.

Yet by some miracle, she managed to keep herself from collapsing entirely. She fought with her legs to keep herself up, though she could still feel herself swaying from side to side. She gritted her teeth as she clung to the wall to keep some sense of balance. She wasn’t sure how long she could handle staying like this, however, and she just…

“Ma’am?” A voice called out to her.

Mrs. Sanchez felt herself jolting a little at the sudden voice. She turned her head and she could see a man standing there, looking at her with concern. Mrs. Sanchez could feel herself starting to blush, a tingling sensation spreading along her cheeks. She put a hand to her chest and said, “Oh! I’m sorry, I….”

“It’s quite all right.” The man responded, a smile spreading along his face. “Do you need some help? You looked like you were about to faint.”

Mrs. Sanchez shook her head. “I’m fine. I just…” She looked towards the ground, rubbing her hands against themselves nervously. “I-I guess I just saw something that fr...worries me.”

“Like what?”

“You won’t believe me, but it’s… like a black….thing, sifting through…” Mrs. Sanchez’s voice trailed off as she realized that she was just babbling on without explaining anything. She could see the man’s confused expression, his eyebrow being raised up. She let out a nervous chuckle. “It’s...quite complicated to explain. I….”

“Oh no need to worry. I completely understand.” The man said as he held his hand out towards her. “Come along with me. Let’s discuss this more in private.” He paused for a moment as he asked, “What is your name?”

“I’m Mrs. Sanchez.” She responded as she reached out towards the man’s hand. “And you are….?”

The man squeezed her hand gently. He stared at her with a reassuring gaze. “You may call me Mr. Tyreek.”


	47. Pushing Away From The Sidelines

“Ahhhhh!”

The scream that echoed throughout the hallway caused Bardot’s head to raise up quickly. He pricked his ears forward as he tried to gather as much information as he could from that scream. He let out a low growl as he started to follow it, leaving Skrawl to whimper on the ground. It wasn’t like he was going anywhere, anyway.

Bardot moved swiftly through the hallway. They hadn’t been that far. He had made sure that he and Skrawl followed enough that they could still find Draow easily. He didn’t want them to become separated.

But despite that precaution, it still felt like it was taking forever to find that zoner. The hallways suddenly felt longer and he wondered if it was his own impatience starting to rear its ugly head. His red chalk half was getting very excitable and it was getting harder and harder to keep it tamed. He fought back the best that he could, making it a silent promise that it will soon get satiated.

When he finally came to the door about a few seconds later, he lowered himself towards the ground and approached much more slowly than usual. He knew what could happen if he just rushed through. He had no clue of Mr. Cosmo was still there or not. He could smell him, but who knew if it was just lingering or if he…

But he did recognize the smell of blood. His ears flattened for a few seconds upon recognizing that blood’s scent. He felt his teeth grit tightly as his mind started to swirl a little. Had Mr. Cosmo done what he thought that he did? Bardot never thought that he would go this far. He moved in closer even more slowly, his eyes narrowing slowly into slits, his throat rumbling a little.

As soon as he was able to peer over the corner of the door, he could see that his hunch had been correct. He felt himself stiffen once more, his fur bristling up, his green eyes flashing. He stared at the scene before them, letting his mind slowly come to grips with what he was seeing.

Ms. Saffron had been killed. She now lay in a pool of her own blood, her shoulder and chest crushed affectively. He couldn’t tell if she had her eyes open or if she had any sort of pain distortion upon her face, as her head was turned away. But he could see the culprit standing right over her. Draow had some blood still stained on his mouth, a dead give away that he was the one who did this. And standing next to him, speaking to him softly, was Mr. Cosmo himself.

Bardot remained silent as he watched this play out. He kept his eyes narrowed, staring mostly at Mr. Cosmo. It wasn’t like he had been friends with Ms. Saffron or anything. But the mere fact that she was killed at all did prove to him that Mr. Cosmo was even more willing to take risks than he realized. This could prove a problem later on. If he were this unhinged, then…

...or perhaps it could be used to his advantage. Mr. Cosmo was more likely to slip up and this could lead to him losing support. And without that support, it would become easier to deal with him. He could then focus his attention on those other humans and push his plans forward some more. He could finally have a way to begin setting red chalk control in stone. The thought made him smile softly.

He did go rigid once more when Draow appeared to notice him. The corner of the beast’s teal eyes was looking straight at him. Bardot was silent, struggling to think of how to respond. It was tough seeing how he couldn’t do anything verbally. Not without drawing Mr. Cosmo’s attention.

But there was one thing that he could do.

He smiled more broadly and he nodded to Draow. A silent statement that the plan was still going fine. A silent command that he still go along with what Mr. Cosmo says. And a reminder that things were about to change soon.

Draow gave a half smile, one that was too faint for the man to even notice, but Bardot read it loud and clear. He grinned a little before backing away, allowing Draow to continue on with his work. Bardot casted one more stare at Ms. Saffron’s corpse, shaking his head slowly, before he turned and walked back to meet up with Skrawl once more.

sss

Oh crap… It would seem that getting into to see Biclops was not going to be as easy as they thought. They should have better prepared themselves. But then again, how were any of them supposed to know that a couple of the zoner prisoners had escaped out here?

Now here they stood, forced to face off against Lars, Blocky, and Lazlo, a purple stick figure chef that Rudy recalled had been one of the two who scolded him and Snap for breaking the window. All three had a mind control thing in them, and they were all still under the influence. Rudy wasn’t sure how that was possible across dimensions. But he didn’t have time to question that. He had to move quickly to the side in order to dodge the next attack.

“Ugh..” Penny hissed as she hit the floor. She hadn’t been so lucky. She shook her head as she lifted herself up on her arms and elbows. She looked up just in time to see Blocky trying to pile drive her. She rolled out of the way just in time. She cried out pleadingly, “Please, stop this, you guys!”

But it wasn’t like the zoners would listen to her. They couldn’t even try to listen. Whatever was inside of their heads, those fucking nails, it controlled their very moves. It was hard to tell if they were even still conscious for this. All that Rudy knew for certain is that if he held still for too long, he was going to get hurt.

Rudy gritted his teeth when he saw Lazlo approaching him, holding a makeshift weapon in the form of a stick. Rudy barely dodged it as he ducked under, then he reached out with his foot and hit against Lazlo’s thin legs, causing his knees to buckle. When the zoner was down onto his knees, Rudy grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him back. He moved away quickly before the zoner could recover.

He soon looked all around him as he tried to figure out just how these zoners were still being affected by the nail devices. The signals shouldn’t even work anymore, right? Or were they still too close to the portal for the zoners to escape it? Or had they brought something with that was still carrying out the signals? Rudy could feel his head hurting as he tried to think of something. But ultimately, he was at a loss.

“Just where did these guys come from?!” Mr. Wilter cried out. He was hanging onto Lars, trying to pull the bear into the ground. Lars was putting up quite the fight, snapping his jaws wildly. “I didn’t even see them when we started to approach!”

Rudy couldn’t answer. He was confused by this as well. They all were. He watched Mr. Wilter for a few more seconds, seeing him struggling against the bear with the blood-stained mouth, a sight that horrified him, before looking over at where Snap and Rapsheeba were. Upon seeing that Blocky was trying to menace them after his failed attempt to attack Penny, Rudy rushed over and used his shoulder to knock back his old creation.

Rudy then swerved to stare at the two startled zoners. “You have to get out of here!” Rudy shouted, his eyes wide in determination. “Get to the nearest hospital! It’s too dangerous for you two to be here! Just go! Run!”

He didn’t need to tell Rapsheeba and Snap twice. Just as soon as he finished telling them to leave, they hightailed it out of here. Rudy did feel bad about not having someone go with them, but he did trust that they would be able to get to safety. He didn’t want them to stick around here while there was danger too close by. He also wished that these zoners would leave as well, as he didn’t want them to get hurt either. But at least Snap and Rapsheeba would be safe. For now, anyway.

He was quickly reminded that the other zoners were not subdued yet as he was pushed into the ground. He grunted and hissed in pain when Blocky decided to set his sights on him instead. Rudy could feel him wrapping his thin yet strong body around him, as if trying to mimic a snake. Rudy growled as he twisted himself from side to side. But Blocky refused to let go, tightening his grip.

“Rudy!”

Rudy turned his head in time to see Penny rushing over as quickly as she could, her feet pounding the ground heavily, her mouth open and panting. She didn’t waste any time in grabbing onto Blocky’s feet and pulling him back. But the act of doing so caused the zoner to tighten around Rudy even more, forcing the boy to grunt painfully.

Penny gasped when she realized what she was doing and she loosened her grip and tried something else. She reached over and she gripped onto Blocky’s side. She held on tightly and started to pull at it like she were trying to rip paper. This action was shocking to Rudy, but it was still getting results. Before he knew it, Blocky was forced to let go of him. Rudy scrambled up to his feet and he stared directly at Penny.

“Are you okay, Rudy?” Penny asked cautiously.

Rudy slowly narrowed his eyes and nodded his head. “Y-Yeah… I’m good. Umm...thanks…”

Penny smiled at him softly. Then she turned her head to look behind Rudy. Her eyes went wide. “Rudy, look out!”

Rudy barely had time to even try looking over his shoulder before Penny wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down with her. Rudy grunted as he hit the ground. At the same time, he could feel something whizzing by him, a rush of air, and a deep guttural growl graced his ears. He opened his eyes just in time to see a flash of white and he realized that it was Lars who had made that move against him.

The polar bear zoner moved around as quickly as he could, moving in a wide circle. He soon glared back at the two humans, down on all fours, his ears flattening against his head. His lips were pulled back into a snarl and he looked ready to tear into them at any moment.

And sure enough, the bear zoner was already charging at them. Rudy could just hear how heavy he was despite him being smaller than a normal polar bear. He and Penny struggled up to their feet, trying to avoid an attack. But they weren’t able to do anything to stop that massive head from hitting against them. They let out screams of pain as they were tossed through the air, rolling and spluttering painfully across the dirty ground.

Rudy stopped several feet away. He could taste some rocks in his mouth and he spat them out. He saw them deforming due to his saliva, which served as a reminder of the nature of any Real World liquid in ChalkZone. But he couldn’t use this against a living zoner...could he?

Rudy’s eyes widened in pain as he felt Lars biting down on his arm. He could feel blood pooling from where the teeth penetrated his flesh and he could feel Lars attempting to crack his arm bone. Rudy let out a scream before, out of desperation, widening his jaws and biting back.

It didn’t take long for the taste of chalk to fill his mouth, and even shorter before Lars let out a roar of pain, releasing him. Rudy kept his mouth biting down onto Lars’s leg, sinking his teeth in a little. His saliva was acting like an acid and burning through the chalky flesh. This was not something that he was proud of to do. But he did understand that he had little choice. He made sure to bite down hard enough to leave a bloody mark, and a reminder for Lars to not mess with him.

That didn’t work like he had hoped, however, and Lars just struck him with his other paw. The claws raked along his face, causing some blood to start seeping over his eyes and go towards his mouth. Soon Rudy could taste his own blood and he struggled not to throw up. He glared at Lars, wiping off whatever chalk bits had started to cling to his face, and he started to walk around him slowly, his eyes staring right into his. Rudy tensed and arched his body in preparation of an attack. He had no idea how long he could stay like this. But he was not going to give this zoner another chance to attack him.

He didn’t need to make another move as Mr. Wilter, having recovered from being thrown off, jumped on top of Lars. The polar bear zoner immediately roared and reared up onto his hind legs to try to strike at him. Mr. Wilter wrapped his arms around the zoner’s neck and attempted to choke him. The effort started to pay off when the zoner was being forced into the ground. But how long could Mr. Wilter hold him there?

Rudy flinched when he heard Penny scream. His eyes filled with a blurred vision as he looked over as quickly as possible and he soon saw Penny being hounded on by both Blocky and Lazlo. Rudy narrowed his eyes and he let out a growl. He ran over as quickly as possible, his feet pounding the ground, as he tried to catch up to them as soon as his body would allow.

Just as Lazlo was going to try punching Penny, Rudy reached over and grabbed onto the stick figure zoner’s arm and pulled him back. He managed to swing the zoner to one side, allowing him to collide with the ground. Then he turned his head in time to see Blocky trying to get the jump on him. Rudy hissed as he grabbed onto Blocky’s hand just as it made contact with his skin. Rudy ignored the red marks that formed there as he lifted and threw Blocky over his head, causing him to collide with Lazlo.

As the two zoners collapsed into the ground, Penny struggled back up to her feet. She looked over at Rudy and she offered a small smile. “Thanks, Rud…”

“It was nothing.” Rudy said bluntly. Penny stared at Rudy with wide eyes, clearly shocked by this statement. Rudy ignored her expression as he turned to glare at the two zoners on the ground and then looked over at the one currently menacing Mr. Wilter. Without looking at Penny, he said, “We need a way to stop these zoners. They’re blocking our path to see Biclops.” He gave Penny a slight sideways glance, though he still refused to look at her directly. “Do you have any ideas?”

Penny bit her lip firmly, her mind’s gears turning about. Rudy watched her cautiously as she tried to find something that could be done. He hoped that she would have a better idea than her stupid ‘bring Mr. Cosmo into ChalkZone’ plan.

Eventually, Penny said, “Well there’s always a distraction.”

Rudy frowned a little, waiting for her to continue.

Which Penny did moments later. “One of us could remain here while the others escape.” She nearly jumped when she heard Mr. Wilter’s screams of pain, Lars now biting into his leg. She swerved her head to look at him, moving her hand in front of her face and biting her fingers nervously. “But we have to think fast. If one of us could distract these zoners, then the others can get away. But..” She looked back at Rudy. “Which one of us should be the distraction?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes a little further, cocking his head to one side. “Who indeed…?”

Penny widened her eyes at this.

sss

Skrawl let out a groan as he raised his hand up to rub his head. He flinched in pain, feeling a bloody hole in his head and he felt a wave of horrified confusion sweeping through his body. Then he realized, oh yeah… Wasn’t it ripped out when…

The pain struck him harder, making him feel sick. He dropped down onto his knees, his remaining limb struggling to fight against the pain. Everything was hurting. The dull pain in his outline was probably the worst. He couldn’t do a damn thing for that. He was going to be forced to suffer like this for however long that…

He stopped himself and tried to settle down, drawing in a slow, deep breath. He needed to remain calm. There was nothing to worry about. With Bardot gone and him having both his volition and his sanity back, no longer sobbing like a baby from some pain, Skrawl took this chance to try to get away. Despite what he had told that yellow and red zoner, he was not interested in sticking around here. He knew better than that.

But as he limped down the hallway, he realized that he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He bit his lip firmly as he looked left and right slowly. He narrowed his eyes more firmly and he let out a small growl. He wasn’t going to be deterred so easily. He was Skrawl, after all. Future ruler of ChalkZone. He wasn’t going to let something as insignificant as this ruin his chances of escape, was he?

He thought not.

Skrawl took another step forward, pushing his body to keep going. Then another step was made, and then another. He was making good progress. He just needed to…

Suddenly, he felt something against his back. His body immediately went stiff and his eyes widened. He could feel a glow coming out of them, causing him to lose his sight, replaced with a bright whiteness. Then it faded back in and everything seemed a little darkened with a hint of a red hue. He felt his body going slack against his will, his mouth dropping open.

Behind him, he could hear a growly, familiar voice speaking to him.

“Not so fast, dear Skrawly…” Bardot hissed. With what little energy that he had left, Skrawl managed to look over behind him, one of his eyes looking down at the zoner before him. “You’ve tried to be naughty, haven’t you? And after my little warning…. Tsk, tsk..” Bardot shook his head. “Maybe I should give you a more permanent waning this time.”

“Don’t you even…” Skrawl managed to utter despite his frozen state.

“What’s wrong? You sound worried.” Bardot asked, feigning worry. “You seem to think I’m going to do something wretched to you. But don’t worry. What I’m about to do… It won’t hurt for too long. Then maybe you won’t miss it.”

Skrawl tried to struggle. But so long as Bardot’s paw was on him like this, he couldn’t do anything to escape. Bardot was going all out this time, the red energy filling his outline and locking his limbs. Skrawl could do little as Bardot sent more energy up along his body and soon it centered around his head, the crown of it. Then his antenna started to tingle and…

His eyes widened. Was Bardot going to try to…

He wasn’t able to finish his thought when he could feel a wave of horrific pain searing through his head. His antenna started to feel like they were on fire. At least, two of them did anyway. He could feel that horrible energy swirling around two of his antenna, yanking at them, burning them from the inside out. It was like someone was placing them on a skillet and letting them slowly burn. He could practically hear the sizzling and the popping filling his ears, accentuated by his screams of pain.

And then finally, he couldn’t take it any longer. Skrawl felt his body going completely loose and limp, Bardot finally letting him go. His massive form fell into the ground. He laid there for several moments, seething and whimpering once more in pain. He tried to fight against this, but it was useless. He reached up with his hand and he flinched and yelped in pain when he felt those two antenna break off. He looked on in horror as his two destroyed feelers laid before him, charred and shriveled into blackness.

Slowly he looked up and he could see Bardot standing before him, sneering down at him. Somehow, from this angle, he looked much larger and more imposing than before. Skrawl still managed to glare at him despite that, though his body started to shake against his will.

“Care to try that again…?”

Skrawl growled at this, but he ultimately lowered his head.

sss

Rudy turned his head to shout at Mr. Wilter. “Come on! Into the Chalk Mine! Biclops shouldn’t be that far!”

Mr. Wilter hesitated for a moment. He turned to look over at Penny. He stared at her sadly, worriedly, before he turned to follow Rudy further into the cave.

All the while, Penny just stood there and watched. She could see the two humans fleeing around the bend to reach the main cave entrance. She didn’t move or do anything until she saw them disappear entirely. She waited until this point before she turned her attention to the three zoners nearby. It was easy to get their attention.

“Hey! Come on and get me!” Penny cried out. She moved her hands around, fighting against her own internal pain, trying to get the zoners to look over at her. Considering their current states of minds, it worked faster than she would have realized. Despite this, she still kept on a confident face. “Y-Yeah that’s right! You heard me! I know you want to get me! Try it!”

The three zoners growled, staring at her intently. They started to stalk over towards her slowly. It was as though they had formed a hunting pack and she was their prey. The realization made her blood go chilly, but she still fought against this the best that she could. Regardless of how she felt, she knew that she was the only one that stood between them and the others. She was determined to do whatever it took to succeed in keeping them away from the others.

It had taken some convincing to get Rudy to let her do this. Despite how it sounded before, Rudy was actually considering using himself as the distraction, seeing how she was injured. But Penny wouldn’t allow it. He was still more able-bodied than her despite Lars’s bite. Penny felt it would be better if she stayed behind to distract the zoners so that Rudy and Mr. Wilter could get to Biclops. Provided he was even in there, anyway…. No, he had to be there. Where else could he be? He…

Penny shook her head as she turned her attention back to the zoners. They had gotten closer, using her momentary distraction to their advantage. Penny narrowed her eyes and took on a more defensive, fighting stance. She looked at Lars, Lazlo, and Blocky one at a time, noting their expressions, their locations, and trying to make sure that they didn’t get the jump on her.

The way that they were looking at her caused her to shudder. She couldn’t imagine what was causing them to look at her in this way, nor could she think of why they were even still like this through the portal. She wanted to think that Mr. Cosmo was just an evil genius, but maybe even he doesn’t know about this? Though that would depend on whether or not he himself went into ChalkZone recently. Ms. Saffron said that he didn’t, but maybe behind her back, he could have.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Lars let out a loud roar, standing on his back legs and his mouth wide open. For a brief moment, he almost looked like he was back to normal. That is, until Penny realized that his eyes still glazed like a wild animal’s. Penny gritted her teeth and jumped back as Lars made his move. The massive zoner leapt at her and he landed in front of her. Penny coughed as dust was kicked up into the air. She then cried out in pain when Lars slammed his paw against her injured chest and pushed her down into the ground.

Seething in pain, Penny grabbed at Lars’s paw and tried to claw at it. But it was to no avail. The bear zoner barely registered this as he pushed down harder. She widened her eyes when she saw him raising up his paw to strike down at her. She looked around, left and right, trying to find something that she could use to protect herself. She soon saw a nearby pile of rocks and dust. She reached over to grab it, occasionally sparing the bear a glance, and then she picked it up. She immediately threw it into the bear’s eyes. This immediately made Lars roar in agony and stagger back away from her.

Penny crawled up onto her feet, only to be immediately jumped by Blocky and Lazlo. The two thinly drawn zoners wrapped around and grabbed onto her, using their bodies together to try to hold her still. Penny shut her eyes tightly, seething in pain, as their thin fingers acted like cutting paper, sinking into her body and drawing blood. She wriggled her way from side to side, but it seemed like she couldn’t get them off.

Moving back a few steps, nearly tripping over, Penny tried another approach. She bent herself down, forcing the zoners to slip forward a little bit, enough that she could reach behind her and grab onto their arms. She tugged and pulled and she soon managed to rip them away from her.

But as she tossed them in front of her, she realized too late that their fingers were still in deep. She wound up tearing a bit of flesh from her arms. Immediately, she let go and screamed in pain.

She held her arms to herself, cradling them the best that she could. She gritted her teeth and seethed through them. This wasn’t as bad as it could have been. But the horrible stinging combined with her wound being irritated by the chalk bits was enough to bring tears to her eyes. She lifted her head up as she looked around at the zoners before her. She kept her eyes narrowed, but her body started to tremble. Had this been a terrible idea after all?

She moved back a little, limping a few times, as the three zoners started to close in around her once more. She looked around desperately, trying to find something that she could use to defend herself with. She had forgotten about making sure that she had magic chalk. Now she was stuck here without that advantageous weapon, and one of these zoners was powerful enough to kill her with one blow.

Oh gawd, what had she been thinking….?

The three zoners continued their advancement on her. They didn’t care that she looked scared. If anything, that made them move faster as they must have realized that they had the upperhand. Their bodies became arched, Lars’s fur stood on end, claws and fingers flexed, and they all seemed ready to jump on her at any given moment. Penny could feel her heart racing, quickly realizing that she had almost no place to run and hide. She would not be able to move quickly enough to escape this, she knew. She was stuck.

Penny backed up slowly, holding her arms out. She gritted her teeth and took in shuddering breaths as she looked on in horror. She couldn’t believe that it might end up finishing this way, that she would be taken down by some people she had called friends before. She tried to fight against the tears trying to stream down her face. She tried to fight against the trembling that had taken her over. But it didn’t seem like she had any way out of this. There was no way that she could fight them all off.

Penny looked towards the ground, trying to find at least something to fend them off a little bit. Maybe if she distracted them, she could get to a higher place and taunt them from a safer location. She was a sitting duck here on the ground. But all that she could find were some rocks. Seeing no other choice, Penny bent down to scoop them up.

Penny turned to face the zoners. She bit her lip and, reluctantly, she raised up a couple of the larger rocks and pointed them at the zoners. Her fingers clutched them firmly, threatening to throw them. “D-Don’t take another step!” Penny shouted, trying to make the zoners stop advancing on her. “I-I’m not afraid to use these!”

The zoners didn’t seem at all affected. They just continued advancing on her. Their teeth were more bared now, with Lars naturally having the most intimidating, frightening set. They came closer and closer to her, growling deeply.

Penny shook harder, more tears staining her cheeks. “P-Please don’t make me use this…!” Penny raised her arm higher. “I mean it! I… Ahh!”

Penny clutched her arm to herself, a wave of pain shooting through her injured shoulder. She then felt bolts of pain lighting on fire in her chest. She dropped the rocks and held onto herself. She whimpered softly as the tears kept coming down. With her body and mind swirling with pain, she collapsed onto her knees. She seethed there, her eyes shut tightly, trying her best to cope with the pain.

Hearing footfalls, she raised her head up to see what was happening. She felt something heavy hitting against her and she was knocked into the ground. She looked up, her body exploding in pain, and she could see her slightly blurred vision fill with the sight of the three zoners holding her down, the most prominent and closest being Lars. He opened his jaws wide and she could see the drool dripping from his muzzle. Shivering, Penny shut her eyes and looked away, preparing herself for the blow.

Suddenly, Lars was forced from her, releasing her. The other two zoners backed off, their heads turned up and staring in shock as something big and heavy pulled Lars into the air. Penny stared in shock as she recognized who it was.

“D-Draow..?” Penny whispered, her voice tinged in fear and awe. She then shut her eyes and held her head down, clutching herself.

She could hear Lars roaring and shrieking in pain. She could hear Draow grunting and reacting to the zoners trying to attack him. She could hear Draow shaking Lars in his jaws before throwing him away. Draow let out aloud screech and he stomped on the ground repeatedly, and it became apparent to Penny that Draow was chasing the three zoners now. Despite her pain, she forced herself to look up and watch what was happening.

Draow’s mouth was stained with blood as he continued biting down on Lars yet again. The bear was squirming about in the bat wolf’s jaws. He clawed at him frantically. All he could manage was a few minorly bloody scratches before Draow tossed him into the ground a second time. Then he turned around and, with flattened ears, ran off towards Blocky and Lazlo. He used his head like a battering ram and swung it from side to side, knocking the two zoners a couple feet away, where they landed against the ground rather painfully. Penny flinched when she thought for sure she heard some bones cracking.

Then finally, after some more fighting, some more biting and clawing and pushing the zoners about, Draow was able to get them to flee. He ran towards them for a little bit, soon stopping to claw at the ground and raising his wings outward. His loud screech seemed to echo in the air as Blocky, Lars, and Lazlo fled into the distance.

Draow snorted for a bit before he turned his head to look over at Penny. His teal eyes remained narrowed and piercing. Penny cringed as she saw him coming towards her, lowering his head and his body in a horizontal slant. Draow released a small, barely audible growl, his ears flickering a little. Penny tensed up, unable to get herself to move. She could only just lay there and wait and see what would happen.

Then suddenly Draow stopped approaching her and his head lowered. Penny then could hear footsteps approaching her slowly from the side. She turned her head shakingly over towards the sound, and she could see none other than Mr. Cosmo coming over slowly.

The man eyed her curiously, raising an eyebrow up. “Yeesh, you look awful.” He said simply, his eyes moving up and down as though silently examining her. “See, didn’t I tell you all that zoners were dangerous?”

Penny growled at this.

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head. “Why are you getting upset? I was simply telling you the truth. You can’t deny what would have happened if we hadn’t shown up to save you.” Mr. Cosmo moved a few steps forward, spreading his hands outward. “You should be thanking us!”

Penny snorted at this. “Wh-Why should I…? They were only like that because of that shitty device you put in them!”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at this and then chuckled. “Oh my, you think so?” He put his hand to himself. “I hate to break it to you, little girl. But those devices don’t work in ChalkZone. Those zoners were acting on their own free will.” Penny widened her eyes at this statement. “They were acting like their true selves. What you witnessed was the reality that the zoners had been hiding from you.”

Penny stared in shock for a few seconds before she shook her head and turned away, growling lowly. “You’re lying…”

Draow snorted at this and, hissing, he moved a little closer. He was stopped when Mr. Cosmo raised his arm up to stop him. He stared at Draow for a second before looking back at Penny. “I am sorry you feel that way. But let’s forget that for now.” Mr. Cosmo moved in closer, moving his hand out towards her though it was hard to say if he actually was trying to grab her or not. “Why don’t you tell us where your friends went? I’m sure they could use some help as well…”

“Like hell I would ever tell you that…” Penny growled through bared teeth.

As Draow folded his ears down and flashed his teeth at her, Mr. Cosmo just stared at her unblinkingly. “You seem to think that you have a choice here. I’m afraid to inform at you that you do not.” He leaned in a little closer to Penny, staring at her intently. “You will tell us what we want to know. If you don’t, then we will find them ourselves and we will kill them. Do you understand the consequences, Penny…?”

Penny widened her eyes as her blood turned to ice. Oh no… He… He couldn’t be serious about that… Could he?


	48. Giving Up For Friends

Rudy and Mr. Wilter headed in deeper into the cave system. They moved slowly and cautiously, constantly looking around as they tried to find out where Biclops was. So far, none of them had seen him. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t here. It was just….

Maybe he was making something to eat, or taking a nap, or even doing some exercises. No, Rudy realized that they would have heard that last one. But still, they would have at least been somewhat aware of what was going on. It shouldn’t be that hard to find the giant in here. They should have heard him by now. He wasn’t exactly that silent of a zoner. Even his mere footsteps should have been enough to give away where he might be.

But so far, just….nothing. Rudy bit his lip, wondering where the zoner could be. He didn’t want to think that something happened to him. Mr. Cosmo hadn’t done anything yet...did he? The last he heard, he hadn’t gotten in here yet. Plus, wouldn’t that have given away that he was pulling some crap? With his paranoia about zoners, it would have been smart of him to avoid messing with Biclops. That would have been a quick way to get attention and…

But what about when he was kidnapping zoners? That was enough to make zoners retreat into their homes… There was no way that Mr. Cosmo would not have known that risk and yet he still did it anyway. So perhaps he still would have done something with Biclops.

Rudy’s heart clenched tightly as he and Mr. Wilter walked around the main chamber, the white chalk sparkling above them, almost as if they could feel their desperation. Mr. Wilter reached up once before stopping and lowering his hand back down. Hunching slightly, he joined Rudy right behind him as they headed in a few more feet. With one more sweeping stare around this chamber, it was clear that Biclops was not here.

So where to from here?

Rudy looked around, rubbing his arms nervously as he tried to think of which way they should go from here. Surely there had to be some direction that was more likely to lead to a result. They just needed to keep trying and something would come to mind. Or maybe they would hear Biclops. Or maybe they…

“Rudy, what is this?”

The male teenager turned to his old teacher. Mr. Wilter was looking at something upon the ground. Rudy frowned a little and he took a few steps closer. He went over to where Mr. Wilter was hunched over, hands on his hips. Rudy walked a little more forward before he looked down and tried to find what Mr. Wilter was looking for.

It took him a few moments to see it, but when he did, his body stiffened and he jumped back. He stared at it more closely, making sure that he wasn’t looking at it incorrectly. When he realized that it wasn’t, his blood started to chill.

Red. It was red. A stain of crimson. And the only thing that it could be was..

No, there had to be an explanation for this. Not everything was red. Surely this could be something different. It didn’t need to be blood.

But...But what else could it be…? At the moment, his racing mind could only think of blood and his mind immediately had a horrific set of imagery invading it. He took in several quick breaths as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened here, what might have happened. He just...didn’t want to believe it. He…

Mr. Wilter bent down even further to try to get a better look. He reached down and moved his finger along the surface. He soon lifted his finger up to examine it more carefully. He narrowed his eyes slightly. “This looks to be some sort of...sauce? It feels like sauce.”

Rudy felt his arms going loose at this. “What…?”

“I would taste it, but when I look at it, I can see some green and black bits. I...don’t think this is…” His voice trailed off. The old teacher looked over at Rudy. It was apparent what he was going to say.

Rudy could feel himself sighing in relief. Well thank goodness for that. Now he didn’t need to worry about coming upon an injured, potentially dead zoner. But of course, that still didn’t explain where Biclops was. If he wasn’t hurt, then where the heck did he go?

Mr. WIlter straightened himself up, stretching out a little. He looked down at Rudy and seemed to be able to read his expression. Mr. Wilter furrowed his eyes a little as he thought for a moment. Then he seemed to realize something. “He might be out for a walk. If he’s still like when he was still Cyclops, I do recall that he does like to walk after eating. He might be back soon.”

That did send some relief through Rudy’s body. He was still nervous, however. Something could still change. If Biclops wasn’t careful, he might end up…

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound. Rudy gritted his teeth as he and Mr. Wilter were pushed back by some strong, brief wind. They weren’t able to keep standing and they soon found themselves knocked into the ground. They hit against each other and grunted in pain before getting themselves back up onto their feet.

Looking over, Rudy could see a creature shrouded in shadow standing there. With those pointed ears and large wings, he recognized it as Draow. He narrowed his eyes and he was about to something until he noticed something dangling in Draow’s jaws. His eyes widened in horror when he recognized who Draow was carrying.

“Penny…?” Rudy whispered under his breath.

Penny looked over at him sadly, looking like she was trying to whisper an apology to him. Then her head lowered in a sign of submission. Rudy didn’t have time to ask what this was about when he heard chilling words floating in the air.

“I hear that your little friend here was trying to get me in this place. Hehehe...isn’t that ironic, little boy..? What do you think of your friend now…?”

Rudy glared over in the direction of that voice and he cursed out the name that belonged to this wretched, horrible, disgusting man. “Mr. Cosmo…”

sss

Mr. Cosmo sneered as he watched the two humans standing not far in front of him. He could see their shocked expressions and he could tell that they were clearly not expecting him. He took this as a sign of victory. If he managed to catch them off guard now, then there was hope that he could stop them before they could go through with their little plans.

He looked over to his side and watched as Penny hung there. The girl hadn’t done much to fight back since that threat. She wouldn’t try to go against them when she knew that her friends’ lives were in danger. He chuckled mentally at this. Little did she know that he had other plans.

He looked back at where Rudy and Mr. Wilter were. He knew that things weren’t going to go that smoothly, but he figured that he might as well try. What the hell did he have to lose from it, anyway? He was the one holding all the cards here and that stupid Biclops wasn’t even in the cave. He would get everything done before the giant would return.

Mr. Cosmo held his hand out towards Rudy, his palm opening up slowly. “Come now, Rudy. You don’t have much time to waste. Come over to me and we can put this whole nasty business behind us.”

Rudy growled as he took a step back, baring his teeth. Mr. Wilter moved out in front of him, putting an arm over him. “Don’t even think about it, Teddisson. Rudy has already given you his answer. Stop trying to blackmail him into doing something that he clearly doesn’t want to do.”

Mr. Cosmo rolled his eyes. “Hmph... Since when were you his parent?”

Mr. Wilter bared his teeth. “I know what you’re trying to do with him and I’m not going to allow it!”

Mr. Cosmo leaned his head to one side, raising an eyebrow. “Oh? You’re not going to allow me? And how are you going to stop me?” He motioned behind him. “You forget already that Draow is with me...and that you are without Tsere.” Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened at this. Mr. Cosmo smirked. “Yes, you remember what happened to your pet bat, don’t you?”

Mr. Wilter’s body started to tremble. His hands formed into tight fists and he looked like he was having a hard time keeping it all together. Yet despite that, he still managed to hold his ground, glaring right at Mr. Cosmo like a piercing knife through flesh. “I won’t make that same mistake again....”

“Heheheh... We will see about that.” Mr. Cosmo said as he took a step forward. “And tell me, just how did you get that magic chalk that you gave to Rudy?”

This caused Rudy to stir a little. Mr. Wilter shifted uncomfortably. The two stared at one another. It would seem that they did have some unfinished business to talk about. Perfect.

Smiling more broadly, Mr. Cosmo added, “If you want to know how I found out, well I had my reasons for that test. I won’t tell you everything. That would be spoiling. But there is one aspect I don’t mind sharing with you, and that’s the physical examination I gave each test.” Upon seeing their confused expressions, he said, “I looked under a microscope to see if I could find anything. Sure enough, I found bits of magic chalk.”

Although clearly a bit disturbed by this, Mr. Wilter managed to ask, “What does that have to do with...” He raised his finger up. “I mean, it would have helped you with Rudy and Penny.” He moved his hand to himself. “But what about me?”

Mr. Cosmo laughed at this. “Oh my, dear Horace... You mean you don’t know? You aren’t aware of how long the particles of magic chalk can cling to you?” He sneered at his former friend, watching as his eyes filled with confusion and dread. “I mean, it doesn’t last forever. But even after magic chalk rots and becomes useless, some of its magic can still cling on and last for a few years. The fact that I found any on you, even just a small spec...” He took a few steps closer, his arms folded behind his back. “...I must say I am surprised that you were able to get a hold of any magic chalk. Just how did you manage to do that, Horace?”

Rudy looked over at Mr. Wilter. He didn’t look as betrayed as Mr. Cosmo hoped, though this might only be because Rudy might have found some of this out before. But he was still not happy with Mr. Wilter and that was good enough for Mr. Cosmo. He had hoped that this question would drive some kind of wedge between the two of them. It would make it easier for him to keep Rudy from being further tainted by the wretched white chalk.

“How did you....” That was all that Rudy could bring himself to say before he shut his jaws and looked away. It was hard to tell just how hurt or betrayed he really was by this. But regardless, Mr. Cosmo did enjoy seeing it. Rudy did eventually choke out, “I-I thought that....you needed access to ChalkZone for...” He looked up at Mr. Wilter. “Did you...?”

Mr. Wilter opened his mouth to speak. He paused for a moment before closing his mouth. He looked at Rudy with a saddened expression before looking away from him.

Rudy was clearly not happy about this. “Why didn’t you say something...? How long were you going to keep it a secret?” His eyes widened briefly before narrowing slightly. “And just how did you...?”

Mr. Wilter raised his hand up. “Rudy.... I know that you are upset with me and rightfully so. But I don’t think now is a good time to be asking questions.” He shifted his gaze towards Mr. Cosmo. “We have other important things to worry about right now.”

Mr. Cosmo just smirked at this. “That’s right, Horace. Derail the subject like you always do.” He motioned his hand upwards, slowly forward towards them. “You are quite good at that. Nice to see that things have not changed that much with you.”

Mr. Wilter gritted his teeth tightly. “Fuck you. Now let Penny go.”

“What makes you think that I will just do that?” Mr. Cosmo tilted his head to the side, grinning more broadly as the two glared at him. “Naw, your little friend can stay right here with me.” Mr. Cosmo walked back towards Penny. He then stopped and looked over his shoulder. “...unless you’re willing to make a deal?”

Rudy hissed, “What kind of a deal..?” From the tone of his voice, it was easy to guess that Rudy probably already knew what he was going to say. The man continued on anyway.

“Well I know how much you must care for Penny, despite what she had done. If you care about her, then you would do whatever possible to keep her from getting hurt, am I right?”

“....where are you going with this...?”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled as he got closer to Penny. He reached his hand out towards her and grabbed onto her chin tightly, forcing her head up. Penny didn’t do much to resist, though she did glare at him. “If I were to let her go... would you join me?”

Mr. Wilter shouted, “This again?! You...!”

Rudy straightened himself up. “I won’t betray ChalkZone!”

Mr. Cosmo cocked an eyebrow. “You really don’t care about your little friend here?” He turned himself around so that he stood next to Penny. With Draow still holding her, he looped his arm around her, squeezing her neck a little in the crook of his arm. “I understood a little bit when you showed that you didn’t care about your zoner friend. But I thought that you would have cared more for your human friend. I see that I was wrong.”

Rudy took a defensive stance. He glared at Mr. Cosmo as though he expected lasers to shoot from his eyes. “Just leave her alone!”

“And why should I? Isn’t she a threat to you?” Mr. Cosmo jeered at the boy. “Didn’t you get pissed off at her for her stupid little plan? Doesn’t she deserve punishment for that?”

“N-No... I mean... Sure I was angry but...” Rudy stammered, struggling to speak. “B-But that doesn’t mean that I want.... I don’t want her to get hurt! Just leave her the fuck alone!”

“Rudy..” Penny whispered.

“Oh be quiet you...” Mr. Cosmo smacked her in the back of the head to keep her quiet. Penny let out a yelp and glared at him, but otherwise did nothing else. Mr. Cosmo noticed how Rudy and Mr. Wilter were glaring at him. He gritted his teeth in a smile. “So Rudy, I will give you a choice. You can join me and I will let your friend go, I promse. Or you can decline, and Draow here will kill your little friend.”

Rudy’s face paled and Mr. Wilter gave a small gasp.

“Oh and Rudy... There won’t be anymore tries after this.” Mr. Cosmo warned the boy. “Whatever decision you make will be final.” His voice took on a dangerous tone. He raised his hand up, curling his fingers inward slowly. “So choose wisely. You won’t get another chance.” He closed his fingers into a tight fist as he waited for Rudy to reply.

sss

He had to.... What kind of... This wasn’t fair... How could he even...

Rudy gripped his head tightly as emotions washed through his body. He could feel his legs trembling, a sense of nausea rising up in his stomach. He breathed in and out heavily, trying to catch his breath. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take before he would just vomit and spill out his internals.

He stared out ahead of him, his eyes locked onto Penny. He bit his lip firmly, feeling sweat moving own his face. He could see how terrified she was. He could also see that she was silently telling him not to do it. Seeing this just made Rudy remember how he had treated her earlier and he felt all the more shitty about it. He wasn’t going to fail her this time.

But what could he do? If he tried to charge or draw anything, Mr. Cosmo would just order Draow to kill Penny. It would be easy for that zoner to close his jaws and crush her. There would be little that he could do about it.

Yet he knew the consequences of joining Mr. Cosmo. He knew what he might be forced to become. He knew what Mr. Cosmo had no good intentions for ChalkZone. He had learned that loud and clear. Whatever decision that he made, he had to base it on whatever was best.

Unfortunately, he didn’t know what was the best.

Mr. Wilter couldn’t help him, either. The man glared at Mr. Cosmo and occassionally looked at Rudy with great sympathy. That was all that he could do. Not like he could sneak around and try to attack from the side. They were both helpless in this regard.

Rudy watched Penny as she struggled, feeling tears forming in his eyes. He could feel his mind burning, nearly beginning to break. His body started to shake a little harder as he tried to control his emotions. He just...didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to see Penny suffer....but he also didn’t want ChalkZone to be destroyed. He was stuck in a crossroads yet again, but this time, with the threat of death looming over his head.

What would Biclops and the other zoners think of him if they found out that he sold them out to save Penny, essentially? But what would Penny think in her final moments when Rudy does what she says and remains adament not to join? Even if it was her idea, he doubted that she wants to die and she would still feel some anger towards him. And what about Mrs. Sanchez? What would she think if he were to admit that her daughter’s death was his fault? What would she do?

Rudy struggled with himself, trying to figure out what path was the right one to take. He tried to think of what would be best for everyone. He tried to think of any potential third options. He searched his mind for a solution. He tried to do whatever he could to...

But it was useless. No matter what he tried to think of, no matter what came to mind, he just... It was all shot down by the horrible realization of what Mr. Cosmo could easily do. There weren’t many options left, Rudy realized. He swallowed hard, feeling his fingertips and stomach stinging sharply. His mind flashbacked to what happened with Snap that one time. He could still hear the zoner’s screams of agony. They continuously haunted him, leaving no time for him to have a break.

Rudy felt his teeth pressing into his lip. He realized that there was only one option. He was going to hate himself for it. But he just...couldn’t let Penny die. “Let Penny go, Mr. Cosmo. I-I’ll go quietly...” He whispered.

“R-Rudy.... you can’t....” Penny started to whisper. She gasped when Draow bit down harder on her. She yelped before going limp reluctantly. She shot a glare towards Mr. Cosmo before giving Rudy the most heart broken look that he had ever seen her give.

Mr. Wilter did not bother looking at Rudy. He just focused his gaze on Mr. Cosmo, his lips curling upwards into a snarl. “You fucking low life....”

Mr. Cosmo just waved his hand dismissively. “Hey if it gets results....” He lowered his hand to look at Rudy. “Congratulations on making the right decision, boy. That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

Rudy didn’t answer. He felt sick to his stomach. He wasn’t sure how many times he had been forced to do this. But he was going to make sure that it was his last. His fists clenched more tightly, his fingernails pressing into his flesh. He didn’t know how he was going to make up for doing this. But he swore, he would make sure that all his friends were safe and Mr. Cosmo here was locked up for good.

But for now, he wanted to focus on making sure that Penny got to safety. That was the most important thing right now. He can deal with the consequences of his choice later.

“Okay Mr. Cosmo... I told you that I give in.” Rudy licked his lips dryly. “Now let my friend go.”

Mr. Cosmo tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Letting your friend go...? I don’t recall that being part of the deal.”

Rudy widened his eyes before shouting, “You made a promise that you’d let her go if I were to join you!”

“He’s telling the truth! I heard you!” Mr. Wilter shouted.

“Oh that... I see..” Said Mr. Cosmo. Draow seemed to chortle at this. “Well I do seem to recall Rudy here promising to work for me but turning his back on me shortly after.” Mr. Cosmo motioned his hand palm-up towards Rudy, his smile like a mixture of anger, disappointment, and amusement. “But sure. I’ll keep my promise.”

Mr. Wilter pointed a finger at Mr. Cosmo. “Well? Come on! Fulfill your end of the bargain or are you chicken?”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flashed at this. Rudy couldn’t tell what kind of emotion swept through the man’s eyes right then, but it was enough to make Rudy a bit unnerved. Mr. Cosmo slowly raised his hand and he waved his hand towards Draow. “You heard them. Let her go.”

Draow let out a low grumble and he lowered his head down and released the back of Penny’s shirt. Rudy felt a sense of relief wash over him and he was about to move towards his friend.

But then...

“Aaaagghh!”

Penny let out a bloodcurdling scream when Draow suddenly bit down on her shoulder and chest, the same one that he had damaged before, and started to crush it in his jaws. Mr. Wilter was stunned into silence and Rudy let out a horrified scream as his blood turned to ice.


	49. Encroaching Storm

The sound of sirens were everywhere. Left and right. It rang loudly, echoing through their ears, making them wish that they had brought over earplugs to protect themselves. They tried to cover their ears the best that they could, but nothing would work. They pressed more firmly and gritted their teeth, seething through them. Oh gawd, when was this going to stop?

Of course they both knew when, and that would be when they got to the hospital. They were not going to be there until a few more minutes. It shouldn’t be long, though. They were being rushed. They had been lucky to find an ambulance to take them. Otherwise, it would have been quite the journey and neither of them really had any clue if they would have made it without issue or not.

But it was still a terrifying experience. To escape from that situation to coming out here, to be taken, no, rushed to the hospital… They both shuddered as they recalled seeing shows where this sort of stuff happened. Their imaginations got the better of them and they were forced to relive such moments in their head repeatedly. Even though it was likely not going to play out that way, they both still feared the worse.

Rapsheeba tried to keep herself calm despite the situation. She had to remain strong. Even though her head still pounded in pain, she managed to ignore it enough that she could keep her arm around Snap and pull him close. She looked down at him, her expression softening up. She wanted to say something to him, but he looked like he was trying to drift off. She didn’t know why considering they were getting closer to the hospital. But if it meant that he would be more relaxed, she didn’t try to stop him.

Rapsheeba used her other hand to lightly touch her forehead. She flinched when she found feel the bit of tinfoil on there and she was reminded of how she had discovered the thing on her head before. It did feel...weird, but she also took immediate notice of how she didn’t seem to be hurting as much as before. That was the only reason she hadn’t tried ripping it off.

She couldn’t forget how, prior to waking up tied up on the ground, she had felt so dizzy and sick and everything was so confusing. There had been a strong, radiation of pain in her forehead and she had tried to claw it out of her to no avail. She shut her eyes tightly and put her hand on her forehead, shaking it slowly from side to side. She could still feel a dull pain there, but it wasn’t as strong as before, and her head had become more clear, allowing her to think more properly. She didn’t know exactly whose idea it was to put on the tinfoil, but she was grateful to whoever had. She guessed it was Rudy. He seemed like someone who would have come up with this idea.

But she wasn’t fully relaxed just yet. She did had some fear for Snap. She looked down at him and she moved her hand along him gently, stroking him. Snap huddled up a bit closer. She stared at his forehead and she flinched at how it looked, imagining the pain.

But that wasn’t as bad as his feet…

Rapsheeba recalled how she first saw them and she had been stricken with such horror she was surprised that she still remained standing. Snap’s feet were horrifically burned and he couldn’t even walk anymore. Rapsheeba had to carry him everywhere. She didn’t mind doing it, but she couldn’t keep carrying him forever. She hoped that the doctor could find some kind of solution for him.

She looked over towards the front of the ambulance truck that she and him were in. This was her only chance of getting some kind of view where they were. She saw some glimpses of houses and buildings, and she immediately realized that they were almost there.

She turned to Snap once more, offering him a small smile. “We’re almost there, Snap.” She said, trying her best to reassure him. “You’ll see. Soon you’ll feel so much better.” She didn’t even include herself in that statement. She was more concerned for Snap.

The blue and white zoner looked up at her. He did crack a small smile, but she could still see the pain and sadness in his eyes. True to what she would have expected from him, he said, “And you as well… Y-You’re not looking too hot right now…” He gave a small chuckle. “S-S-Sorry…”

Rapsheeba continued to smile at him. “It’s all right, Snap.” She pulled him in closer and rested her chin on his head. “This nightmare will soon be over. I promise…”

The two of them laid like this for several moments, silence enveloping them. They could hear each other’s heart beats and their breaths intermingling with one another. Even as the ambulance had to make a few sharp turns, they somehow remained still, holding onto each other for support.

Although they both knew that going to the hospital was just the beginning of recovery and that it wasn’t going to resolve the current situation with Mr. Cosmo, it was still something. Rudy was right. They were going to be safer here. Mr. Cosmo wasn’t even in ChalkZone yet as far as any of them knew. And he wouldn’t attack a hospital right away, would he? But then again, there was so much that they didn’t know about him that perhaps they were wrong.

Rapsheeba still tried to be more positive, however. She wanted to remain hopeful that Rudy and Penny are able to stop Mr. Cosmo before he got out this way. Rudy and Penny had been able to stop bad situations before. She wanted to believe that they could do it again this time around. It was just a matter of…

“...do you think Rudy’s doing okay…?”

Rapsheeba looked down as Snap spoke in that gravelly, depressed-sounding voice. He wasn’t even looking up at Rapsheeba when he said that.

Rapsheeba replied softly, “I’m...sure he is doing okay.”

Snap nodded his head slowly, almost lethargically. “Even despite how I…”

“Oh, with how you acted with him?” Rapsheeba suddenly remembered that and she felt herself frowning at her friend. “I didn’t want to bring it up back then, but yeah… What was with you? I can’t think of why you would treat your own friend like that.”

Snap didn’t look up at her. He looked like he was clearly ashamed of his actions, though it was difficult to say for certain. Though the pain in his eyes did seem to make it rather obvious. Snap took in a deep, shuddering breath, and released it slowly. “I...I was forced into it…”

Rapsheeba blinked at this, raising an eyebrow slowly. “..Say what?”

Snap looked up at her quickly, taking her aback. She was shocked to see that the little blue and white zoner was already tear-stained. She almost dropped him as she cringed back, raising her free arm to the side.

“Snap, I’m..”

“Mr. Cosmo made me do it!” Snap suddenly shouted. “H-He said he would hurt Rudy if I didn’t… I tried to refuse, b-b-but h-he…” Snap closed his eyes and started to whimper softly. “I didn’t mean to… I didn’t want to…” He huddled in closer towards Rapsheeba, grabbing onto her arm, his tears staining her shirt. “And I kept doing it even when he wasn’t a-a-around because I thought he was always w-watching and I didn’t know wh-when...he… Oh gawd I’m so sorry….”

Rapsheeba stared in stunned silence as Snap continued to cry against her. She bit her lip, feeling her heart stung with emotion. She felt so bad for Snap, being forced to do something like that to his best friend… and she felt rage for Mr. Cosmo for even doing such a thing. She didn’t know what the fuck that man got out of doing this, the sick human…

But she tried not to think about that too much as she moved her arms around Snap and held him against her. She whispered soft words of comfort to him and stroked his head and back as he sobbed against her. She became unaware of her surroundings and she didn’t know how close they were to the hospital. Right now, all that mattered was trying to help her friend.

sss

Bardot stepped into the large room slowly, his head up, his body slender, his ears pricked forward. With his paw lifted up in combination to this, it almost looked as if he were a feline patrolling new territory. But as he continued to venture in, he bared his teeth, showing off the long fangs that showed that he was no friendly feline, and he was not in the best of moods right now.

He hadn’t expected Mr. Cosmo to leave so soon. But that isn’t what annoyed him. Draow had not given him any sort of signal to let him know what was going on. Draow didn’t attempt to reach out to him before he left. Yes, he had been here earlier, but he had hoped that Draow would have waited until he brought Skrawl back with him. He thought that the wolf beast would have tried to make sure they were all on the same page. Evidently, this wasn’t the case.

But oh well. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world. He realized that he shouldn’t be too upset by this. After all, he had an idea of where they went. No doubt Mr. Cosmo would go into the Chalk Mine for magic chalk. That would give him a chance to…

“Why are we just standing here?” Skrawl grunted behind him. “Aren’t we going to pursue them?”

“In due time, Skrawl.” Bardot nodded his head. “But we need to figure out how we are going to do this. We need a way to get into the Chalk Mine without getting spotted. I don’t want any of them to see that we are in there.”

Skrawl tilted his head to one side. “And just where in the Chalk Mine were you wanting to go to?”

“Why, the Red Chalk Chamber, of course!” Bardot said with a smile on his face and his paw to himself. “Where else would I have wanted to go?”

Skrawl furrowed his eyes. “Isn’t that a bit risky? Going to where the red chalk resides…”

Bardot waved his paw dismissively. “Not a problem for me. Besides, the red chalk is our greatest ally.” He formed something of a fist with his paw and raised it up into the air. He grinned broadly. “The red chalk has only been trying to liberate zoners for a long time. I admit our way is a little...convoluted. But we mean well.”

“Feh, I’m not sure if I believe it. But sure...let’s say that this is the case.” Skrawl raised his hand up in gesture. “What of the black chalk, then? Couldn’t that be used as well?” Skrawl cocked an eyebrow up as a bit of confusion began to settle down in his mind. “I mean, the black chalk, from what you said, likes to control humans using fear and…”

“I can see why you think that. But ah, there’s a reason why we can’t rely on the black chalk.” Bardot replied.

“And that reason is…?” Asked Skrawl.

Bardot sat down on his haunches, his tail swirling from side to side. “The black chalk relies too much on fear. I do plan on using that as it does have its uses. I would be a hypocrite if I said it wasn’t useful in some way. But…” Bardot motioned outward with his paw. “...it’s only good in smaller doses. If too many humans became terrified, it’ll increase the chances of them attacking back.”

Skrawl narrowed his eyes further. “But the red chalk isn’t much different. It…”

Bardot cut him off. “Ah, but that’s where you’re wrong, my friend.” Bardot ignored Skrawl’s grumbles as he walked forward, flicking his tail a bit to one side. “The red chalk takes more direct control rather than relying on hypnotism or whatever humans call it. The black chalk relies too much on…”

“I don’t care! That still doesn’t explain why the red chalk is a better alternative!” Skrawl snapped.

Bardot lowered his ears a little and turned to glare at Skrawl. “My, you are the impatient one, aren’t you?” He got up and he moved in a little closer, his tail swishing from side to side, gritting his teeth. “You’re becoming a little too naughty again. Do I need to correct that?”

Skrawl narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. But he said and did nothing else. He just took a step back, lowering his head slightly. He grunted a little and twitched the remainder of his antenna. He clearly remembered what happened the last time that he tried to cross this zoner. The faint glow in his outline served as a reminder to him who is really in charge here.

Bardot smirked at Skrawl’s show of submission. “Good, good… Now..” He swerved his head to look at the portal, his eyes becoming narrowed. “Let’s head on into ChalkZone. I’m sure our little friends are in there waiting for us.” He grinned broadly, his teeth glinting. “Let’s not disappoint them…”

With that, the two zoners made their way towards the portal.

sss

Biclops stretched his arms outward, opening his mouth and releasing a loud yawn. Taking a walk had been a good idea. He had gotten so stressed out that he just needed to burn off the extra energy somehow. He couldn’t just lay in his cave all day. He knew that it was a bad idea to leave but at the same time, not like much was going to happen too quickly. So why not take a walk?

He was not going to do anyone any favors if he burned his stomach lining from all the adrenaline pumping through his body, that’s for sure. He hadn’t really been gone that long, anyway. And who knows? Maybe there will be some good news by the time he got back. He didn’t know what, but there was still the off chance of that, right?

The large giant started to make his way back towards the Chalk Mine. He hadn’t gone too far out. Just a few miles. He could easily make it back in no time. Then he could resume his duties to protect it or, if he were lucky, Rudy or Penny might be there to tell him that everything was okay now, or perhaps to ask him for his help. Biclops did feel a small pang at the thought of not being there sooner for them if that were the case. But at least he was heading back now.

Biclops wondered how everything was going. He wanted to believe that they were fine, but a small part of him reminded him that things weren’t that easy and simple. He had the past to remind him of that. He shuddered at the memory before forcing himself to keep moving forward, letting out a small grunt. He wished that something like that would never happen again. But you know what they say.

Those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

Biclops continued his trek back towards the Chalk Mine. He tried not to let himself get to worried. After all, there was no sense in getting worked up over something he wasn’t entirely sure about. He should wait and see just how things were going before he decided to freak out about it. For all he knew, things might have been fixed already, against the odds, and he was overreacting for nothing.

But that immediately proved to not be the case. For almost as soon as he thought that, he could hear something loud and screeching piercing through the air. He felt himself stop in his tracks when he heard it, raising his head up and turning his head to the side. He cupped his hand to his ear as he tried to make out what it was. He furrowed his eyes deeply.

It was a scream.

A feminine scream.

And it was coming right from the Chalk Mine....

Biclops’s eyes widened in horror when he realized that it must be Penny. The voice might be faint, but it still sounded close enough to be her. He bit his lip as he immediately took off in that direction, moving as quickly as his legs could carry him. He hoped that he wouldn’t be too late.

sss

Everything felt so confusing. There were so many lights all around. So many things going on at once. He tried to keep focus, yet his efforts only caused him to feel even more confusion. He could see his vision blurring before him and he struggled to keep himself from collapsing forward. He almost forgot that he was in a wheelchair; it was like he was floating and just zipping through like a careless bug.

But Snap knew better. His senses soon revealed for him the truth of what was going on. He groaned softly, blinking a few times, as he took note of his surroundings. He turned his head from one side to the other, his eyes opening and shutting slowly, before he let out a small moan.

The nurses were rushing him to one of the rooms as soon as they could. He forgot which room they mentioned. Emergency room, he thought? It would explain the loud sounds all around him. Those stupid sirens...or were they sirens at all? Snap rubbed his head with one hand, groaning and struggling not to fall down. If this wheelchair wasn’t there, he’d be rolling across the ground like a discarded can, he was certain.

He soon became aware of bright lights all around him. He became aware of people surrounding him and getting him up. He was aware of someone, no, multiple people moving around, and he could hear them talking. He wanted to try to figure out what they were saying, but he was so confused right now, so lost in his thoughts and pain that nothing would come out. He was just....a moving witness to this world.

Then he was suddenly lifted up from his seat and moved over towards another place. He was carried towards the middle of this large, white room. His thoughts continued to go a million miles a minute while he was being set down on a large, white table. He could feel his clothes being taken off, but he was too out of it to try to fight back.

Then he could feel something being brought down to him. Something oval-shaped and plasticy. It was placed against his face and he could hear the sound of a machine hissing close by. Then something started to pump and he was aware of a sweet-smelling gas flowing through his nose.

Then he could feel some strong sensation of grogginess coming over him. He was suddenly hit with it out of nowhere. The last thing he saw before he lost contact with the world was the sight of a large knife being brought down to him.

sss

Rudy could feel his whole world crashing down. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from what was happening. He couldn’t get those horrible, disgusting sounds out of his head. His heart raced against his chest, pounding and threatening to come out. He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down. All that he could do was just stare, remaining still as stone.

He watched as Penny squirmed and twisted around violently. He watched as Draow continued to sink his teeth further into her, ignoring his own pain that this was clearly causing. He could see the blood flowing down from the barely healed injuries. He could see how Penny’s face was contorted in agony and how she was struggling to even breathe.

Rudy had no idea how long this actually lasted. For him, it was an eternity. It was like the world had froze onto one frame, and this is what he got to watch. It was never ending and never relenting. There was nothing that he could do to ‘change the channel’. The ‘television’ was broken. He had to endure this second after long grueling second, even as time dragged on, even as Penny’s screaming pierced through his heart.

Rudy started to remember how he had treated her before. He remembered how he got angry at her, told her she wasn’t anyone’s savior, and basically acted like she was the enemy. He bit his lip at this, fighting against the burning tears that had started to form. He couldn’t believe that he had actually done that. How could he have treated his best friend in such a way? And now because of him, Penny was being….

No, it wasn’t his fault, he knew. He needed to stop blaming himself for this. Mr. Cosmo would have done this anyway, regardless of how he reacted to Penny’s plan and regardless if he even knew of it or not. He narrowed his eyes as he glared at Mr. Cosmo. He took a step forward and then….

...his face relaxed and he took a step back. Horror and fear took over his facial expressions once more. He bit his lip firmly and swallowed hard. He...couldn’t do anything, he realized. If he tried to make one more towards Mr. Cosmo, he would just have Draow finish the job.

And Penny couldn’t afford this much longer…

Draow had stopped for now, but he kept his jaws firmly clamped. Halting himself did not relieve Penny of much pain. The teeth were still inside of her and some of her bones were still broken. She whimpered and cried as Draow held her firmly there, having no obvious desire to let her go. Rudy knew that if Mr. Cosmo gave the order, Draow would crush his jaws through her completely and…..kill her.

The realization made his blood freeze into ice. His frantic mind struggled to think of some way to make the man let his friend go. There had to be something that he could do. Some kind of deal that Mr. Cosmo would approve of. Something that would get his friend out of this mess.

But what could that be? Just what was left? He already said that he would join him. Why wasn’t he…

That was because he said the same thing before and still betrayed him, didn’t he? Rudy flinched as he recalled that moment a couple days ago or however long it was. He couldn’t remember that specifically, but he could still remember how he had made the deal only to break it shortly after. Mr. Cosmo, just moments ago, did make it clear that he didn’t trust him on him making that sort of deal again.

This...This must be some kind of a punishment, Rudy realized in horror. Mr. Cosmo was going to go through with this to serve as a reminder of why he shouldn’t..

Oh no… Penny…

Without thinking, Rudy rushed towards Mr. Cosmo.

“Rudy! Wait, stop!” Mr. Wilter shouted in shock.

But Rudy didn’t listen to him. He couldn’t listen to him. Not when Penny was in trouble. He knew that he was taking a huge risk. But he just...couldn’t let Penny suffer this kind of fate. He….He had to do something to stop this. He didn’t know what, but he would be damned if he didn’t at least try.

When he got close enough to the startled man, he launched himself at him. He grabbed onto his shoulders and squeezed them tightly. He pushed him back a little and tried his best to meet with his eyes. He glared at him for a few seconds before his expression faltered into fear, his eyes widening big as large tears dropped from them.

“Please let her go! I-I’ll do anything! Just please...let her go…” Rudy shut his eyes tightly, seething through clenched teeth. “Y-You can’t do this… Please let her go. It’s me that you want… You can have me. Just let Penny go…”

He looked up at Mr. Cosmo. He could see the red-haired man staring down at him in surprise. He remained this way for several long seconds before his eyes narrowed once more. Rudy felt his body stiffen as he saw the way that the man was looking at him. Those eyes looked like they could easily set anything on fire.

Then slowly, Mr. Cosmo reached down to grab the back of Rudy’s shirt. He pulled him away with one strong tug. Rudy could feel his fingers easily slipping from the man’s shoulders and he was pulled up into the air slightly. Rudy didn’t bother to struggle. He just looked at Mr. Cosmo with a pleading expression. The man released a grunt and snort before throwing Rudy forward.

Penny opened her eyes and managed to hiss weakly, “R-Rudy…”

“How dare you try to beg with me, boy…” Mr. Cosmo said as his eyes gleamed. “You should learn that, when you work with me, I’m the one who calls all the shots. If you try begging again, I will make sure that Draow kills your friend faster.”

Rudy shook his head. “No, please!”

“It’s already too late for that, little boy. You should have thought about this sooner, before you decided to trick me like that. If you had only just stuck with your decision and stayed with me, none of this had to have happened.” Mr. Cosmo’s voice was icy cold and he showed no signs of remorse. He stared right into Rudy’s terrified eyes, a glow striking through him. “This is the punishment you must take. I promise that I will spare the rest of your loved ones if you stick by your decision this time.”

Rudy’s heart tried to break through his ribcage. He felt his body trembling harder as he took a few steps back and watched the man in horror. He could feel his pupils shrinking into dots as horrific realization washed over his mind. He could feel practically every single hair on his body raise up and he shook his head slowly in denial. “N-No… Let her go… Please..” He sobbed, feeling his legs wobble and grow weak.

The only reason that he didn’t fall down was because Mr. Wilter had stumbled over towards him and grabbed him from behind. The man held him up and tried his best to keep his shaky body steady. Then he shifted his anger-filled eyes towards Mr. Cosmo.

“How could you do something so low? What would you get out of killing another human?! I can see going after a zoner. You obviously know that not many people would care about them. But what of humans? Do you think that this will go unnoticed?” Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes dangerously thin. “Do you think that people are not going to find out about what you did? The trail will lead right to you!” He finished this accusation off by pointing at Mr. Cosmo unwaveringly.

But Mr. Cosmo didn’t seem fazed. Seeing Draow almost smile did not help things either. Mr. Cosmo’s head tilted once more in conjunction with raising an eyebrow slowly. “Do you think I’m not prepared for that? Why do you think I’m having Draow do the killing?”

Draow’s ears flicked at this and his eyes seemed to widen very slightly. It wasn’t much, but Rudy could see it.

Mr. Wilter caught it as well. He kept his glance mostly on Mr. Cosmo however. “Come again?”

Mr. Cosmo provided a small smile. “I know how people would react to finding out that I killed another human. I’m not stupid. But if I were to have Draow here do it for me…” He pointed a thumb towards the massive beast. “...they would believe that some wild, untameable zoner killed her. It would further my mission to show everyone how dangerous zoners really are.”

Draow let out a small grunt at this, his tail swishing to one side once.

Rudy felt his eyes widen in shock at this. “Y-You’re going to use your own creation as a scapegoat?!”

“You sound like I’m being harsh. That’s just the way it is, kid. Even if I didn’t order it, Draow would still have killed someone. He’s a zoner, after all.” Mr. Cosmo shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, acting like none of this was a big deal. He then looked over at Rudy, pointing a finger at him. “And why do you care, anyway? It’s not like Draow is your friend.”

“No, but he’s still your creation. You shouldn’t be treating him so poorly.” Rudy formed tight fists with his hands, shaking them. “I-It’s just wrong to…”

“Draow is my creation and I will do with him as I please.” Mr. Cosmo stated coldly. “I will not have a repeat of Banjo.”

Rudy cocked his head to the side in confusion. “Banjo?” He looked over at Mr. Wilter. He noted the man’s look of shock and uneasiness. Realizing that this must have meant something, Rudy looked back over at Mr. Cosmo and asked, “Who the hell is Banjo?”

Mr. Cosmo snarled, “That’s none of your business, boy.” He raised his head up slowly. “All you need to know is that he is the one who showed me how zoners were really like.”

Rudy wasn’t really sure what the man was talking about. He had no clue who or what Banjo was. And of course he didn’t know how he made Mr. Cosmo turn against zoners.

But none of that mattered right now when he saw the man raise his hand up slowly. Everything started to slow down as Rudy’s eyes widened in horror, realizing what the man was about to do. He tried to get himself to move, but his feet were frozen to the ground. He was utterly helpless and there was literally nothing that he could do to stop what was about to happen. With his face paling, he managed to reach out forward, but he could never get close enough fast enough.

Mr. Cosmo moved his hand outward, flicking it upwards slightly. His head turned, looking painfully slow even without Rudy’s racing mind. Then the man started to speak. Even without Rudy’s slowmo view, it still would have been incremental, as if Mr. Cosmo was deliberately taking his time with this.

Then the words came.

“Kill the girl.”

Rudy’s heart practically stopped beating, his skin turning cold like snow.

“No!” Mr. Wilter shouted. “Don’t you even think about it, you…!”

Mr. Cosmo noticed Mr. Wilter coming at him and he threw Rudy, using him like a weapon. The two grunted as they collided with each other and fell down. The two struggled to their feet. Mr. Wilter had a harder time and kept slipping down due to the pain. But Rudy was able to hold himself on his knees and hands. He panted a few times before looking up and starting at where Penny was. He gritted his teeth and he shouted on the top of his lungs.

“Penny, no!”

That’s when Draow started to bite down harder. Penny immediately stiffened, her fingers arching and shaking from the pain. She let out a pained, weakened whimper before she started to go limp in Draow’s jaws. The wolf beast began to crush his teeth into her body and Rudy could hear him preparing to rip upwards.

And all Rudy could do was watch… He shut his eyes tightly, crying softly. Oh gawd no… Please, this couldn’t happen… It wasn’t fair. What did Penny do to deserve this? She…

Suddenly there was a loud cry. Something flashed before their eyes. Then something jumped and Rudy could hear Draow release a loud yelp of pain. He and the others looked to see what was going on. Their eyes widened as they saw something none of them could have possibly have seen coming.

A small yellow and red zoner kicking Draow with his hind leg, looking almost like a reptilian mammal karate fighter.

Rudy’s eyes widened in shock at this. He hadn’t expected something like this to happen. It all happened in slow motion. He watched as Draow’s head was forced to one side, drool spiddling out from the sheer force of the blow. He had released his grip on Penny, who collapsed into the ground in a loud, painful thud. Draow staggered back to the side, tripping a little as his feet scraped to find some footing. He looked over and he let out a small screech at the yellow and red zoner, who took a defensive stance, his tail raising up into the air.

Then he swung his head over to stare at Mr. Cosmo, his green eyes gleaming and crest raising up. Mr. Cosmo glared right back, baring his teeth at him. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Mr. Cosmo spoke.

“Hello… Bardot…” Mr. Cosmo growled under his breath. “Just what are you doing here?”


	50. Ally Of Red And Yellow

Of course he would have to intervene. Of course he would have to make sure that Bardot didn’t make some stupid ass decision that could have really cost them big time. Of course he would have to jump out here and square off against the furball idiot and his own creator. This is not how he wanted things to go down. At least, not this fast.

But you know the old saying. If you want something right, you have to do it yourself.

And this seemed like one of those times.

Bardot stood with his feet firmly planted on the ground, glaring intently at the human before him. He stayed like this for a moment before turning his head to glare at Draow. The massive zoner lowered his ears and took a step back. It didn’t seem to be enough to indicate to Mr. Cosmo just what was going on. He looked at the man sideways and slowly turned his head back to him.

The silence grew around them, growing a bit more tense. He didn’t say a word. He just kept himself standing on the ground, his body rigid and straight, trying to think of just what he should do next. He had already went off schedule to interfere with this. He had his own ideas of what should be done and this follows none of that. He licked his lips slowly as Mr. Cosmo’s eyes bored through his body, or at least tried to.

Mr. Cosmo did not like his lack of a response. The man started to move forward slowly. He tried to look intimidating. He tried to make it seem like that he could do anything to him. But Bardot was not a fool. He could see right through the man’s desperate attempts in hiding his fears. The thought almost made him chuckle. But he remained how he was right now, with the same frown upon his face.

As the silence still reigned, Bardot turned his head to look around. He looked back and he could see that Rudy and Mr. Wilter had gone over to where Penny was, ignoring Draow, and Draow was ignoring them, his teal eyes focused on the yellow and red zoner only. Bardot just scoffed at this as he watched Rudy try to comfort Penny, who was in really bad shape. Draow did quite the number on her.

Bardot narrowed his eyes at this. He hadn’t wanted things to take this path. It would be too complicated. How? Well he couldn’t really explain it, not even to himself. But he hadn’t counted on this to happen. Not this fast. He would have preferred to wait until Mr. Cosmo here had been taken care of and…

“Aren’t you going to say something, you stupid little furball…?” Mr. Cosmo growled. “Care to say anything about yourself now that you’ve interfered? Just what did you hope to accomplish from that?”

Bardot smiled at this. “I just don’t think it’s right to go after other creators when you yourself are the bigger problem right now.” Bardot took a few steps towards Mr. Cosmo. Despite the large height difference, Bardot showed no signs of losing his confidence. “Now don’t get me wrong. I may decide to have fun with them myself later. But everyone knows you are the biggest threat to ChalkZone right now. If I got rid of you, I’d have nothing to worry about.”

Mr. Cosmo clenched his hands tightly. “Since when did you care about ChalkZone..?”

“All red chalk care about ChalkZone. We just have a different way of going about things.” Bardot stated.

Rudy muttered under his breath, “Yeah, like trying to spread chaos throughout ChalkZone..”

Bardot turned to stare at Rudy. He blinked a few times before he chuckled softly. “Oh little boy, you don’t really know what was going on, do you? Of course not. How could you know? I doubt your giant friend told you what the red chalk was really trying to do.”

Rudy curled his lip up slowly. “Like hell the red chalk has any noble plans.”

“The red chalk wants to free ChalkZone, boy.” Bardot noticed Rudy’s continued, unwavering glare, and he just shrugged. “You may continue to think what you want, but I speak to you the truth. The red chalk has only ever wanted to keep zoners separate from creators.” He shifted his head to one side in gesture. “And that’s also what the black chalk want to do. It’s just...not doing it the right way.”

Rudy and Mr. Wilter glanced at one another and then stared back, blinking a few times in confusion.

“What..?”

Bardot’s eyes widened in mock shock, putting his paw to his head. “Oh my, did Mr. Cosmo not tell you?” He looked at Mr. Cosmo sideways. “Or is he just being an idiot and he doesn’t realize the obvious himself?”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes, gritting his teeth tightly. He looked like he was about to snap at him, and he started to move towards him as though to charge. But then he seemed to think better of it and he stopped himself. He pulled himself back a few steps, raising his hand up and curling his fingers inward as he said, “It is funny that you speak such things when you were the one who messed with the boy’s little friend.”

Rudy turned to glare at Bardot at his. Bardot looked over at him with an outward expression of disinterest. But deep down, he wondered how the boy was going to respond to discovering this detail. Would he let emotion lead him down an irrational path like Mr. Cosmo had, or was he going to do something different?

Bardot turned to look back at Mr. Cosmo, hunching his shoulders as his head pointed downward slightly. He smirked and chuckled softly, his lips spreading into a grin. “I love that you brought that up, Mr. Cosmo. Because you were the one who inspired me to do that. And you were the one who gave me the ability to do that. Or did you forget?”

Mr. Cosmo took a step back, raising a hand upwards slightly. “What are you talking about? I never…”

Bardot raised his paw up quickly, flexing his thick claws. “Don’t try to lie, Mr. Cosmo dear. You drew me. You wanted to use me as a weapon. You gave me my powers.” His claws started to glow very faintly, as though to prove a point. “You know that I speak the truth. I didn’t randomnly get this power. You are responsible for it. So you are the one responsible for what I did to Snap.” He looked at Mr. Cosmo with one eye, smirking darkly. “Not that it matters, seeing how you tormented Snap yourself.”

Mr. Cosmo’s body trembled, but it only lasted for a few moments. He forced himself to remain calm. He clearly didn’t want to lose his cool right now. The man seemed to have increasing trouble with this, perhaps as a side effect of finally getting back into ChalkZone. Perhaps he wasn’t as prepared as he thought he was.

Soon the man just seemed to suddenly relax. It almost would have looked as if he got himself under control, but Bardot could see otherwise. He could see the man raising his hand to motion towards where Draow was. Bardot quickly turned his head to Draow. He stared at him for several long moments before he nodded very slightly.

It would be fun to play with Mr. Cosmo for a little while longer. And this would give Skrawl some time to find the Red Chalk Chamber.

Mr. Cosmo made a quick motion with his hand, flattened as though trying to turn it into a blade. “Draow, take care of Bardot.”

The yellow and red zoner looked over at where Draow was. The wolf bat zoner hesitated for a few seconds. But then he started to snarl and snap his jaws wildly. He rushed over, moving past the other humans, the wind rushing by them, and he headed over towards Bardot himself. The small zoner, in order to make it look convincing, allowed Draow to hit him with his snout.

“Yelp!” Bardot rolled across the ground and landed pretty painfully, the back end of his body raising up awkwardly and bending over. He then fell fully into the ground with a loud thud. He cursed to himself that, even though he let him strike him, it still hurt. But hey, at least it was convincing.

Bardot got up to his feet, wobbling a little from side to side, his claws pressing further into the ground. He turned his tail to one side and his head in the other, poofing up slightly before relaxing. His pupils shrank into dots for a second and then shifted back. He looked over at where Rudy, Penny, and Mr. Wilter were for a moment before he turned back to Draow and then started to run off. Draow immediately gave pursuit.

Of course, he didn’t exactly make sure that Mr. Cosmo didn’t kill Penny just yet. But he would worry about that later on. It didn’t really matter, anyway. It’s not like he would have much of a chance now. He was now stuck with two really pissed off creators. The thought made Bardot smirk. What better way of getting revenge against his creator than by having someone else do it for him, the same someone whom Mr. Cosmo had already pissed off earlier?

He looked over his shoulder to make sure Draow was still following him. Only when he was certain did he turn and keep running down the tunnel, going straight for the Red Chalk Chamber. It shouldn’t take too long, and then once they were there…

He tried to keep himself at least a little calm. He was not going to let himself fall into Mr. Cosmo’s mistake and get too worked up. He would have to take this steadily and as long as he was careful, he would be able to succeed.

He trusted that Rudy and Mr. Wilter will keep Mr. Cosmo in the Chalk Mine.

sss

This isn’t what he had expected to happen. He didn’t think that someone like Bardot would ever have….

Mr. Cosmo grunted, snorting through his flaring nostrils. There had to be a reason why he had done that. He had no clue what it could be. He just knew that something was going on. He knew Bardot well enough to know that he’s up to something. He was scheming. Why else would he behave like that?

He didn’t know what could be going on through that zoner’s mind precisely, however. Only that he was clearly trying to give Rudy and Mr. Wilter more of a reason to hate him, even though they already clearly did anyway. Then Bardot fled with Draow a bit too easily… Was Bardot going to do something to Draow?

He just mentally shrugged at this. Not that it mattered too much. He could create another Draow if he really, really needed to. But since he was here in ChalkZone, with his biggest threats all right here in a nice little package, he might not need to. He could feel himself smirking inwardly, excitement pumping through his chest. All he needed to do was to herd them to where he needed them to go. And that shouldn’t be too difficult.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he saw Mr. Wilter coming towards him. He noticed the man’s legs shaking, and he could see the fear in his eyes. But he also could see the anger and rage bowling behind those eyes. He just gritted his teeth in a smug grin, something that Mr. Wilter clearly did not appreciate.

“Trying to kill an innocent person…” Mr. Wilter’s throat rumbled in his throat. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was even able to remain standing on his feet, let alone not exploding at him with all that emotion dripping from his voice. “I should wring your neck for that….friend.”

Mr. Cosmo raised his eyebrow at this statement. He had a feeling that Mr. Wilter was being rather serious. He would normally never address him like that. He soon just smiled at him and said, “You know, I used to fear for you knowing what the white chalk has done to you. But now I don’t even care. It’s become rather comical.”

Mr. Wilter ground his teeth together. “And your obsession with the black chalk is nothing but a joke…”

Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow at this. “You’re too far gone, Horace. I think it is about time that I did something about that.”

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened at this and he shuddered in fear for a moment. But then he forced himself to relax, keeping himself positioned in front of Rudy and Penny protectively. “I’m not going to let you touch them…. I don’t care what you do to me.” He spread his arms outward. “But you will not corrupt these children with your lies.”

“Heheheh… You are really bold and brave for trying to go up against me with your injuries.” Mr. Cosmo saw Mr. Wilter falter a little at this. He then took a few steps towards the old man. His younger status already gave him an advantage over the aging person standing before him. “But you are a fool if you think you can save both of them.” He held his hand up in gesture, motioning towards Rudy. “You might be able to save Rudy here…” He then gestured towards Penny. “But I promise you that she will be dead within the hour.”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at this and Penny let out a strangled whimper. “No, it can’t be…”

Mr. Wilter’s face paled. He shook his head and he tried to look brave. “Sh-She’ll make it…” He spoke through grinding teeth. “You’re just trying to..”

“Oh but Mr. Wilter… You know how dangerous Draow’s bites are. Seeing what he already did, I wager, if she’s not taken to a hospital quickly, Penny here doesn’t have much more than an hour left to live.” He straightened himself up and narrowed his eyes at the two humans before him. “And to do that, you need to get past me..and I promise, I won’t make that easy for you.”

Mr. Wilter started to look a little nervous, licking his lip slowly. He didn’t attempt to back down however, and he still tried to look tough. “I will force you out of the way, then.”

“Of course you would try that.” Mr. Cosmo chuckled. “But do you really want to take that risk?”

Mr. Wilter stared at him long and hard, his body tense and shaking. He had an expression that was the perfect blend of fear and hate. If looks could kill, this old man would definitely succeed in that. But it wasn’t like Mr. Cosmo had anything to worry about. There was a reason why this was the case.

“Do you think that you could even last that long, anyway? We both know what you’re really like.” Mr. Cosmo started to pace back and forth in front of Mr. Wilter, a broad smile encroaching along his face. He folded his arms behind his back and just sneered at him, showing no signs of wavering. “You never even tried to fight me personally. You sicced your stupid pterosaur on me instead. You had others do the work for you.”

Mr. Wilter narrowed his eyes at this. He didn’t respond, though. He knew that he had nothing to defend himself with.

“You know I’m right, don’t you, Horace? You know that you could never bring yourself to actually fight me, even when there would be consequences not doing so. You just want to huddle away somewhere and act like none of this is happening.” Mr. Cosmo chuckled as he stared at the man in amusement.

“Th-That’s not true..” Mr. Wilter started to say.

Mr. Cosmo cocked his head to the side. “Oh no? Then why didn’t you try to fight me even as I was hurting your precious zoners? You had the chance but you pushed it off. Did you even care for them?”

“You’re just trying to trick me. I know how you are. You enjoy these little mind games to weaken your opponents. That’s how you’ve always been. You’re just a….” Mr. Wilter growled, his teeth becoming bared tightly. Mr. Cosmo just raised an eyebrow. “I’m not falling for it!” Declared Mr. Wilter.

“Falling for it? Oh dear Horace, I never expected you to fall for it…” Mr. Cosmo stepped closer. He put his face close to Mr. Wilter’s. “I expect you to explain to the child over there why you never tried to fight me, even indirectly, while I was ‘terrorizing’ ChalkZone, as you say…”

Mr. Wilter blinked at this before looking over his shoulder and staring at Rudy. The man took immediate notice of the boy’s expression. Though Rudy was holding onto Penny, who whimpered softly against him, Rudy’s eyes were narrowed, showing signs of anger and suspicion. More so than before.

Judging from his expression, Mr. Wilter did obviously look guilty. Mr. Cosmo was aware that he might have already explained things to Rudy, but that didn’t matter right now in this case. Rudy was not in the mood to be thinking rationally. For him, he was only going to recall how Mr. Wilter ‘allowed’ for the continued suffering of the zoners. And this was problematic for Mr. Wilter was, right now anyway, Rudy still loved those pesky zoners.

And now that he had started to plant the seeds of doubt in Rudy, all Mr. Cosmo needed to do was get it to blossom. He just needed to give Rudy here more of a reason to not trust him. Much of it would involve raking up the past of course, but that wouldn’t matter to an emotionally distraught boy who was already hurting, holding his injured friend.

Mr. Wilter still seemed like he was holding his ground well, however. He was managing to keep his gaze from Rudy and focusing only on him. How brave and noble of him, thinking that he could make an ounce of difference… He never had it in him to go up against him more directly. He couldn’t bring himself to get his hands dirty and try to strike him down on his own. It took him a long time before he even got involved in the war.

“You’re just a coward…” He heard Mr. Wilter finally speak up. His voice was shaky, his hands held into loose fists. “Y-You say that I took a while to get into the fight, but what about you…? Sure, I hung back, but at least I didn’t attack zoners for no fucking reason!”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes. “You know damn well there was a good reason. Or did you forget about Banjo?” He smirked darkly. “I know you love to pretend to forget. I know you must tell yourself that all the time. But you know what happened with Banjo. I told you about it. But even then…” He took another step forward. “You refused to do anything. You did not take a side. If anyone is a coward, it’s you!”

Mr. Wilter took in a few shaky breaths. It looked as if he was trying to control his emotions. He wasn’t looking at Rudy at this point, which was likely a good thing. Rudy was full on glaring at him at this point. Right now, the man was focused entirely on him.

Then with those eyes blazing, Mr. Wilter gave a growling statement.

“Says the one who believed that zoners were following him into his bedroom..”

Mr. Cosmo felt his eyes widen at this statement. He felt himself taking in a sharp gasp of breath. He then glared daggers at the man. How dare he say that… What he saw was real. Mr. Wilter was still pretending that it didn’t? What a little….

Then he stopped himself and forced a smile. He knew what the man was trying to do and he was not going to allow it. He wasn’t going to give him the chance to make him slip up and become too angry. Oh no, he was not going to fall into that trap so easily. He grinned broadly as he chuckled, his throat rumbling with the suppressed laughter. He raised his finger up and started to wag it from side to side.

“Ah, I see what you’re trying to do. Very clever, Horace. But not clever enough….”

Mr. Cosmo leaned in once more. He could see the man moving back and glaring at him. He could hear his growling, an attempt to scare him. But that wasn’t going to make Mr. Cosmo go away and instead he just grabbed onto Mr. Wilter’s shoulders with one hand.

“And guess what? Your inability to be ‘clever enough’ is what downed your pet pterosaur.” Mr. Cosmo sneered. “Do you remember that? Do you recall his cries of pain? And you did nothing? It’s all your fault that he died.” Mr. Cosmo could see the pained reaction from Mr. Wilter and he continued, “Yes, that’s right… You could have saved him, but instead you…”

Without warning, Mr. Wilter suddenly struck forward with his fist. Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened and he let out a yelp as something solid yet soft collided with his face. He could feel his head twisting painfully to one side as he staggered backwards, his feet slipping on the ground. He managed to regain his footing. He shook his head and then started over at Mr. Wilter in shock.

Mr. Wilter stood there with his teeth bared and his hands clenched tightly into fists. He looked like he was ready to charge him and it looked like he wanted to tear him open verbally. He didn’t say a word just yet, however, leaving Mr. Cosmo in silent shock. Then Mr. Cosmo shook his head once, trying to get those emotions out of the way, and he narrowed his eyes into slits.

“So, you want to play it that way, do you…” Mr. Cosmo growled. He cleared his throat and swallowed, offering a dark smile to Mr. Wilter. “Then so bit. Come on, let’s try to settle things once and for all. If you have the guts for it…”

He needn’t say anything else. Mr. Wilter didn’t waste any more time. He just charged right at the man, his feet pounding the ground. The aura that the man displayed was more tense than what he’s ever felt from him before. Despite his best efforts, he just couldn’t counter him quickly enough and he could feel the old man ramming into him. He could feel the arms wrapping around him and he could feel themselves rolling across the ground painfully.

Mr. Wilter raised his head and stared over at Rudy. Only then did he try to speak, his voice hoarse with emotion. “Rudy, take Penny and get out of here!” Mr. Wilter shouted on top of his lungs. “I will keep Mr. Cosmo busy! Just run!”

Rudy looked hesitant. It didn’t look as if he really wanted to leave. But he did see the seriousness in the old man’s eyes and he nodded his head. He scooped up Penny into his arms and he started to make a run for it….

….right past Mr. Cosmo.

The red-haired man’s eyes widened at this and he growled. “No, you’re not… Ugh..”

Mr. Wilter pulled him down with him once more. Mr. Cosmo turned to glare at his former friend. The two immediately started to wrestle with one another, grabbing on tightly to each other, rolling along the ground. The room filled with shouts and pained grunts and the sounds of kicking and punching. Who knew how long this lasted… All Mr. Cosmo was aware of was the sea of pain and flashes of color around him.

After a few moments, Mr. Cosmo started to gain his senses back. He began to fight back more affectively. He drove his knee into Mr. Wilter’s crotch, forcing him to buckle a little. Then he took a step forward and delivered another knee blow, this time to his stomach. Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened and he coughed painfully before falling down. Mr. Wilter glared at him for several moments before diving down at him.

He soon managed to get Mr. Wilter on the ground, his arms looping around him and he placed him in a choker kind of hold. Mr. Wilter struggled to breathe while Mr. Cosmo applied pressure, gradually trying to crush the man’s wind pipe. “I’m going to make you regret this… You are not going to see the light of day again… Just like Ms. Saffron..”

“What...did….you..do….to...her…” Gasped Mr. Wilter.

Mr. Cosmo just smirked insanely. “You’ll find out soon enough...old friend..”

Mr. Wilter looked up at him with widened eyes.

sss

Rudy had no idea where he was going. He didn’t know if he even made the right turn. He was aware of being out of the mines, but he didn’t know where else to go to from here. He could only just continue running as fast as he could possibly go, feeling sweat pouring down his face. He held Penny close to him, making sure that she didn’t fall as he just kept on running.

He could feel his heart pounding, his mind swirling, his stomach lurching, wanting to throw up his recent food, which had been a while ago. Rudy licked his lips slowly and he managed to hold back the vomit. He didn’t want to stop for anything. He didn’t know how long Mr. Wilter could hold out. He didn’t know how long they had before Mr. Cosmo would be coming after them again. He could feel a bitter taste growing in his mouth and he pushed himself to go faster.

In his arms, he held Penny against him. It was a little awkward doing this and he could feel his muscles burning and aching and wanting to let go. But he couldn’t allow himself to do that. He could feel his head spinning faster and it was like a fire was being lit in his mind. He refused to slow down despite how it was making him feel. Penny was gravely hurt and he needed to get her out of here. He couldn’t let her just….

He didn’t care if Mr. Cosmo was lying. He didn’t care if he was exaggerating on how long Penny had. He couldn’t deny the wounds that she had been given. He could see it bleed profusely, all of them. He could almost see some of the bones starting to stick out, and he flinched as he remembered the loud cracks he heard from before.

But what hurt him the most were her cries, whimpers, and her expressions. Rudy had to force himself to look away as he could feel Penny staring up at him, silently begging him to help her, and he could do little about it. He was utterly helpless in that regard.

It was made even worse by the fact that he had treated her so poorly before. He was just upset with her and he couldn’t believe she’d do something this risky. But he never wanted her to get so badly hurt. He didn’t want something like this to happen. It…. It just wasn’t fair… She didn’t deserve this. She just….didn’t….

He shut his eyes for a few moments to let some stinging tears stream from his now burning eyes. He tried to shake off his emotions enough to concentrate on running. He wasn’t going to accomplish anything if he broke down crying right now. He was only going to make himself a sitting duck and if he did that, both he and Penny would be in trouble. Then what was he going to do?

He could already feel himself slowing down. He felt as though his legs were falling apart at this point. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could keep up with. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep running. Hold Penny was draining his energy faster, but he dare not leave her. But could he keep doing this? He could feel himself starting to fall forward and if Mr. Cosmo was right behind him, he’d have nowhere to go. There was almost nowhere here for him to hide and…

Then it happened.

He could feel his leg snagging on some kicked up bit of grass. His eyes bulged open and he fell forward into the ground. He landed on his injured arm. A howl sounded off from him as great pressure was suddenly struck against his arm.

Penny’s screaming followed as she was flung from his arms and out away from him. She rolling along the ground rather painfully and Rudy thought he could hear another bone giving way. He lifted his head up and he stared over at here she was. He tried to get up to his feet. He felt a wave of pain from his arms and he was forced back down.

Penny remained on the ground, mostly on her back, and she squirmed from the pain and agony she was feeling. She twisted and she turned and she writhed, sobs escaping her shaky lips. These sounds genuinely broke Rudy’s heart and he tried to get to her more quickly. But despite his efforts, despite reaching her side, he still felt like he was too slow. He stared down at her in horror and worry, sucked on his lip, and he laid himself down by her. Wrapping his arms around her carefully, he pulled her close, letting her cry against him, feeling himself sobbing against her as well.

“Penny… I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean for this to happen…” Rudy whispered to her. “I didn’t mean what I said before. Please...y-y-you’re my best friend. D-Don’t leave me… Please hang on…” He shut his eyes tightly, letting the tears burn right through his eyelids. “Please, I…”

Suddenly he could hear the sound of someone approaching. He tensed up, licking his dry lips, and he looked around, trying to find the source of that sound. He kept himself tense, his grip on Penny slightly tightening, and he narrowed his eyes. It must be Mr. Cosmo. He must be trying to come and take Penny away from him. He wasn’t going to let that happen. He refused to allow things to go down like this. He…

Then a large shadow loomed over him. He immediately moved himself back, pulling Penny with him. He looked up and he could see…

“Biclops…?” Rudy whispered softly, a sense of relief coming over him. “It’s.. It’s you…”

The giant zoner immediately took notice of the two humans. He immediately let out a loud gasp, his hand moving to his mouth, and he rushed over to Rudy and Penny. His eyes were practically dripping with dread, oozing out by the time that he had gotten to them.

“Rudy Tabootie, Penny Sanchez, what the hell happened?!” Biclops wailed, horror edging on his voice.

Rudy’s eyes started to darken as Penny looked up at Biclops with her tear-stained eyes. “Mr. Cosmo happened….” He said, his voice as dark as his eyes.

Biclops licked his lips nervously before holding his hand up in gesture. “What has he done…? And where is he now…?”

Rudy gave Penny one more worried glance before he turned to Biclops and started to explain everything.

sss

“Hmm….yeah that does look peculiar…” Mr. Tyreek said as he peered closely at the microscope. He used his fingers to adjust it a little, twisting the knob forward and back. “I haven’t seen anything like this myself...at least not in such a long time.”

Mrs. Sanchez rubbed her hands together nervously at this. She had remained silent for the past several minutes as Mr. Tyreek examined the blood specimen she had taken. He didn’t seem that upset about how she got it. He didn’t even ask; she had to tell him that they were from Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie. Something told her that she’d be in trouble later on. But for now, he was just focused on figuring out what this was.

“You’ve seen this before?” Mrs. Sanchez said with great worry. She could feel her teeth clenching tightly and she could feel her heart thumping at this realization. She wasn’t sure whether or not this was a good thing. On the one hand, he might know more about this than her. But on the other hand, did she even want to know what this disease was capable of?

Mr. Tyreek pulled himself back, leaning in the chair to catch his breath, before looking over at Mrs. Sanchez, his expression a mixture of uncertainty and worry. “It was several years ago. I don’t even know if I remember the exact time. But yes I’ve seen this thing before. It’s….quite something.”

Mrs. Sanchez was nervous to ask any further information. But at the same time, it wouldn’t be good to deliberately withdraw herself from such information. What if she wound up making things worse? This was not the sort of thing that she could just shrug off. She swallowed hard and she forced herself to ask the dreaded question.

“Just...what does it do..?”

There was a bit of silence that followed. Mr. Tyreek looked a little frozen. He wasn’t looking at her, but somehow, she could sense the emotion that was rushing through him. She could see a bit of worry that lingered around him. And all this served to make her feel even more nervous and unsure. She couldn’t help but look back over at the microscope, biting her lip. She started to wonder just what in the world she had uncovered here.

And the more she thought about it, the more that she worried about Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie. What was going to happen with them? Just what could this disease cause them to do? The thought filled her with dread and horror. She didn’t want them to get hurt. She didn’t want them to suffer. The thought of this disease tearing them apart did the same thing with her. She hoped that, if Mr. Tyreek were being honest about this, he’d know what to do about it. Surely if he had seen this before, he would have an idea on how to stop it.

Mrs. Sanchez watched as Mr. Tyreek began to approach her slowly. She felt some sense of uneasiness and she felt herself starting to move back a little. But she was able to soon stop herself and she held herself there for several moments, staring with uncertainty at the man before her. They stayed like this for a couple of seconds before Mr. Tyreek reached over towards her and grabbed onto her shoulders. Mrs. Sanchez jerked in startlement before forcing herself to relax.

Mr. Tyreek said, “It’s pretty hard to explain…I…” He stopped himself, licking his dry lips slowly, before looking away. He looked almost like he was in shame of what he was about to tell her. He turned his head and he looked right into her eyes. “Do you...mind if I show you instead…? That would be...easier.”

Mrs. Sanchez assumed that the man was referring to a video. The thought of such a thing unnerved her. But perhaps not as much as the average person. She had seen a lot of horrific things before. She understood that the medical field was not a pretty one. She had seen a lot of things in animals that would make most people sick or even vomit. She doubted that this man could show her anything worse than some of the stuff she had seen.

But that didn’t make it any easier. She still felt dread for what she could see. Perhaps it was mostly due to the fact that Joe and Millie Tabootie were both affected by this. Whatever she would see...it would be affecting her friends as well. They were already suffering. She could not begin to imagine what else they were going to go through.

She soon forced herself to nod her head slowly. She was going to regret this later, but her curiosity, especially for the sake of her friends, was too great. “Where do we need to go?”

Mr. Tyreek raised his hand up and motioned for her to follow. “Come with me. We will have to meet up with Ms. Ghadir first. She has what I need.”

“Then you will be able to show me what this stuff does? What it is?” Mrs. Sanchez inquired.

“Yes.” Mr. Tyreek said simply.

Mrs. Sanchez gave a slow nod before she began to follow close behind. Mr. Tyreek soon took her out of the room and they began to traverse through the hallway. A part of her felt like this wasn’t the best thing to do, but she did need to know. And Mr. Tyreek and Ms. Ghadir were both doctors, or at least worked in the hospital. They were her ticket to finding out just what the heck was going on with her friends. They were her best shot.

She still hoped that this wasn’t a huge mistake. She would never forgive herself if she got herself the wrong information and she wound up hurting her friends more. They did not need that. Not right now.

She would make sure that it all worked out.

sss

Skrawl took a look around him and hissed, gritting his teeth. Of all the stupid things he could be doing right now, this was certainly the dumbest. He wasn’t even sure why he was letting this zoner control him. He was Skrawl, after all. He should be able to resist and fight back. He shouldn’t be falling under his control so easily. What was happening to him?

Yet he realized that, for now, he should just play along. He hadn’t yet given up hope of getting back at him. He hadn’t completely forgotten about wanting to regain control and do what he himself wanted. He wasn’t going to let the little fuzz ball control him forever. Bardot might think that he’s oh so special, but he was going to have another think coming soon. The thought made him smirk.

That didn’t really do much to ease his frustration right now, though. He hadn’t foreseen himself being placed here, forced to enter this dreadful room. The red glow permeated his soul and he couldn’t help but give a few shudders, even in spite of himself. He would never get used to being in here. He had been in the Red Chalk Chamber before during his past raids of this place. But he would never enjoy being in here.

And that was in spite of the temptations. He could easily use this place to make Rudy Tabootie lose control and help him gain an upper hand. He wouldn’t be affected by the red chalk here. It can’t hurt him. It can’t control him. He could force Rudy to use a piece and..

He had decided very quickly that it wasn’t worth it. If Master Tabootie can’t control a vicious creation, then it would cause more damage than necessary. And Skrawl himself could be vulnerable to whatever red chalk creation Rudy was forced to create. Those red chalk zoners were more durable than normal white chalk ones. They would be difficult to take out.

This was why he found it hard to believe that the red chalk is supposed to be helping the zoners. He didn’t believe Bardot’s words for a moment. He was probably just saying that to make him feel better. Well it wasn’t going to work. He wasn’t some bone head. He wasn’t created just yesterday. He had a feeling that Bardot was lying about the whole thing and he really just wanted to take over ChalkZone himself.

Well, he was going to have to deal with him first…

Skrawl’s thoughts were interrupted when he could hear someone approaching. Swerving his head over, he could see, and hear, heavy footfalls coming this way. He immediately recognized who it was. Moving his still pained body over, he could see Draow and Bardot coming in towards the chamber. It looked as if Draow was pretending to chase Bardot, though with that snarling face, it was hard to tell if it was one hundred percent the case or not.

Skrawl pushed that thought aside for now as he took a few steps towards the two as they came to a complete stop. His mismatched eyes came in line with this green ones. “So aren’t they coming or not?”

Bardot’s ears flickered a little. “Come again?”

Skrawl resisted the urge to slap himself. “I thought you wanted the humans to come into this chamber.”

“Ah yes, I did.” Bardot nodded his head rapidly. “Do not fret, Skrawl. That will still come.” He looked over at Draow, giving the beast a small smirk. “And congratulations on your performance, Draow. You did make that chase seem convincing. Keep it up for now. We want Mr. Cosmo to still believe you’re on his side.”

Draow’s eyes narrowed and his body went slightly rigid. He arched his back, and his fur seemed to flutter and raise a little. “And how long will I need to wait until then..?”

Bardot shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t give an exact time. But I imagine it won’t be too long. Don’t worry.”

Draow just growled at his, his ears flattening. Skrawl took notice of this. He tilted his head to one side and he wondered just what happened to make Draow like this. He was more hesitant before. But this time, he seemed more willing to turn against his creator. This made him wonder if Mr. Cosmo said something to upset or hurt Draow. Judging from the look on his face, that certainly seemed to be the case.

Skrawl looked back over at Bardot, furrowing his eyes a little. He still couldn’t really make sense of what Bardot was trying to do. He was pretty confusing right now and it was giving him a headache. He couldn’t help but wonder just what he was hoping to accomplish here. He wondered just what that little hybrid zoner was trying to hide from them.

But like he told himself before, he would continue to play along. This may end up benefiting him somewhere down the line. He just needed to wait until the right moment before he tried to do anything. A smile spread along his face slowly.

...and Bardot noticed.

“What are you thinking of, Skrawl?” Cooed Bardot, startling the jellybean zoner. “Oh sorry, didn't mean to scare you.” Bardot chuckled softly. “But you seem to be in a pretty good mood right now. Do you care to share with us why?”

At first, Skrawl didn’t know what to do. He remained frozen in place, struggling to think of how he was going to respond to this. He could feel the other zoners’ eyes upon him and he felt his teeth becoming tightly gritted. He couldn’t let either of them know of his plans of usurping them. He didn’t want another ‘session’ with Bardot. He had just barely recovered from the last one. If done to him again, he might just crack.

His eyes lit up. But there was something that he could do. There was an idea he just got that could benefit them all, and buy him some time. Smiling at the two zoners before him, Skrawl took a step forward, raising his hand up in gesture, his claws curling inward.

“Do you think Mr. Cosmo fears the red chalk….?”

sss

Biclops narrowed his eyes into slits as he slowly approached the Chalk Mine. He had never felt this level of anxiety approaching his own home before. He had to take his time, keep himself quiet, make sure that he was as prepared as he could be. He didn’t want to end up slipping up and get Mr. Wilter in trouble.

Horace Wilter, specifically.

The thought of that name brought on many unnerving, confusing, and conflicting thoughts. He did have some fond memories of him. Mostly of the fact that he was the one who finally turned the tide of the war. But at the same time, Mr. Wilter was not completely innocent in the whole affair. After all, he did still delay his involvement, and due to that, many more zoners died than needed to. So many of those lives could have been saved had he just got involved sooner. That was one of the reasons he still kicked him out afterwards.

But that didn’t mean that he wanted him to die. He was not going to leave him to face off against Mr. Cosmo all by himself. That wouldn’t be fair. Especially in an enclosed area like the Chalk Mine. Mr. Cosmo might prefer a certain type of chalk, but if he got desperate enough, he could…

Biclops tried not to think about it. He swallowed hard and he forced himself to keep moving towards the Chalk Mine. He was going to do whatever he could to make sure that Mr. Cosmo does not leave the mines. Even if Penny wasn’t there to help trap him, there was still Horace Wilter, and he himself. He was large enough that he could slow down the evil human to some degree and he could keep him from causing the damage that he had in the past. Biclops was not going to have another war on his hands.

But he wasn’t able to get much further before he heard a loud scream. He froze, his eyes widening in horror. Then he could see something flying out of the Chalk Mine entrance. He could see something moving and skidding and flipping across the ground rather painfully, and then that something finally collapsed in a bloody, scraped up heap.

It was Mr. Wilter. Biclops’s eyes widened in shock.

“And that’s what you get for…” Mr. Cosmo’s voice trailed off when he stepped out and saw Biclops. “...Well… I never thought I’d see you again..”

Biclops felt himself go completely rigid. Memories flooded back to him and he could feel his breathing become rather difficult. Then he shook it off and he glared at the man. “Stay away from him…”

Mr. Cosmo smirked, “What are you going to do about it...my dear old creation…?”

Biclops sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “Whatever I can.”


	51. The Black Chalk Chamber

Rudy felt like an idiot. He should have just done what Biclops had told him and start to take Penny somewhere else. He should have taken out his darn magic chalk so that he could open up a portal and head somewhere into the Real World. Provided that he did it safely, at least. Penny could stay in here much longer. If Bardot’s words were to be correct, then that meant that…

But no, he had to hesitate. He had to stick around and try to watch Biclops attempt to stop Mr. Cosmo. He had to linger around, didn’t he? When he really should have been going into the Real World, he felt compelled to stay. Something drew him in and something made him feel as though he should remain behind.

It might have only been only for a few minutes, but that was more than enough for him to make a huge mistake.

Or rather, misstep.

He hadn’t expected the ground to give way so easily like that. He didn’t think that he would suddenly drop down and plummet several feet into a gaping hole. He was aware of his and Penny’s screaming, echoing throughout the air around them and making it sound worse than it really was. He didn’t know how far they fell. He was just aware that they were falling into what seemed to be a black abyss before it suddenly became light. But this, neither of them were aware of until they hit the ground painfully.

Rudy could feel his body exploding in pain, rippling right through him and causing him to shudder. He had to struggle to get himself up, which was a chore to do. He brushed off the dust that had clumped to his shirt and he looked around to find Penny, whom he had felt be flung from her a little while ago.

Finding Penny having landed several feet away, he rushed towards her. He dropped himself down onto his knees, reached out, and gently gripped her arm, carefully avoiding her torn shoulder. He looked at her carefully, examining her in silence. He tried to see if the fall had injured her any more than she already was.

He gasped when he found out that this was a yes. It was not as bad as it could have been, but the fall did force the arm in a different direction than it was able to process, causing a bigger tear to form. This made the wound bigger, bleed more heavily, and even undone whatever little healing had taken place. Rudy could feel his hand moving to his mouth, tears forming, and he huddled up against Penny. Lightly of course.

“I’m so sorry. I should have been more careful…” Rudy whispered to her gently.

Penny opened up one eye and she stared over at him. She hadn’t been too talkative lately, due to the pain and blood loss. But she did still work up the strength to raise her hand up and touch it against his arm. Rudy jolted a little and stared at her in the eyes, trying to look as apologetic as possible.

Cracking a weak smile, Penny said, “It’s...not your fault, Rudy. There was…” She flinched as she felt a flash of pain moving through her body. “There wasn’t a way you could have...predicted this.”

Rudy gritted his teeth as he put his hand over hers, holding it tightly. He wanted to be comforted by her words, but he just...couldn’t. But instead of doing or saying anything to bring this down, he instead just sucked in a deep breath and said, “I promise I will get us out of this. You’ll see.”

Penny chuckled quietly. Her eyes started to flutter, but amazingly she was able to still remain conscious. “I’m sure you will, Rudy. I...believe in you.”

Rudy felt more tears dropping from his eyes at this. Then he narrowed them and tried to sniffle himself into silence. He was not going to let Penny down. He would get her to safety. He owed her that much. After how he had treated her before, he would see to it that she was safe.

Rudy leaned in and he pushed his arms underneath her body as gently as he could. He pushed himself up, his legs wobbling slightly, and he was able to balance her pretty easily in his arms. As he held her to himself, he turned and he started to move in deeper in this place. Like hell he was going to go anywhere without taking her with him.

He had no idea where this place was. From the looks of it, it almost reminded him of a section from the Chalk Mine. But he never seen any place like this and he could not see any entry way into it. Maybe he didn’t look hard enough, but this just looked like a big, underground hole. He didn’t even see anything spectacular around here so far. It was just...emptiness. A big room with nothing but rocks to stare at.

Which did bring in a problem. How were he and Penny supposed to get out of this place when they had no idea where they are and they had no materials to work with? Rudy tried not to let himself get too frustrated. He didn’t want to give Penny more of a reason to worry. But geeze, there had to be something that he could do.

He stopped in the middle of the room, looking left and right, biting his lip. He started to sense...something off about this place. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. But something told him that he should be looking around more carefully, like something was wrong here. Something was….missing. Something that should give him a reason to worry. Or was that just his gut instinct? Was he overreacting to this? Considering what happened just a short while ago, he did have a good reason to be uncertain and skeptical.

Rudy didn’t realize just how preoccupied he was with this sensation. Before he knew it, he felt his leg getting caught on something and, like a repeat of the recent past, he tripped once more. He landed against Penny, causing her to yelp painfully. He immediately scrambled back and looked at her with great worry, looking her over to see if anything happened to her.

“I’m so sorry, Penny! I…” He realized that he must sound like a broken record, but he just couldn’t help it. “Did I hurt you…?”

Penny let out a small groan, raising one of her hands to rub her head gently. “I’m… I’m okay…” She lifted her head to stare up at Rudy. “What did we trip on this time?”

Rudy bit his lip. He couldn’t help but notice how Penny shared the blame in what happened instead of pointing it at who really deserved it, which was himself. He wanted to correct her, but he didn’t have the heart to. Not after what happened. He just exhaled slowly and he turned his head to look behind him. “I’m not sure. It looks like there’s some clump there but…”

Rudy then noticed something off about this clump. He tilted his head to one side. He furrowed his eyes deeply and he started to move towards it slowly. He left Penny where she was, not wanting to pull her closer to something that might be dangerous. He got up close to it, bent down onto one knee, and peered towards it.

Whatever it was, it appeared to be all black. But it couldn’t be black chalk. These branches out here, all in a row, that wasn’t what black chalk looked like. That wasn’t what any chalk looked like, actually. But this also meant that it wasn’t a rock, either. What rock has these arching branches on both sides? There was one section that looked more like a rock, but it had a couple dipping holes in it but….

Suddenly Rudy gasped loudly and he scrambled back quickly. He tripped on his feet and he fell back, heaving and panting, his mind spinning.

“Rudy?” Penny called out in worry. “What’s going on?”

Rudy didn’t answer her. He couldn’t bring himself to. All he could do was just look on in horror, licking his dry lips. A sickening feeling encroached in his stomach and he started to feel pretty sick. He was struggling to hold in any bile-tasting vomit.

It was a skeleton. One that looked like it had been charred to a crisp and then just dumped here. There were more pieces in other places, something that took him a while to take notice of. And he could see where it had begun to crack. Rudy could feel his heart racing as he looked into the empty eye sockets and he could almost sense the fear and pain this person must have felt when they died. He could not even tell if it was human or zoner, not that it mattered. His feelings would have stayed the same.

As he struggled to catch his breath and control his spinning, terrified mind, his thoughts went back to an earlier conversation he heard between Mr. Cosmo and Mr. Wilter. His eyes widened slightly.

Was it possible that this was….Banjo?

sss

Perhaps this hadn’t been his best idea.

Mr. Cosmo ran as fast as he could as he headed into the mines. The giant fit in here sure, but he would at least have more places that he could hide in and maneuver around in, making it easier for him to find a way to attack. It was a good thing he still had that piece of black chalk with him. The thought of using that disgusting white chalk made him want to hurl.

But he knew that, if he wasn’t careful, even the black chalk was not going to help him all that much. He gritted his teeth and snorted softly as he looked behind him. As he was entering into the Chalk Mine, so was Biclops. He could have attacked him out there, but frankly, it would be easier if he took things in this place instead. Biclops would have less of a place to run to.

His eyes widened when he could see that large fist coming down towards him, a clear attempt to crush him under its weight. He gritted his teeth and he continued to move himself forward, managing to dodge it just in time. The large fist collided with the ground and he could hear and feel that cracking. He shuddered as he realized that it easily could have been him. He didn’t dare stop there, however, and he jumped to the other side once more, getting himself out of range for the zoner’s next attempt at him.

Soon Mr. Cosmo stood near an overhanging cluster of white chalk and turned himself around. He had overshot his running and now he was up against the wall. He could see Biclops looming over him, those vertical eyes glaring right at him.

Oh shit.. He just realized that he couldn’t use the vision advantage anymore. Back when Biclops was Cyclops, having only a singular eye, he could use the giant’s poor vision against him. But thanks to Rudy, that was no longer possible.

Unless…

Biclops stood in front of him, forming tight fists with his hands, staring down at him like he was something disgusting. He curled his fingers inward, bared his teeth, and growled deeply, his body shaking ever so slightly. Mr. Cosmo couldn’t tell if that was more from fear or from anger. Not that he cared.

“You were a fool to come back here. You know that you are no longer welcome. When you were banished, you were given no option to come back and Horace was to….”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this, snarling softly while he forced a smile to creep along his mouth. “What a nice little story you’ve got there, Biclops. You know that’s not how it went down. Did you make that up to tell other zoners so they wouldn’t be afraid of my return?”

Biclops appeared to falter at this a little. But he was soon able to regain his confidence. He kept a stiff upper lip as he said, “Regardless of that, you know how it should have been…” He turned his head to the side, looking in one direction without really seeing anything. Then those eyes looked back at him, his lip curled up enough to show his teeth. “You don’t deserve to be chalked up.”

Mr. Cosmo felt a brief shudder within himself. He could feel a sting in his heart, which tightened in response. He somehow managed to keep himself smiling at Biclops, although unwavering emotion started to grip him like a snake coiling around its prey. “Is that what you think, Biclops? Well you must know how I feel about zoners…” He bared his teeth more prominently. “What the fuck made you think I would ever want to be one?!”

“At least your minions can’t do anything to hurt anyone anymore.” Biclops said firmly. “They could then see what it was like on the other side of the spectrum.”

“...or did they?” Taunted Mr. Cosmo.

Biclops asked, “What are you talking about?”

Mr. Cosmo turned his head to the side, waving his hand dismissively. “Oh don’t you worry about that, Biclops…” He pushed his hand into his pocket. “I think you have a bigger worry right now…” Mr. Cosmo slowly pulled the black chalk from his pocket. He held it up, staring at it up close and personal, his eyes glinting for a second, matching the object’s coloration. “A really big worry…”

Biclops’s eyes immediately filled to the brim with horror. He gasped loudly and he took a few steps back. He stared at the object intently, licking his lips slowly. The giant suddenly couldn’t think of what he was going to do. He just remained there, trembling, his eyes, big and wide, glued to the black chalk. The sight of the giant like this was enough to make Mr. Cosmo feel all powerful. It was a reminder that he had a leg up on zoners here. They would have a harder time getting to him if they feared the black chalk.

And Bardot tried to convince him that the black chalk was out to protect ChalkZone. Feh, yeah right…

Mr. Cosmo grinned almost insanely as he moved in closer, clutching the black chalk tightly in his hand. “Do you have any idea what it’s like being a human in this wretched place? Do you know what it’s like to wander around and there be so many creatures bigger and stronger than you that could rip you apart?” His voice was a seething whisper. He didn’t expect the giant to answer. He expected him to listen. “Our only chance, us creators, was the magic chalk. The black chalk, which didn’t lie to us and showed us how things really were…”

Biclops cut him off, taking a step forward. “So it was true… The black chalk really did take over you!”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this. “Take over me? No, that’s not what happened.” He shook his head slowly from side to side. Then he leaned himself back a little, somehow managing to give Biclops a sideways glance. “I’ve been liberated. We all have. And with this..” He looked at the black chalk once more. “...ChalkZone will never be dangerous again.”

Biclops held his hand out towards him. “You can’t just…!”

Mr. Cosmo immediately held the black chalk up, threatening to draw something with it. “You seem to forget who is in charge here…” Mr. Cosmo growled. “Perhaps I will give you….a reminder…” His eyes glowed black for a few seconds as he brought the black chalk down, beginning to draw with it.

“Wait, stop! No, please!” Biclops pleaded, waving his large hands from side to side. But when Mr. Cosmo refused to let up, Biclops allowed his emotions to get the better of him and he started to rush towards Mr. Cosmo as quickly as he could.

And as that giant zoner came towards him, barreling across the ground heavily, Mr. Cosmo couldn’t stop staring at him. And he couldn’t help but see a flash, and Banjo’s face replaced Biclops’s. The human immediately felt his heart yank, memories flooded back to him. He held his breath tightly before he shook his head and he began to draw quickly, fear taking a hold of him.

It had all happened so quickly. Mr. Cosmo didn’t even realize how much time actually passed. He didn’t even realize what the hell he was doing. All he knew was that he had somehow obtained a weapon. Had he drawn that fast? He pushed that question out of his head as he lifted up the gun-like weapon and pulled the trigger.

Biclops screamed, “No, don’t h…!” Then something electrical struck around his leg, coiling and burning it deeply. He threw his head back and he let out a loud, bloodcurdling scream. “Aaaaarrrgghhh…!”

Mr. Cosmo did feel some sense of horror of what was happening, but that didn’t make him let up. He watched the giant spasm in response to the electrical attack that was sprung upon him. The red-haired man kept the trigger pulled, forcing Biclops to writhe on the ground painfully, clutching his bleeding leg.

As this happened, Mr. Cosmo could feel another flashback in the back of his head. This somehow felt familiar. Didn’t he do this once before?

...Banjo…?

The thought was fleeting and he shook it out of his head. He gritted his teeth tightly as he pushed the trigger harder, listening to Biclops’s screams becoming louder, sobs starting to fill the air. He refused to let go. Even when Biclops’s leg grew bloodier and more burned, he still didn’t stop. If he let up now, that gave the giant a chance to hurt him. And he wasn’t about to give him that chance.

Then, with a loud splunch sound, the leg suddenly came off. Mr. Cosmo felt himself gasp in shock at this, watching the leg stumble to the ground, the bone exposed. Then he looked at the gaping hole on the giant’s body where the leg used to be. He stared at it long and hard, his hand going to his mouth as he tried not to throw up. The stench of blood wreaked through the air, filling up his nostrils rapidly.

Biclops’s face paled as he saw what had become of his leg. His mouth dropped open and his eyes widened. He slowly looked over at Mr. Cosmo. He struggled to breathe, struggled to get up from the ground. But as the pool of blood spread rapidly, Biclops’s eyes seemed to fade of their life light. Then he just collapsed against the ground, his breathing growing shaky and uneven.

And all Mr. Cosmo would do was just stand there, staring in shock. His mind took a while to register just what had happened. He could feel his body shaking, and he nearly dropped his weapon. For a brief moment, he felt a pang of….something in his chest. He bit his lip, pressing his teeth against it, before taking a small step back. He then shook his head and he narrowed his eyes deeply. He reminded himself of what this creature was and what would have happened if he didn’t do this. With that in mind, he started to feel less guilty about this.

Now that he had Mr. Cosmo and Biclops out of the way, where did those two teenagers go? They ran outside, right? How perfect… He couldn’t help but smile. Had they stumbled upon his little secret yet? There was only one way to find out. Without sparing Biclops another glance, Mr. Cosmo walked out of the Chalk Mine.

sss

Even through her pain, it was easy to tell that Rudy was clearly upset about something. Penny tried to get a better look at whatever Rudy had seen. She heard heard her friend screaming and she knew that something was wrong. There was no way that he could have done that if it wasn’t serious. That made her incredibly worried. Just what did he see that made him scramble back like that?

Penny struggled to force herself to speak, “Rudy...what is it…?” She paused as she waited for him to respond. When he did not, she tried again. “Rudy, wh-what did you see…?”

Rudy slowly turned his head to look at her. She couldn’t help but gasp at how those eyes of his looked. He seemed almost haunted, like he was ready to just collapse at any given moment. She could see the true horror and dread in those eyes and she could almost hear him silently screaming on the inside. He then slowly looked away from her, his eyes returning to what they were looking at before.

Penny adjusted herself, pushing onto one of her arms, her good one to be specific, and she tried to see just what has Rudy so startled and so worried. She could soon see what appeared to be a black mash of something upon the ground. It didn’t look like much. Why was Rudy getting upset about this? Just what was it about this thing that had him so worried? There had to be something that…

Penny felt her eyes snap wide open and a gasp nearly choking her when she saw what looked to be telltale signs of ribs curving inward towards each other. In that moment, she realized that this wasn’t just some random pile of rocks. This was a corpse.

That dread word ‘corpse’ echoed in her head as soon as she thought of it. She struggled to keep breathing, trying to do whatever she could to remain as calm as she could. She sucked on her lip as she leaned herself back. She stared at Rudy intently, whose eyes had hardly left that body on the ground. Penny didn’t know the identity of the corpse, but right now, her mind was racing, thinking of only one thing.

“Rudy….I think we should leave…”

Rudy looked around behind him to stare at her. He remained like this for several moments before he licked his lips dryly and he nodded his head. “Y-Yeah.. W-W-We should try to…” He stopped himself for a second so that he could look around him. “...if we can find a way out of here…”

Penny immediately realized what Rudy was talking about. She looked towards the ground, furrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth. Oh shit, they had forgotten to grab any white chalk while they were in the cave, didn’t they? How were they going to draw their way out without any magic chalk? The simple answer as that they weren’t. They were going to need to find another way out of here. But what could they even do?

There just had to be magic chalk around here somewhere. This was near the Chalk Mine, wasn’t it? Even in spite of her dazed state, she was aware enough that she realized where they must have fallen through. With her eyes now drying, she looked around and tried to see every nook and cranny of this place.

Eventually, she was able to see something that caught her eye. It was a bit far, but still within walking distance. Furrowing her eyes a little, she could make out what looked to be a group of mostly broken pieces, some of them almost melted, like someone had tried to destroy it. Whatever this thing was… But soon her eyes focused on the one thing that was different.

Some kind of cluster formation upon the ground.

She stared at it long and hard, licking her lips slowly. Something about it looked and felt familiar, but not in the way she initially thought. She sucked on her lips nervously as she tried to think of what the heck this was.

And then it dawned on her.

It was magic chalk.

“Rudy…” Penny whispered softly. “O-Over there…” She raised her hand up to point. “A-A-Are those…?”

Rudy lifted his head to look over at where she was pointing at. It seemed to take him a while to realize what she was referring to. His mind was obviously still locked with what he had seen prior. His shaken mind took minutes to register what was growing out of the ground. And even then, his movements over there were slow, almost delayed. He looked as if he was deliberately taking his time walking over there.

Soon Rudy arrived at the cluster. He started to reach out towards it, his hand trembling. But then he just stopped. His eyes widened, and he just froze there in place, unable to move or do anything.

“Rudy, what is it?” Penny called out to him. “Is that….?”

“...it’s black chalk…” Rudy’s words came in an icy, terrified voice.

Penny felt herself gasp sharply at this. She stared at Rudy with a disbelieving expression, whispering, “A-Are you sure..?”

Rudy licked his lips dryly. He didn’t bother to look back at her as he nodded his head shakingly. “...Y-Yes I’m sure…” He moved back quickly, holding his hands upward as though he was trying to get away from a dangerous animal. “W-W-We definitely need to leave… This is a dangerous place… Th-This must be where Mr. Cosmo…”

The two teenagers were caught off guard when they heard someone laughing not far from them. They nearly jumped out of their skin and they quickly whirled their heads over to glare at whoever was finding this situation so hilarious. Neither of them were surprised to see Mr. Cosmo standing right there.

“I see you finally found my...lovely abode..” Mr. Cosmo raised his hands up into the air, spreading them outward slowly, as though showing off what was around him. “Do you love it?”

Despite her mixture of fear and pain, Penny found herself glaring at Mr. Cosmo along with Rudy. She wanted to say something, but she could see Rudy moving out in front of her. He took a protective stance there, keeping Mr. Cosmo a good distance from her. She could not see his face, but she guessed that Rudy was glaring at Mr. Cosmo with a sharp, piercing expression.

“Was this part of your plan? To make us fall into here?” Rudy growled through clenched teeth. “Such a lowdown, dirty trick… You should be…”

“Oh so dark! Rudy, I never…!” Mr. Cosmo put his hands to his mouth and pretended to look shocked. “Rudy, I’m so shocked with you! You never even gave me a chance to explain!”

Rudy hissed, “There’s no reason for that. You and I both know why you did this…”

“If I did it, that is. How do I know that you didn’t want to surrender on your own?” The man raised his hand upward, curling his fingers inward. “How do I know that you decided to join me and leave everyone else of your past behind?” He folded his hands and arms behind his back and chuckled softly, “Cause you know….people do change…. I was once like you long ago. I’m sure you knew something of that already.”

Penny narrowed her eyes. “Y-You’re trying to force him to change… Th-That’s not…”

Mr. Cosmo turned his head to face Penny. “It’s not what, my dear…?” He looked like he was going to walk over towards her. Only Rudy seemed to be keeping him at bay. The man opted to just straighten himself out as he smirked down at her. He gave her a partially sideways glance. “You going to lecture me on fairness? That’s hilarious. Look at what a zoner did to you.” He pointed a finger at her. “Do you think that’s fair?”

Rudy snarled, venom practically spilling out of his voice. “She’s only like that because you ordered Draow to kill her…” There was clear pain in his voice. Penny could tell that he hadn’t recovered from that yet, and somehow, she knew that this was going to bite Mr. Cosmo back in the ass.

Mr. Cosmo just shrugged his shoulders. “Details. The point is, a zoner still tried to kill you. And you never asked for it to happen, now did you?”

Penny couldn’t think of how to respond to that.

Mr. Cosmo just smirked. “I knew you would be speechless. And you should be.” He raised his head up a little more. “Maybe if you really think about it, you will now finally see why these things must be done. Maybe you will see why zoners are a dangerous threat to everyone and why they should be contained.”

Rudy took a step forward, looking as though he was about to rush the man. “You hypocritical asshole! You’re using Draow to….!”

Mr. Cosmo just laughed at this. “Who cares? He’s just a zoner. I can easily get rid of him and replace him if I need to. He is my most loyal helper, the one zoner I can trust.” Mr. Cosmo closed his eyes and raised his hand up in gesture. “But in the end, he’s still just a zoner. I can’t keep him around forever. It’s best if I dispose of him later, as I did with Tsere.”

“Y-You monster…” Penny found herself hissing loudly before she jerked and flinched in pain.

“Me? The monster? You must be mistaken. What of that little blue friend of yours? He betrayed you.. He hates you now...no, he’s always hated you. Because he’s a filthy, no-good zoner who…”

Without warning, Rudy charged at Mr. Cosmo. Both the man and female teenager were shocked by this. Mr. Cosmo let out a pained grunt as Rudy rammed into him and pulled him into the ground. And all Penny could do was watch.

sss

Bardot flicked his ears forward and back. He pushed himself onto his hind legs, his front paws lifting from the ground, and he turned his head from side to side. He narrowed his eyes into slits, growling deeply. “Something isn’t right here.”

Skrawl raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Bardot hissed lowly. “I think we’re about to have trouble.”

He ignored how Skrawl and Draow were looking at him. He didn’t pay any attention to the fact that they were confused and probably silently questioning what he was talking about. All that Bardot could focus on was the fact that the mines had suddenly gone silent. He had heard some fighting before, indicating that everyone was still present. But now it just…

He had a good hunch on what must have happened. And it worried him deeply. He had hoped to get everyone into the Red Chalk Chamber first, before that human could… But had he failed on that? Could the others have wound up in the Black Chalk Chamber instead?

The thought sent jolts through his body and he could feel his fur starting to rise up on end. He could feel his body shaking a little and he flexed his claws into the ground. He could feel his tail slightly poofing up and he knew what this meant. If he couldn’t do something about this fast, then… He couldn’t help but release a low growl. He wasn’t going to give up too easily, but at the same time, he didn’t know what he could do.

It would depend on whether or not Rudy or Penny would… But they wouldn’t, far as he knew. They were adamant to not go that far. His whole plan would be ruined if they touched the black chalk. He did trust that neither teenager wanted to use it, but if Mr. Cosmo were involved and they were trapped, would they resort to desperation?

Things would only get more complicated if Mr. Cosmo told them about one particularly intriguing aspect of the black chalk. Penny would especially benefit from this. That made this a lot more serious. If she were about to die….

Bardot shot a glare towards Draow, who cringed from the sight of it. “I sure hope you did not screw anything up by biting that girl again….”

“H-How could I have?” Draow’s ears lowered. “I-I-I thought that….”

Bardot’s eyes glinted. “If she touches the black chalk due to her condition… If either of them do, then…” Bardot started to stalk his way towards Draow. The large wolf zoner, despite his size, still backed away, as though Bardot could suck away his very life force. “...the red chalk will have a harder time getting things done. I promise you that the black chalk will want to rid themself of red. I won’t let my brethren be killed because of your stupidity.”

“So why don’t you just go do something about it instead of standing here complaining?” Skrawl asked, raising his hand up in gesture. “I’m sure they aren’t too far.”

Bardot’s gaze fell upon Skrawl. He took in a few deep breaths, eventually managing to calm himself down to some degree. A smile was cracked upon his yellow-muzzled face. “You know, that does sound like a brilliant idea. I heard you were good with those.”

Skrawl nodded his head, giving a haughty smile. “Yes I am.”

Bardot chortled at this. It was almost amusing how Skrawl still clung to his cockiness despite what happened to him. He truly was stubborn, wasn’t he? At this point, he didn’t know exactly what Skrawl thought he was going to get out of this, or what he was going to do next. But that didn’t matter right now. Bardot’s top priority was to stop those teens from getting a hold of the black chalk.

If only he had that place destroyed when he had the chance….

Straightening himself up, his tail raising, he said, “Since I know you will be up for the task, Skrawl, I want you to go figure out where they are. If they are about to touch any black chalk, stop them. Make sure that they don’t get a hold of it.”

Skrawl narrowed his eyes slowly. “What makes you think I will do what you say?”

Bardot motioned to him in gesture. “I thought you knew what you were doing. I thought you believe that you are so much better than everyone else.” He lowered his paw back down. “Are you saying that you lied to me?”

“Wh-What? I-I… Urgh…” Skrawl ground his teeth together, grinding them from side to side. His eyes squinted shut tightly and the large zoner trembled a little. He squeezed his fists tightly as it looked like he was about to boil over in a rage….only to suddenly force that energy out in a loud, nasally snort. “Fine! I’ll show you!”

Bardot and Draow watched as Skrawl turned himself around and started to slightly limp towards the exit.

“I’ll let you see just why I am going to rule ChalkZone! You will see what I’m truly made out of of! You will see that you will regret ever….”

Bardot would have loved to keep hearing this monologue, but there just wasn’t time. He raised his foot up and stomped on the ground. The noise that this made was loud enough to startle Skrawl into silence. Bardot stared at him straight in the eyes, forcing his gritted teeth into a smile so that the zoner didn’t know that he was upset with him. “Just get going…!”

Skrawl stared at him, blinking, before giving a huff and turning to leave. Even without saying a word, the zoner still managed to give off such an arrogant vibe. Bardot shook his head at this. He hoped that Skrawl wouldn’t let his pride get in the way of understanding that he was still hurt and that he shouldn’t dive into this headfirst. He just wanted him to pull Rudy and Penny out of the Black Chalk Chamber if they happened to be in there.

“And what about me?”

Bardot lifted his head up and he stared at where Draow was. He gave him a questioning expression, one of his eyebrows raising higher than the other.

Draow took a hesitant step forward. “Why didn’t you want me to try? I could have stopped them and I’m not as hurt as Skrawl.”

“No, but you are also the one who hurt Penny and led it to becoming like this in the first place.” Bardot hissed softly. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Draow moved back, as though afraid of getting attacked. “I think I should give you another assignment. After all, we can’t just stand in this chamber doing nothing.”

Draow let his eyes narrow a little. “And just what do you want me to do?”

Bardot did not hesitate. “Round up whatever zoners that escaped as you can. The ones that Mr. Cosmo had captured. And bring them here.” He smirked darkly. “I think a little reunion is in order…”

sss

This had been unexpected. But perhaps he should have realized that something like this could happen. He knew how emotional the boy could get. He should have seen this coming. It was his own fault that this happened.

But that didn’t mean that he was going to take this lying down.

Mr. Cosmo growled deeply as he pulled his fist back and he struck against Rudy’s stomach. He could hear Rudy giving a pained cry as he staggered back a couple of steps. Rudy shook his head and glared right back at him. He bared his teeth and he started to head back over, his feet pounding the ground, showing no signs of slowing down.

Mr. Cosmo bared his teeth as he could feel Rudy grabbing onto him and trying to pull him back down again. He wasn’t going to let this happen again, so he yanked back, dragging Rudy with him. He then threw him to the side before rushing over to ram him. Rudy let out a pained gasp and it sounded like he was having some trouble breathing. He held onto his throat tightly, squeezing his fingers around his neck as though to force air out.

But even through this, Rudy still managed to keep standing up to him. Rudy forced himself to let go of his throat and, though he wobbled a little, he did manage to stand firm and glare at him, curling his lip up into a snarl. Mr. Cosmo would be impressed by this if he weren’t concerned for how it was going to interfere with things. He needed the boy to stop long enough for him to make him grab some black chalk and get it fucking done and over with. But how could he do that if he kept on resisting him like this?

But there was always a way to turn things into his favor. It was just a matter of…

He let out a cry of pain when Rudy charged into him, hitting him against his side like a battering ram. Mr. Cosmo slid back, nearly falling down. He clutched his side and rubbed that sore spot to try to soothe it. He glared over at Rudy, his frustration returning.

He could then feel a cool, inviting sensation crawling up his body. The black chalk practically wrapped itself around him and calmed him down. He could hear its voices in his head, all of them reassuring him that it was going to be alright. They reminded him that all Rudy needed was to experience the black chalk. Then he would understand.

The thought bought a smile to Mr. Cosmo’s face as he began to take another defensive, fighting stance. He watched as Rudy moved around him in a broad circle. He didn’t go that far; he was keeping himself in front of Penny. What a smart boy. He must know what would happen if he were to go out too far. Perhaps he needed a demonstration.

The red-haired man began to circle as well. Just as he thought, Rudy mimicked his every move. He kept this up, constantly walking to the side, paying little attention to what was around him and instead focusing on the boy. He kept doing this until he was able to determine around when Rudy would realize there was a problem and he would move back, keeping himself in front of Penny no matter what Mr. Cosmo would try. But of course, all that did was reveal an area to attack, all without Rudy even knowing it.

Mr. Cosmo waited a little bit before he made his move. He had to go quickly, or else this would not work. He suddenly jumped to one side, causing Rudy to become startled and rush over to block him. But as soon as he did this, Mr. Cosmo moved back around and headed in the opposite direction. This allowed him to get close enough to Penny to step on her before Rudy could come back.

“Penny…!” Rudy shouted upon realizing his mistake. He glared at Mr. Cosmo, pointing a finger at him. “Get your foot off of her! If you dare try to hurt her, I’ll tear you apart!”

“And if you try to get any closer, I will break her little back.” Mr. Cosmo showed just how much he was telling the truth by pushing his foot further down, causing Penny’s eyes to widen and she cried out in pain.

Rudy let out a loud gasp at this, reaching his hand over to grab her, only to stop and pull back, realizing what would happen if he tried. He reluctantly forced himself to take a step back, glaring intently and angrily at the man. “What do you want me to do?”

Mr. Cosmo did not believe once that the boy was actually surrendering. He licked his lips slowly as he leaned in a little. He kept the pressure on Penny’s back consistent. “You know what I want… The question is, will you listen this time, or are you going to betray me again…?”

“And what about you, hypocrite? You were the one who had Penny attacked even after I surrendered! How can I trust you to let my friend go?!” Rudy’s body trembled with emotion. “Give me one good reason why I should bother listening to you this time! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip you apart!”

Mr. Cosmo flinched at this, realizing that he had goofed up earlier. It would seem that this bargain might not work. Rudy would not be compelled to help Penny if he felt that she would get hurt no matter what. There had to be something that he could do to make this more...intriguing.

His eyes flickered.

“I can give you one good reason.” Mr. Cosmo looked down at Penny, moving his eyes up and down to examine her. “I can see how badly hurt your friend is. I believe I told you she has little time left.” Mr. Cosmo looked back at Rudy, noting his furious expression. “Remember when I told you that I could save her? I wasn’t lying about that.”

Rudy’s expression softened a little. But he still glared, still looking suspicious. “And how are you going to do that?”

“Easy. I have something that can help.” Mr. Cosmo explained. “It will heal her right up and she will be fine. But before I will even do that, you will have to do me a favor.” He let himself smile smugly. “How about we do it at the same time? That way, we both get what we want.”

Rudy seemed a little hesitant, but he didn’t exactly reject the offer. In his eyes, worry for his dear friend Penny outweighed his fear for himself. At least in the time being, until he decided to think of what it meant for ChalkZone… Mr. Cosmo had to make sure he acted before that happened. Then he also realized that Snap was a part of this as well. Would Rudy be more compelled if two of his friends were in trouble?

He was inclined to believe that it was a yes. If he put pressure on the boy, he would want to answer faster for his friends’ sake. He sneered inwardly at the thought.

“Let’s not forget Snap. I’m sure you are still worried about him.” Mr. Cosmo could see how Rudy’s eyes lit up more at this. He continued, “I don’t care where you have taken him. I can still find him and I can still ‘take care’ of him. I will, however, leave him alone, as well as help your friend, if you touch the black chalk.”

Rudy shifted uncomfortably. He looked like he wanted to rush over and attack the man, but he knew better and he held back.

Mr. Cosmo said, “I know I sound like a broken record. But you know that it’s true, don’t you?” He let himself smile darkly, wanting to make sure that Rudy knew just how serious this all was. “You know for a fact that I will go through with this if you refuse. You should know this by now. I mean…” He raised his hand up in gesture. “...for all you know, I might have sent someone to deal with your friend right now.” He tilted his head up, grinning with delight. “And there isn’t anything that you can do about it from here.”

“You really are a lowdown dirty asshole..” Penny growled in pain.

Mr. Cosmo held no remorse for pulling back his fist to strike the girl. She let out a cry of pain and she moved her head away. He just snorted at her, curling his fingers inward. That was what she got for trying to intervene.

Rudy shouted at him from over where he stood. “Y-You monster! Leave her alone! She didn’t do anything to you!”

“...she tried to interfere. She should know better than that.” Mr. Cosmo lifted his foot from her back. She seemed relieved at first until he put it against her head. He forced it to the side as he pushed down upon it, applying his weight to it. Penny grunted and whimpered in pain. “She should be more careful and think before she pulls something this tricky again.”

When Mr. Cosmo pushed down hard again, Rudy screamed in fear, rushing forward but then stopping in his tracks when Mr. Cosmo applied even more pressure, making Penny whine in pain. Rudy looked from her then to Mr. Cosmo in a repeated, desperate fashion. His determination remained glued to his face, but now he hesitated to do anything, likely fearful of what could happen if he made the wrong move.

Mr. Cosmo enjoyed this. He loved being in power. He loved seeing Rudy’s fearful face staring right back at him. He loved to see how he was struggling to think of what he could do for his friend. His face had sweat rolling down as he tried to think of anything that might work. But alas, he couldn’t think of anything.That became rapidly obvious.

And upon seeing Rudy’s head lower down a little, a sign of submission, Mr. Cosmo felt not only victory, but also relief. Even if it took this long, he was still glad that Rudy was soon going to be freed of the white chalk’s control. The kid doesn’t know it nor would he admit it until later, but he really did owe him after this. He should be, and will be, grateful.

But that didn’t stop the boy from glaring at him.

Mr. Cosmo shook his head a few times. “Now, Rudy, there’s no reason for you to be such a sore sport. You are doing the right thing. You will…”

Suddenly something large and heavy struck against Mr. Cosmo’s side. He stiffened and yelped in pain as something sharp slashed across his side. He put his hand to his side, applying pressure in hpoes of stopping it. He then shot a piercing glare at whoever had decided to attack him.

His eyes widened upon recognizing the figure, before letting out a small guttural growl. “Of course it had to be you…” He growled, holding onto his wound firmly. Just what did this idiot want?


	52. No Choices And No Takebacks

He could hear Bardot’s words still echoing in his head. That zoner couldn’t seem to make up his mind. He had been prepared to do what he wanted him to, but instead, Bardot decided to back track. He modified his orders just a little. It wasn’t much, but it still frustrated him to no end. Why couldn’t he have a more clear cut picture of what he wanted instead of just…

But regardless, he still headed forward anyway. He still made his way down the path towards the exit of the mine. He still had a job to do. Even if he now had to do some extra work and actually count and figure out names, as it would seem Bardot wanted a specific ensemble, he couldn’t just back out.

Draow’s ears flicked in irritation. He gritted his teeth, seething through them, and he looked over his shoulder to glare off in the direction that he knew Bardot was in. The hybrid zoner had decided to stay put in the Red Chalk Chamber. Because of course he would… He didn’t have the guts to come with him and help do this himself. He didn’t have the brute strength required to round up a couple of zoners. Bardot claims that it would be easy. But if that were the case, then why doesn’t he do this as well?

Well at least it won’t be too hard to find those zoners. He imagined that they were all still being driven crazy by those nails in their heads. They would likely be causing some sort of destruction somewhere. The commotion wouldn’t be hard to spot. He just needed to listen for the screams and head that way. It was really simple. He had little to worry about there.

But as he soon exited into the main White Chalk Chamber, he realized that there was a problem.

Didn’t Bardot want that female zoner? The one that was named...what was it….Rapsheeba? He thought he saw her fleeing before, if his memory served right. He had a feeling that she would be at the hospital. But that would mean that he would have to go to the hospital to take one zoner and...would he be able to do that?

Draow shook his head. He would just skip it. Bardot didn’t need all of the zoners. He only mentioned a few. So he’ll just replace Rapsheeba with another zoner. He wanted at least three. But they would need to be different from the zoners he attacked before to keep them from killing the teenagers. Those zoners would be too hurt.

But thankfully, Mr. Cosmo never stopped at just a couple of zoners.

Draow moved his way through the White Chalk Chamber. Unlike Mr. Cosmo, he never did feel strange or unusual about this place. It was pretty mundane. He didn’t know why Mr. Cosmo hated it so much. He would ramble on and on about it before, but frankly, he couldn’t really share the same level of disdain that he himself seemed to have for it. He would have to guess that it was related to the black chalk.

Enough thinking about that. It was time to…

“Rrrggh….”

Draow’s ears flickered upon hearing somebody groan. He turned his head around to try to find who was making that noise. He thought the mine was quiet. Bardot believed it was. So who could be…

Draow made a turn around a corner and he immediately froze when he saw something large and yellow laying there. His eyes flickered in recognition as he saw Biclops just laying there. He was on his side and he looked a bit curved inward, holding onto his leg unconsciously. Or what was left of it. Draow could feel a sense of shock and horror washing over him as he saw that the zoner was missing part of his leg.

But then he started to smile a little. While he wasn’t as big of a nuisance as Tsere, Biclops had been a bit of a headache for him in the past. To see him laying here, unable to move or do anything, it just broad a smile to his face. It served as an affective catharsis.

And best of all, it would seem that Biclops was starting to wake up.

“Ah hello there, Biclops…” Draow spoke, his deep voice rumbling through the cave. Biclops did not respond, other than with a couple weak head turns. He was not yet fully aware of his surroundings. “You are quite difficult to kill, aren’t you? Even with a leg cut off, you still resist.” He shook his head. “If only you hadn’t been so stubborn…”

Draow headed on closer. He normally wouldn’t given the fact that Biclops was larger than him. But here, he held no fear. He strode over with a level of great confidence, grinning broadly as his teeth gritted and shined and glinted in whatever sparkling white chalk light was available. He soon stood in front of Biclops, his side turned to him, his head turned enough so that he could smirk at him.

Pressing his claws into the ground, he said, “I wonder if I should just end it for you.” Draow could see Biclops struggling to look at him. He blinked slowly many times and he looked like he was having trouble staying awake. It was like he was just waking up from a nap. A many hour one, where his energy had been zapped rather than recharged. “You don’t look so well. I’m sure that you would thank me if I were to just…”

He raised his foot up to show Biclops his feet. He could see the large zoner’s eyes appearing to register some kind of threat. Just on the base, instinctual level regarding the pointedness of his claws, and not much else. But it would do just fine for him. So long as he reacted, he was happy.

Draow moved in ever closer, his body hunching, tension building up in his body. Biclops was still so out of it that he couldn’t try to struggle. This made him a large, sitting duck. Draow flexed his toes on each foot, scraping at the ground in anticipation. He draw closer to where Biclops’s still bleeding leg was. He stared at it, the smell of blood filling his nostrils, causing him to start drooling a little. Then he moved down to where Biclops’s large neck was, a smile contorting along his face even further. Perhaps he should help along with the bleeding.

Draow picked up his leg and he opened his three toes outward. The claws bent inwards, the tips of them glinting brightly. He tensed up his leg muscles and, with a vicious grin, he struck down towards Biclops….

...only to momentarily freeze when he noticed a red trail on the ground. His teal eyes moved along it, following it towards the large, open exit of the Chalk Mine. His mind whirled with many questions and he wondered just what the heck had happened here.

sss

Pain swirled around in his head, pounding at it like it was some kind of gigantic brick. He rubbed his head the best that he could, fending off the pain. But it wasn’t good enough. The pain still conquered his head, still made him feel sick, still showed him a whole whirlwind of agony.

Yet he kept on moving. No matter how much he was limping, no matter how much that this hurt, he would not stop. He could feel his vision blurring and he put his hand to his stomach, rubbing it gently. He stared out at whatever was in front of him, and he could feel some drool coming down from his mouth and lips. He licked slowly and he tried to shut his weakened jaw. It was useless. His muscles grew too sore too fast.

He shielded his eyes from the sun above him, which beat down on him mercilessly. He could feel the heat pounding against him, trying to push him into the ground. He managed to resist, and he jerked himself forward. He could feel his leg hitting the ground, his foot bending in a way that nearly caused him to bend and twist it. He yanked his foot over and he sped up a little….only to immediately recoil as unsteadiness dominated his head. He gripped his head even tighter and let out a loud, painful moan.

Mr. Wilter never felt like this level of shit before in his life. That is, except for the war he had put himself into. It didn’t matter if he never got involved at all. His emotions would still have caught up with him and still make him feel like he had done something wrong. There had been no getting away from that. There had been no escape.

That is, unless he had just followed Mr. Cosmo and came with him and Banjo to that one place. He knew that this was where Mr. Cosmo had changed. It had to have been. That was the same day that things fell apart horribly.

If only he had tried to stop him…

Mr. Wilter struggled to cope with the feelings of great guilt, a sense of responsibility of what happened pushing against his psyche. While he understood that he could not have predicted what happened, that didn’t stop him from feeling as though he should have done….something. He was responsible in some way for what happened to those zoners. He was partially responsible for the start of the whole dang war. And all because he didn’t bother joining his friend on that one adventure.

He let out a grunt of pain and he clutched his side firmly. He gritted his teeth and moved them across of each other forcefully. The man had received quite the beating from Mr. Cosmo. It was a miracle that he was even still able to walk. He somehow managed to keep limping his way forward as he tried to reach his destination.

...whatever that might have been.

When he woke up, he was in the Chalk Mine. He had no clue how he got there or if that was where he was attacked. All that he knew was that he was suddenly here and he was aware that Biclops was nearby, badly hurt as well. As he now trudged through the somewhat open field, he had to wonder if Mr. Cosmo put him there to show off to others his ‘trophies’. He thought made him shudder.

Mr. Wilter soon couldn’t walk anymore and he collapsed into the ground. He could feel the grass and the dirt rubbing up against his face. He hardly reacted to it. Everything was becoming a swirling, dark mess around him and his breathing grew shaky. He could feel his eyes growing heavy and he started to let them close.

Then he could hear something. A muffled sound below him. Something like a scream or yell. He grunted and he pushed himself up a little, staring at the ground in confusion. His initial thought was wondering if the ground was speaking to him or not.

Then he could hear something moving in from behind him. The ground shook and the sky suddenly grew dark. With what little strength and attentiveness that he had, Mr. Wilter looked over behind him to see who was there.

sss

“I’m not sure why you’re even here. It’s not like you care about these two. Why don’t you just get up and leave?”

Skrawl flexed his claws eagerly, every part of him wanting to get back at this adult human for messing with him. It wasn’t just him of course. He felt a similar rage towards Bardot and towards Rudy. But right now, his energy was focused on Mr. Cosmo.

“Regardless, you are the one I want right now.” Skrawl said. He didn’t care about orders from Bardot at this point. He didn’t care if Bardot just wanted him to stop Mr. Cosmo from doing anything rash. He just wanted to get even with him. “You put this darn thing in my head to control me like I was your puppet!” He pointed at the bloody spot in his head. While there was nothing there now, the gaping hole served as a clear cut reminder of what happened. “Did you think that you could just get away with something like that?!”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at this before sneering at him. “I have no idea how you managed to get that out. But it’s not like it was the only way I can control a zoner.” Mr. Cosmo hardly seemed afraid as he moved towards Skrawl. The jellybean zoner humphed at this. He would need to fix that as soon as possible. “So you aren’t here to help the two little humans? Even the boy? Isn’t he your creator? I heard you rambling about that once.”

Skrawl curled his lip up into a snarl. “He is nothing but a failure. He didn’t help me when I needed it. He let me be created like this.”

Skrawl had to pause for a moment. His mind flooded with memories of Rudy and he found himself staring down at the teenager. He could feel at least some of his anger dispersing. It wasn’t because he forgave Rudy that fast. This was not some kind of fairy tale. But he also knew that Rudy, unlike Mr. Cosmo, was not naturally inclined to be malicious. Mr. Cosmo was the bigger threat here.

Skrawl shifted his gaze back to Mr. Cosmo. “If anyone is going to get rid of Master Tabootie, it’s going to be me!” He pointed a finger at himself, trying to look as proud and determined as he could. “Rudy will be my victim, and I will be damned if I let you get anywhere near him!”

Rudy and Penny were both staring at Skrawl in confusion, blinking rapidly. It was clear that they hadn’t expected Skrawl to come help them out.

Skrawl simply snorted at this as he kept his attention on Mr. Cosmo. That’s all that mattered to him right now. Perhaps he will deal with Rudy soon after. But for the time being, he wanted to make sure that Mr. Cosmo here finds out first hand just what happens when you mess with the wrong zoner. Did the man think that he was joking? He was going to find out the truth the hard way.

However, Skrawl could not just rush forward to attack. Not unless he wanted to provoke the man into using the black chalk. Skrawl wasn’t some sort of idiot. He managed one sneak attack on him, but it was not going to work again. He was going to need another way of getting what he wanted.

Mr. Cosmo broke the short, unnerving silence between them. “If your goal is to stop Rudy Tabootie, why not help me? Wouldn’t it be more satisfying to control him?”

Skrawl could feel his eyes starting to narrow slowly at this. He couldn’t help but feel some intriguement out of this. He was tempted to say something, only to stop himself when he remembered what happened with Craniac. He gritted his teeth and he moved a step back. He was not going to make that mistake again.

“I don’t see why you are so resistant. I thought you wanted to get even with the boy. You’re a zoner, right?” Mr. Cosmo’s voice sounded somewhat soothing, but for Skrawl, it was just more irritation. “I know you want to punish him for what he did.”

“You couldn’t possibly know what he did….” Skrawl spread his hands outward, flexing his claws tightly, eager to strike at the man. “You’re just saying those things so that you won’t get yourself hurt! That isn’t going to work on me!”

Mr. Cosmo raised his hand and waved it from side to side. “Oh I know quite a bit. I had a spy keep tabs on things going on around here. She let me know exactly what’s been going on. At least to some degree.” He formed a light fist and looked down at his knuckles. “She is the one who told me about you. Oh the stories she had to tell were quite intriguing….”

Skrawl had no idea what this guy was getting on about, but he didn’t really care. He had little thoughts or feelings regarding this mysterious spy that he brought up. He just focused his attention on the human before him, slowly approaching him, his teeth bared more clearly. He could feel his body shaking, the blood rushing through him as he kept getting closer. He noticed that Mr. Cosmo was not moving, but that didn’t stop the jellybean from getting as close as he could without triggering the human into drawing something.

Then he stopped in his tracks and he felt his mismatched eyes moving towards Rudy and Penny again. They had not said anything since he arrived. They were just looking at him with uncertainty and confusion. They remained staring at one another like this for several long moments and he thought he could hear them talking to him, even though their lips were not moving. Skrawl could feel thoughts crawling through his head repeating themselves over and over again.

Could he just go to them first? They were the most injured after all. They would be easy to take out. He just needed to rush over, give them a killing blow, and that would be it. All his years of misery would end right here and now. He would have less of a problem taking over ChalkZone if the Great Creator and his partner were removed from the picture.

...but did he want to do that? A part of him hesitated at the thought of going through with it. All too quick and all too sudden. Despite it all, there was something that still held him back from this.

Suddenly realizing what was happening, Skrawl immediately shook his head almost violently as he tried to get those nasty thoughts out of his head. He had another moment of weakness. How could he have done something like that? How many times did he need to remind himself before he would get his brain to listen to him?

Skrawl didn’t really care at this point, not enough to really try that hard anyway. Instead he pulled his thoughts and attention fully on Mr. Cosmo. He had wasted enough time just standing here doing nothing. All this time, he could have used that for something better, like actually taking some kind of action. But there was still the fact of this guy having a piece of magic chalk with him, and Rudy and Penny did not. And it was too late to move back. What was he going to do now?

“You’re so pathetic.” Muttered Mr. Cosmo. He almost sounded disappointed. “I would have thought that you would have had a better plan than this. But is that all you wanted to do anyway? Just rush over and pretend you had a plan? Did you have nothing else you wanted to try?”

Skrawl snorted. “You should consider yourself lucky that I’m not attacking. I promise you that I would be too fast for you.” He did his best to smile, trying to look less angry than he really was. “I’m sparing you quite the humiliation by not doing anything.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow. “I can see right through you.” Skrawl growled and moved back. “You didn’t attack yet because you are afraid to...and because you don’t know what to do. You’re at a loss, aren’t you?” Upon seeing Skrawl not answering, Mr. Cosmo took a step forward. “Who put you up to this? Was it Horace? Dear Ms. Saffron? Who is giving you these orders and why are you listening to them?”

Skrawl felt his body starting to shake. He didn’t have an answer for that. He himself wasn’t really sure. He could just walk away and Bardot would not be able to find him. He wouldn’t even know he was missing until hours later. But somehow, he was still doing what he asked of him. Why…? He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers inward towards each other, asking that question over and over again.

“Why listen to them when you can help me instead? I can give you something you really want to do. I can give you more power and more say. I can do it all better than whoever you take orders from now. You just have to be willing to give me a chance.”

Skrawl was silent for a few moments. Some of this did sound a little bit tempting, he had to admit. Having more control, being able to do things his way… He could…

...do that on his own. Skrawl narrowed his eyes as realization dawned on him.

“Do you honestly think that it’ll be any different? You just want to control me, like he does…” Skrawl hissed, his crooked yellow teeth becoming more exposed as the anger spread throughout his body. He raised his hand up and he arched his claws forward, showing the human what they look like, how sharp they were. “I am not going to be anyone’s plaything again!”

Mr. Cosmo did look a little shaken by this. Only slightly, though as he did manage to hide it very quickly. He instead just shook his head again, “You really are a disappointment. It was no wonder Rudy has opted to not help you.”

A barrage of emotions struck Skrawl at this. He thought he could hear Rudy and Penny gasping in shock at this. He thought he heard Rudy warning Mr. Cosmo to back away. But all that became nothing more than a blur. With his blood’s temperature raising up faster than he could have predicted, Skrawl suddenly rushed over, forgetting about the fact that Mr. Cosmo had some magic chalk.

A fact that he was quickly reminded of moments later.

With a swift motion, Mr. Cosmo’s black chalk drew something in the air, creating a momentary black line moving about like a snake on a frenzy. There was a poof similar to how things drawn with the white chalk would act, and then something flipped through the air and landed in the man’s hands. It looked to be some kind of pole with various sickle claws attached to them. By the time Skrawl realized his mistake, it was too late.

Mr. Cosmo pulled the trigger.

With a loud bang accompanied by Rudy shouting ‘no’, Skrawl could see the blades shooting towards him. They moved so fast that he didn’t have time to react outside of just stopping for a second to stare with wide eyes. He grunted as he felt something hit him, yelped as the edges cut him, and soon he was pinned up against a nearby wall.

Almost immediately, he started to struggle around, trying to free himself. He twisted and he turned in desperation, but nothing seemed to work. He soon stopped and he opted to just glare at the human before him, baring his teeth and trying to look as vicious as possible.

Mr. Cosmo took a few steps towards him, still holding onto that weapon of his. “You claim that you’re brilliant, but look at where you are now. So easily trapped like the little worm that you are.”

Skrawl growled at this and he tried to yank himself free. It didn’t do him any good. The only way that he could get free was if he… He could feel his face almost pale at the thought of dismembering himself.

“Maybe I should just take care of you right now. Get you out of my hair.” Mr. Cosmo looked down at his weapon almost thoughtfully, like he was pondering what his next move was going to be. The sight of this caused a small tinge of fear to start to grow in Skrawl’s chest. But he still refused to show it. “Yes, you’re probably useless, anyway. And any useless zoner should be destroyed.”

Skrawl leaned away as Mr. Cosmo moved in forward. He felt his eyes widen a little. He somehow managed to keep them narrowed. His face contorted in a mixture of emotion. With nothing else that he could try, he tried to bite the human. His teeth only hit empty air. He growled as he watched the human moving back quickly, staring at him with that expression. Skrawl growled, “Why don’t you stay put and see what I can do…”

“As much as I would love that idea, I have to decline.” Mr. Cosmo traced along one of the blades that kept Skrawl pinned to the cave wall. “I think instead, I should just…”

“Let Skrawl go…”

Both Skrawl and Mr. Cosmo froze at this. They looked over to see Rudy staring at them. He wasn’t glaring or showing signs of anger. He was just determined. There was a look of despair in his eyes.

“Please let him go. Don’t kill him. Please…” Rudy begged.

Skrawl raised an eyebrow at this. Just like Master Tabootie to do something this stupid. Didn’t he realize that with him gone, he didn’t have to worry about anything from him in the future? Was he really going to take that chance just to…

He could feel his face slowly soften at this realization. It wasn’t the first time he realized that Rudy would help him despite what he did. But it was the first time that he really thought aout what it implied.

Was Rudy really going to…

Skrawl’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard Mr. Cosmo chuckling beside him. Slowly the man moved towards Rudy, showing no fear of Skrawl or Penny causing any sort of problems. His eyes stared intently at Rudy only. “What do you think you’re doing, chalk boy….?”

Rudy gave him a sideways look. “Something that you wouldn’t understand, Skrawl.”

Skrawl snapped his head back in shock at this, growling. “You little….” He couldn’t finish his sentence. His voice just gave out. All he could do was just glare at the boy before him, feeling his body trembling. He said nothing else. As much as he would never admit it, he was really curious to see how things were going to go between Rudy and Mr. Cosmo.

Just what did Rudy have planned?

And was it going to be enough?

Skrawl knew the only way to know was to wait and see. So he remained still, his eyes narrowing into slits, his teeth growing bared, and he just watched carefully as this all played out. He wanted to know how this was all going to end. He wanted to know how Master Tabootie would fair in this kind of situation. Who knows? Perhaps he himself will benefit from it.

He smiled at this.

sss

“Why do you wish to help this zoner, Rudy? Why do you care what I do with him or not? He is your enemy.”

“Regardless, he doesn’t deserve to be killed.”

“He will only betray you eventually. Again and again. He will try to kill you and put your friends in danger. Now really, is someone like that worth keeping around?”

“....It’s my fault he’s like this. I’m not going to let him die over something I should have fixed years ago.”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flickered. The sight of them made Rudy shudder. He had no idea what was going on inside that man’s head. But he still remained where he stood, refusing to back down from what he said. Why should he? If he did something like that, then he would prove to Skrawl that he was just as bad as he was. He didn’t want that.

Mr. Cosmo continued to look confused. It was clear that he wasn’t used to this sort of behavior. He was used to just annihilating his enemies before they could hurt him again. He didn’t really try talking to them and offering some real help or advice. He was all about force. He might not kill zoners anymore, at least not as frequently. But from what he had seen, controlling them forcefully was not exactly a better alternative.

He just would never learn, would he? The only thing this man accomplished with this switching around of methods was bring in more issues and find new ways of hurting zoners. His darn nails that he used to control zoners directly did not even function the way he said they would. He didn’t even know the full extent of whatever damage he might cause. This was a clear throwback to when he was just killing things left and right.

Rudy wondered if that would have been better.

“You know, if you want him to be ‘better’, why not erase him and replace him with someone improved? You do have the power to do that.” Mr. Cosmo suggested. “I’ve done that myself. It’s really easy. You just…”

“Kill people? No thanks. I’m not about that style.” Rudy growled. He felt his blood burning in his chest. It was of no surprise that Mr. Cosmo would suggest something that horrible. “Skrawl doesn’t deserve to die just because he didn’t turn out the way I wanted.”

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head to one side. “And why not? It’s obvious he wasn’t meant to exist. Why not fix the problem and get rid of him? Like the artist who crumbles his failed art and throws them into the trash, you can discard this thing…” He motioned to Skrawl momentarily before lowering his hand to his side. “You don’t need to keep him around just because he has a heartbeat.”

Rudy tried to control his emotions at this. He could feel them starting to reach a boiling tip. He was impressed with himself that he was able to keep still for as long as he could. He still ended up giving a few shakes, but other than that, he remained still.

He was getting desperate, but he couldn’t allow this man to control him emotionally like this. That was exactly what he was trying to do. He was attempting to control him and get his resolve and rationality to weaken. He took a guess on what the man was trying to accomplish, and he struggled to fight against it the best that he could.

Rudy curled his fingers inward a little. This formed somewhat small fists, but loose and not too tense. Just a quick little sign of determination that Mr. Cosmo seemed to be sneering at. “Perhaps you are too weak to try a more thorough way of handling things. Perhaps you are too lazy and you just like to quit.” Rudy stepped towards Mr. Cosmo. He could see how the man was glaring at him. Rudy continued, “I at least try to fix my mistakes. I don’t sweep them under the rug. I don’t pretend that I never made an error.”

Rudy stared into Mr. Cosmo’s eyes. He took note of how the man’s facial expressions were starting to contort a little. He took note of how the man looked like he was trying to keep his cool. He watched as Mr. Cosmo’s teeth were exposed slightly, gritted.

But none of that stopped him from starting to smirk at the man. It would seem that he was starting to push a sore spot of his. Perhaps a little more would be in order. Mr. Cosmo did need to understand just what he was bringing upon himself. “Is this why you started to kill zoners? Is this why you pulled others into your crap? Is this why you resort to killing when something doesn’t go your way? Are you incapable of thinking of other ways to handle things? Is your mind that feeble?”

Skrawl’s eyes were wide in shock. “Well… I never thought I would hear you talking like that..”

Rudy didn’t pay much attention to Skrawl. Nor did he hear what Penny’s mumble comment said. He had even momentarily forgotten about the time limit. All he was focusing on right now, all that he was aware of, was staring at this man, grinning as though he was accomplishing something. Perhaps he was a bit more bitter than he realized.

“Yeah, that’s right. I am correct, aren’t I?” Rudy took a couple steps closer. He forgot about his fear of the black chalk as he glared into Mr. Cosmo’s eyes directly. “You won’t even help my friend despite what you say. You are just saying that so that I would listen to you. In the end, if you could, you would leave her to die. That’s just how you are. I can’t even take you all that seriously at this point. I’m not saying you don’t mean things, but you are still just a little child who probably saw one spooky thing and…”

Rudy gagged when he felt Mr. Cosmo grabbing onto his neck. His eyes bulged wide open and he hissed as he was forcibly lifted from the ground. He dangled in the air, struggling to get free to no avail.

“Rudy!” Penny called out, her voice gagging in her throat. “W-Wait..don’t hurt him…!”

Skrawl was silent. He was watching with wide mismatched eyes, his mouth open. But no words came out. Rudy couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly on the inside. It’s not every day you see Skrawl being stunned into speechlessness.

Rudy himself was silent; he knew not to say anything while someone looked at him in this way. He realized that he had goofed up and now all he could do was keep silent and hope that this guy would not go too far with him. Perhaps if he remained silent, he could be sure that the man wouldn’t snap so easily. But then, would he be that lucky?

Mr. Cosmo kept him up in the air for several long seconds. He was breathing pretty heavily, as though fighting against whatever his instincts were telling him to do. He squeezed Rudy’s neck more tightly, causing the boy to open his mouth to gasp for some air. Things stayed this way until Mr. Cosmo seemed to finally tire of holding him like this. He pulled his arm back and he threw Rudy towards the ground.

“You really like to push people’s buttons, don’t you?”

Rudy coughed and spluttered as he felt and tasted rocks in his mouth. He spat them out as he pulled himself from the ground. He glared over at Mr. Cosmo as he wiped his mouth. He kept his eyes narrowed and he tried to make sure that he looked like he was a serious threat. He tried to hide any fear that he might have had lingering in the back of his head.

Mr. Cosmo and Rudy squared off against one another. Not rushing at each other yet, but just walking around, studying one another. Rudy remembered the black chalk and he held his ground. He was not going to take the chance. He would need a way to distract this man, but how was he going to…

Then he remembered Skrawl. Would Mr. Cosmo pay more attention to him given the circumstance, considering that he was a zoner? Did Skrawl think to do the same thing with him? Rudy tried not to think about it too hard. It was his best chance. He just needed to…

….but could he do that? Even with someone like Skrawl? He had just told the man that he would never… But if he put him in danger… Then again, it might give him a chance to stop Mr. Cosmo before he could do anymore damage. Was it really worth it to…?

Rudy let out a cry of pain as he felt something ramming into him. He could hear Skrawl’s grunt of shock and Penny’s cry of horror. He could feel eyes upon him as he hit the ground. He grunted painfully when he felt a knee pressing against him. It remained there, keeping him on the ground and preventing him from getting up. Any attempts at moving resulted in the man pushing down harder, making him gasp for air and struggle to breathe.

Mr. Cosmo leaned over him, his bent body casting a shadow over him. Rudy could feel the tension rising up rapidly in the room. He could feel the man’s eyes boring through his own. It was like he was trying to see right into his soul.

And his chilling voice could have brought about a blizzard. “I am beginning to wonder if I even need someone like you on my team. You are so conniving, Rudy. You obviously don’t care about your friends. You constantly lie and trick people. You…” He leaned in closer, putting his face near Rudy’s. “..you’re just like a zoner…”

With how that man spoke those words, Rudy could feel his eyes widen in horror. He wasn’t able to hide his fear at this point. He realized exactly what the man was now alluding at. Recalling how the man felt about zoners, Rudy immediately started to struggle.

“Wait! It’s not… He’s not…. Don’t hurt him!” Penny called out. She was struggling to get over, limping horribly. Mr. Cosmo turned to glare at her. “Please, you mustn’t hurt him!”

Mr. Cosmo snarled. When Penny got close enough to grab him, Mr. Cosmo seized her arm and he threw her against the wall, uncaring if he made her injuries worse or not.

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at this. “Penny! No!” He reached out for her, a part of him hoping that he could grab her and pull her out of this place. He was only able to watch her slide painfully into the ground and whimper. Rudy’s eyes sparkled with tears at this before shooting a glare at Mr. Cosmo. “Y-You will pay for that…!”

“Oh Rudy, you are just full of words, aren’t you? It’s not like you can do anything to me.” Mr. Cosmo smirked as he stared down at Rudy. His mouth corners stretched upwards slowly, looking rather disturbing, almost uncanny. “It’s rather amusing that you say these things when you don’t plan on actually doing anything about it. And you say that I have a problem.”

Rudy bared his teeth. “Then maybe I should start doing something about it now!”

With that, Rudy’s reflexes caused him to shoot his hand towards Mr. Cosmo’s face. Two of his fingers plunged into the man’s eyes while they were still open. Mr. Cosmo immediately coiled back and let out a scream, stumbling back and nearly collapsing into the ground.

Rudy felt a jolt of ice shooting through his body when he did that. Not because of his action, but because of something else. He felt something oozing out of the man’s eyes almost. Something smokey and black.

Like black chalk aura…

Rudy looked down at his hand and he could see some of it swirling around his fingers. He felt his heart skipping several beats and he quickly shook his hand, trying to get the stuff off of him. He panted heavily, holding his hand to himself, his mind spinning. Just how close did he come to doing something he would regret later?

He turned his head to stare at Mr. Cosmo, who was holding his face and seething in pain. Then when the hand was removed, he could see that the man was smiling again. More shaken and broken, and far more serious than before. Rudy couldn’t help but gulp and cringe away from the man.

Mr. Cosmo stared intently at Rudy. He looked as though he was trying to use his mental abilities to drive something through Rudy’s skull right then and there. It was a surprise that he was able to even keep himself from running. But this didn’t help Rudy feel any better. He licked his lips dryly and swallowed hard. He kept his body tense, his arms and hands held out at their sides, waiting for an attack to come.

But Mr. Cosmo spent the first several moments just smirking at him. Silently laughing, silently taunting him… Rudy could feel his body cringing and shuddering, a few tears starting to form in his eyes. He wasn’t able to stop them from strolling down his face and he swallowed loudly.

He didn’t know what he was going to do now.

“Oh that’s right, Rudy. Keep looking at me like that. Keep acting this way. Prove to me that you are just like those precious zoners you protect.” Mr. Cosmo’s voice trembled, as though he was fighting back emotion. “Go on and continue to pretend to be some sort of hero. That you are someone special…”

Rudy had no idea how to respond to this.

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes narrowed a little and a tinge of anger returned to his facial expression. “But know that you are only creating more problems. Know that, so long as you hide from the problems of ChalkZone, they will get worse.” He held up his hand and curved his fingers inward, his teeth baring more firmly. “You are putting everyone in danger by not doing something about the zoners. You are supposed to be helping the Real World, Rudy. You’re a human, not a zoner. Start acting like that….”

Rudy just glared back at the man, feeling his body trembling. He kept himself tense, his mind preparing for an attack at any moment. The man was growing unpredictable; he had no idea what was going to happen next. All he could do was just stand here and wait for the potential blow.

Mr. Cosmo grinned more broadly this time, looking even more inhuman than before. His eyes flickered black briefly and he took a small step towards Rudy. “I think I’ve given you too much freedom, Rudy. My mistake.”

Rudy didn’t like the sound of this. He didn’t like what the man was hinting at with that statement. He felt his teeth gritting more firmly as his mind swirled about. He struggled to think of just what he should say or do about this. He tried to figure out how he should respond. But he knew that he had to be careful. Just one slip up would be enough to push this man over the deep end.

Or had that already happened?

Rudy got his answer when Mr. Cosmo grabbed him once more and pulled him into the air. His hands tightened around his neck, his fingertips pressing into Rudy’s throat in a painful manner. Rudy grabbed onto the man’s hand to try to pry it free. But his efforts were in vain. There was nothing that he could do to stop the man from doing whatever he wanted.

His eyes widened in horror when he saw the man using his free hand to pull out a piece of black chalk. The dark-colored object was brought closer to Rudy. Not touching, but he could feel his hairs rising on end when it got a bit too close, a cold chilliness rushing through his body.

“I should have done this a long time ago. I should have just forced you into it. Sometimes, you have to show a little tough love.”

Rudy’s wide eyes stared at the black chalk, his voice trembling in his throat, his lips quivering. He looked back up at the man, his eyes wide and pleading. Mr. Cosmo just sneered at him, looking at the boy like he had done something horribly wrong.

Like resist….

“Don’t look at me that way, Rudy. You brought this on yourself.” Mr. Cosmo said. He was about to continue speaking when he noticed Penny crawling up to her feet. He chuckled at this. “Persistent friend, isn’t she?” He looked back over at Rudy. “I suppose I will have to just speed things along.”

Rudy started to thrash in the air. “No, please! I-I don’t want this!”

Mr. Cosmo continued to smile at him. “Of course you would say that. You have not yet experienced the black chalk. You don’t know how comforting it can be.” His voice turned into a whisper as he brought the chalk in their field of vision, both of them able to see it at once. “And I can’t blame you. How can you know what you have not experienced? The only way is to touch it, let it flow through you…” He started to move the black chalk closer. “Don’t worry. It will not hurt you. I promise. Just...relax…”

Rudy struggled and squirmed, trying to get away from the black chalk. But no matter what he tried, it just kept getting closer and closer. He felt his heart tightening up, his brain spinning in dizziness and horror, tears flowing down his face.

Please...he didn’t want this to happen… He didn’t want to become like Mr. Cosmo… He didn’t want to hurt anyone… This wasn’t fair… This couldn’t be his fate…

But no matter how much he told himself this, no matter how much he silently begged, it did not change what was happening. He could still see the chalk coming over. He knew it would make contact with him soon. He could feel the icy aura taking him over, lowering his blood temperature. He held his breath and, thinking some more thoughts of remorse regarding Penny, Snap, and the others, he turned his head away, clinching his eyes shut.

Suddenly, a scream ripped through the cave, catching him off guard.

“Aaaaaargh! My eye!”

Rudy snapped his eyes wide open as he looked over to see what was going on. He could feel his stomach nearly jumping out of his throat when he saw Mr. Cosmo’s face covered in blood, something goopy dripping down his face. He could soon see the cause of the man’s distress.

Skrawl had somehow gotten free and his claw now dug deep into the man’s eye.

The jellybean zoner kept his claw in there for several seconds, soon twisting his claw in the man’s eye socket and making him scream even more. Rudy felt himself fall into the ground when Mr. Cosmo became so distracted with pain that he let him go. Rudy watched in horror as the man continued to thrive and writhe at what Skrawl was doing.

“Wh-What are you doing…?” Rudy whispered under his breath, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Penny choked out, “This isn’t what we wanted…”

Skrawl just scoffed at this. He didn’t say a word right away. He looked down at Mr. Cosmo and yanked his claw from his eye. Blood splattered everywhere. Mr. Cosmo dropped down onto his knees and held his hands to his face. He let out several loud whimpers as he fought against the agony that clung to him like a vice. Skrawl did not show any sympathy to him as he struck the man with a foot, making him hit his side in the ground like a heavy brick.

Skrawl glared coldly at Mr. Cosmo before turning his gaze to Rudy and Penny. “Shouldn’t we be trying to get out of here?” He paused and watched the two carefully. There was no response. Skrawl bared his teeth. “Don’t just stare like that! Let’s get going!”

Rudy and Penny glanced at one another, horror still drenched in their minds. Neither of them had expected Skrawl to do something like this. Neither of them had wanted Mr. Cosmo to have something that gruesome done to him. None of them wanted to…

But there was no time for that. Rudy realized that, horrifying or not, despite how he might feel on the subject matter, Skrawl’s actions still bought them some time. While Mr. Cosmo was sobbing on the ground, they needed to take this chance to get away. Rudy did hate the idea of leaving someone in pain behind, but he did remind himself of what Mr. Cosmo had done. If anything, he did deserve some of this pain. He glared over at the man, curling his lip up as he watched him cry in pain, before turning his attention to Penny.

Rudy rushed over to her side. He examined her carefully, looking to see if she got any new injuries. Upon seeing that she didn’t seem any worse off than she already was, he helped her to her feet and let her use him to keep her balance. He then started to make his way to where Skrawl was going. He had a feeling that Skrawl knew of a way out of here. He sure hoped so. If Mr. Cosmo managed to recover and find them before they got out…

sss

Mrs. Sanchez wondered if she might have been making a mistake. She had no idea where she was in this hospital. She had never been in the back section like this before. None of it seemed familiar to her. It was like she was walking into a whole new area, with only Mr. Tyreek to guide her. Granted, he did seem honest and he did try to help her stay calm. But that didn’t distract her from her own nervousness.

Mrs. Sanchez did power herself through this. She couldn’t stop, no matter how she felt. She had put her foot in the door and she was going to keep going forward. There was no turning back at this point, she kept telling herself. She just hoped that she made the right choice.

Mr. Tyreek guided her through an area in the basement, far below the other floors. She was walking through some kind of dungy, smelly area, what you would expect in any kind of basement, really. The air was rank around her and she had to struggle to cover her mouth and resist the temptation to throw up. And all around her, she could hear machinery going, mostly the boiler which kept pumping.

She also could feel heat beating down on her. It was so hot down here. It didn’t help that steam was constantly blowing everywhere, hitting her in the face, making her cough and stagger a little. She covered her mouth and tried to rush through as quickly as she could. But she couldn’t see where she was going with her eyes shut and she ended up pushing against the man in front of her.

“Oh I’m so sorry!” Mrs. Sanchez called out, realizing her mistake. “I-I-I didn’t mean to…!”

Mr. Tyreek turned to look back at her. He frowned a bit before giving a small smile. “Oh, it’s quite all right.” He said to her reassuringly. “I understand if you’re nervous. This is a pretty….unnerving place if you aren’t used to it.” He raised his shoulders up in a shrug. “I’ve been working here for several years now.”

Mrs. Sanchez nodded her head. “I think that’s true of a lot of jobs.” She looked towards the ground for a moment. “I work with animals. I deal with injuries and sickness and infections. I’ve seen things that would make most people faint.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

The woman lifted her head up to look at the man. “Have you ever dealt with anything like that?”

Mr. Tyreek bit his lip. “Around here, yeah. But Ms. Ghadir had seen a lot more. Even as a kid. She got...really intimate when it came to anatomy.” There was a strange tinge to his voice when he said this. But Mrs. Sanchez shrugged it off as her just hearing things. “Anyway, we should be there soon. Ms. Ghadir would be interested in seeing what you found. This black stuff… I’m sure it’s of some importance.”

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t really know what to say to that. She just assumed that this man knew what he was talking about. He did claim to have seen it before. She hoped that he would be able to help her find out how to stop it. She hoped that he and Ms. Ghadir could help save her friends before it was too late.

She shuddered to think of what this stuff could do to Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie. She couldn’t begin to imagine what it was capable of. Mr. Tyreek’s response to her earlier did not help her calm down. She could still feel some cold chills going through her body as she thought of all that she was told. She could feel her body trembling, emotion wracking through it. She could feel sweat already moving down her face. She raised her hand up and she wiped her face a little, drying it with her hand.

What worried her the most about this black stuff is how it seems to be capable of spreading through the air. It was already infectious to some degree before. But now it’s just… Oh gawd.. She tried to keep her mind focused and not to dwell down too far in that route. But a part of her brain still couldn’t help but bombard her with images of those….things...seeping into her brain and taking over like some possessed jelly.

“Mrs. Sanchez….” A voice called out to her. She spluttered and looked around and soon realized that she had let herself daze off a little. “Come along. The door is right this way. Ms. Ghadir is waiting for you.”

Mrs. Sanchez nodded her head and she drew in closer. She could see Mr. Tyreek standing in front of an open door, a bright light shining out and smashing against the dimmer light in that spot. She drew in a deep breath after pausing for a bit and then she forced herself to keep moving forward. Her legs trembled a little, something that was noticeable to Mr. Tyreek.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Mr. Tyreek assured her. He reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Just try to relax. We’re just going to talk.”

Mrs. Sanchez felt the man squeeze her shoulder lightly. She tried to find some comfort in this, but she just...couldn’t. She lowered her head, letting her thoughts spin in her mind, biting her lip firmly. She did manage to force herself to smile and she nodded her head towards Mr. Tyreek. “Thank you…”

The man smiled gently at her and he carefully guided her in through the open door. The woman was bathed in its light as they entered the room. All of a sudden, there was a jolt of fresh air around her, and the feel of something cold hitting her in the face. She could see that both a humidifier and an air conditioner was turned on. It transformed this room into something of a sanctuary in this dank, hot, smelly place.

Mrs. Sanchez made her way further into the room, taking her time to look around and see what this place looked like. She could see all the decorations, or rather what little there were. It was mostly a plan room with a few nice looking ornaments and paintings of some kind. It did bring a sort of charm to this place, she had to admit. But it did strike her as a little bit odd. There was no reason to decorate what was essentially just a small room to lounge in. Not like there would be any sort of party. So why would they waste their time with…

It wasn’t any of her business anyway. She turned her thoughts back to where they should be, and that was regarding what she was going to do about this black stuff. Ms. Ghadir was said to be able to help her, right? She wanted to see what she had to say.

The female vet moved a few steps more forward, looking at the row of chairs intently. There was a bit more here than necessary. In fact, there was probably more than could fit in this room properly. She was surprised that she didn’t end up tripping. Nonetheless, she managed to sit down, leaning her back against the chair and letting out a small sigh of relief. It was nice to get out of the mucky air.

“So you must be the woman that Mr. Tyreek here mentioned to me over the phone.” A somewhat deep feminine voice called out to her.

Mrs. Sanchez looked up. She could see a somewhat hefty set woman, perhaps about ten years older than her, sitting in a large desk in front of her. That was also where Mr. Tyreek stood. He leaned against it, watching her intently. Ms. Ghadir, Mrs. Sanchez presumed her to be, was just watching in silence, her eyes moving up and down her as though to examine her. The sensation was off putting, but Mrs. Sanchez didn’t say anything about it. Instead, she just nodded her head and managed to say, “Yes, ma’am. I was...told that you could help me with…”

Ms. Ghadir pulled her head back and nodded a few times. “Oh yes, I know what you are talking about, miss.” The woman crossed the arms on the table and she leaned forward. She stared intently at Mrs. Sanchez some more, and it felt like she was trying to scrutinize her. “I am aware of this black ooze that you speak of.” She raised her hand up in gesture. “My colleague and I had discussed it before. But no one else seems to want to listen.”

Mrs. Sanchez furrowed her eyes at this, confused. “Is there any particular reason?”

Ms. Ghadir tilted her head to one side, making a quick motion. “Well you know how people can be. They think that it’s useless to talk about something so ‘insignificant’, as they put it.” She shook her head a little. “They are such fools.”

“Yeah dismissing something is never a good idea when it comes to…” Mrs. Sanchez stopped herself. She hadn’t meant to interject like that. She cleared her throat and she quickly apologized softly, her voice only a little above a whisper. She had to remember that she was a….’quest’ here of sorts. If these people know more about this black ooze…

“This black ooze that you mentioned…” Mrs. Sanchez nearly jolted at the sudden speaking. Ms. Ghadir held her hand out towards her, motioning to her slowly. “You say that is in a couple of your dear friends?”

Mrs. Sanchez swallowed hard. She gave a quick nod, her heart pounding a little. She hated to be reminded of this cold hard fact. “Y-Yes… They were infected by it and got sick. They passed out and now they’re acting all...all…”

“Paranoid?” Inquired Mr. Tyreek.

Mrs. Sanchez nodded her head quickly. “Yes, that’s right! Paranoid, like something was going to take their son away from them if they didn’t try to find him. The police are already looking for him. They don’t need to put extra strain on themselves and….” She stopped her rambling. She put her hand to her chest and clutched at it tightly. She closed her eyes softly and she whispered, “I’m so worried about them. I-I don’t know what to do…”

There was some silence that followed. She kept her head low. She didn’t dare look at the two people before her. She didn’t care if they saw her crying. So much had happened recently. There was too much emotional build up. She had every right to act this way, didn’t she? She gave a quiet sniffle as though to respond to herself.

She was so distraught in the moment that she hadn’t noticed that Mr. Tyreek had moved closer to her. She only realized this was the case when she could feel the man’s shadow casting over her body. She looked up and she could see him staring at her intently, almost in a piercing way. She wanted to turn her head away but she found it impossible. It was like she was glued to his stare.

Mr. Tyreek’s eyes were like magnets. She couldn’t really explain why. That’s just how they were. Large magnets that pulled at her gaze. It was like it was pulling it into some sort of an abyss. She leaned in forward, her eyes going a little blurry as a result. She blinked a few times and she tried to look away. It was useless. It was like….

And what was this numb, tingly sensation coming over her? It crawled up her skin and she felt some sort of warm, fuzzy feeling inside. It was mild but still noticeable. She could feel herself starting to sway slightly. Everything started to feel lighter and….

A flash of horror twisted at her gut. She shook her head and yanked it back sharply, ignoring the pain that this caused. She looked back at Mr. Tyreek and noticed something felt off about his expression. And Ms. Ghadir as well… It was like…

Oh no…

Everything happened so fast. Mrs. Sanchez attempted to make a run for it. But Mr. Tyreek grabbed onto her arms and pinned her down. She tried to scream but she could feel the man twisting her arm rather painfully in her efforts to make any sort of sound. She could feel his weight crushing up against her and she let out a pained gag. She gave him a fearful sideways glance as she wondered what he was going to do with her.

She could see Ms. Ghadir coming down from the desk and approaching her slowly. Her expression was not exactly malicious, but it was still unnerving to see. She licked her lips slowly and swallowed hard, feeling her gut burning on the inside. Just what in the world did these two want from her?

“I don’t think you should have tried running like that. So rude…. You said you wanted our help and you told us about this black ooze. Didn’t you know that there’s no takebacks from us….?” Ms. Ghadir hissed, her teeth baring slightly. She moved her head to one side once more, clearing her throat. “Honestly we thought we’d never see this black ooze again.” She gave a tiny smile. “Do you mind telling us exactly where you got it from…?”

Mrs. Sanchez felt her eyes widen. She knew that they had known about it, from how they were talking…. Her heart filled with ice when she realized that these people must want to use the stuff. They wanted to…

Mr. Tyreek said, “We don’t want to hurt you, miss. We just want to know where you found this stuff. It’s important to us.” He leaned in to whisper into her ear. “If you tell us what we want to know, we will let you go. We promise.”

Mrs. Sanchez shut her eyes and she gave a few soft whimpers. She could feel many thoughts surging in her head. She felt more illness in her stomach. She couldn’t believe how stupid she was. How could she have fallen for such a trick? Why didn’t she trust her instincts and try to leave? Now here she was, trapped with nowhere to go, being held down by two insane humans who want to use the black ooze for something. Possibly to hurt someone with, or take revenge or something gruesome.

She lifted her head up and she stared back at them. She could see them staring at her, feel their eyes tearing into her soul, the aura twisting around her and trying to choke her. She felt her head exploding with questions as she tried to think of just what she should do about this. How should she handle this? How was she going to….

And then came a question that shot even more ice through her veins.

“You do care about your daughter, right…?”

Mrs. Sanchez gasped in horror at this, her body going completely rigid.


	53. Convergence In The Mine

Skrawl narrowed his eyes deeply as he stared up at the open hole. He could feel his teeth gritting as he realized that this was going to be harder than he thought. It wasn’t because there wasn’t a way out. He had created a makeshift rope out of tall grass and leaves for a reason. And it was anchored. But the question that was on his mind was could he get out quickly enough?

Then there was the matter with Penny. She had been injured and wouldn’t be able to climb up well. This could be fixed if he tied the rope around her and she was pulled up. But that would require someone getting to the top. He was too heavy to move up quickly and he had a feeling that Mr. Cosmo would be coming up any moment. The faster they got out of here, the better.

He did feel a confusing tinge in his stomach as he realized what he was doing for these teens. They were the same ones that made his time here miserable. They just kept getting in the way. So why would he help them? Why was he doing this?

Simple. He didn’t want anyone else to have the privilege of destroying them. That’s his job. This alliance was only temporary, he told himself. A necessary thing to ensure his own survival. Once they were out of harm’s way, then he could take action. A part of him had a feeling that they were going to expect this, anyway.

Skrawl flinched when he heard Penny letting out a sharp, painful whine. He turned to glare at her, watching as she leaned against Rudy, blood slowly oozing from her wounds. He then looked away as he went over towards the rope. He grabbed onto it and moved it slowly in his hand. He could feel the sheer weight of it and gave it a small tug. This did seem like it would be strong enough to pull them all out in a single go if that were possible.

But he still couldn’t figure out who should go first. Penny would be the slowest, so getting her out of the way would be ideal. But he himself would be not much faster, and though he could just grab the rope and yank upward with ease, he still had to actually be up there in order to do that. So who would be best qualified to head on up? The only one that he hadn’t yet thought of was….Master Tabootie…

Skrawl turned his gaze to Rudy. Right now, the little chalk boy was busy focusing on his friend to really take notice of him. He was trying to comfort her and reassuring her that it was going to be fine. Skrawl tried not to roll his eyes at this. But it was still a pathetic display.

Still, Rudy was the least injured. There was that nasty bite mark on him that seemed to be the most prominent. But it was nowhere near as bad as what Penny had suffered from. She could barely even move her arm without hurting herself. Rudy might be able to ignore his pain more easily and climb up quickly. Or at least, that’s what Skrawl hoped. The boy was a bit on the skinny side. Would he have the muscle mass in order to pull this off? Would his adrenaline be enough?

Well he did know how he could find out. Holding onto the rope and staring over at Rudy, he called out, “Hey, chalk boy!”

Rudy looked over at Skrawl, his eyes narrowing slightly. “What is it, Skrawl?”

The jellybean ignored Rudy’s attitude to the best of his ability. There was no reason to really get upset over it. Not like the boy could do much and there was something worse to worry about, anyway. He instead chose to keep himself calm and walk over to Rudy, holding out the rope with him. “Do you think you can climb up there? Someone needs to be at the top to pull the rest of us….”

Rudy immediately recoiled. “Do you really think that I am going to let Penny stay down here with you?” He moved his hand over Penny more securely, showing just how protective he was being of her. “How do I know you just don’t want to get a chance to finish her off? I am not going to take that risk.”

Skrawl narrowed his eyes. The boy’s paranoidness was going to make things harder for them. They didn’t have the time for this. Why was Rudy being such a…. He shook his head and he stared more intently at the boy. “Listen, we need to leave before Mr. Cosmo shows up. If you’re worried about me hurting her, what about him? He was more determined than me.”

Rudy still glared at him. “I know how you can be, Skrawl. How can I trust you on this?”

Skrawl folded his arms together. “Well if you care about saving your little girlfriend…”

Rudy started to growl and respond to this, but Penny squirmed a little in his arms. Just enough to get his attention. He turned his head to look down at her, his angered expression melting into one of concern. “Penny…?”

“He’s right, Rudy…” Penny flinched in pain, her eyes shutting tightly for a moment. “We don’t...have time for...this…” The girl’s breathing was getting shaky and rough. It was clear that she might end up passing out soon. All the more reason to get her up quickly. “It’s worth taking the risk, Rudy. I-I-I know how you must feel. B-B-But is Skrawl really any worse than...Mr. Cosmo?”

Rudy licked his lips slowly. “Penny...I just...don’t want to lose you.” A few tears formed in his eyes. “I don’t want you to...to d-d-die because of me…”

Penny smiled at him. “I won’t. I promise.”

Skrawl tried not to gag at this. He also tried to ignore how Penny seemed to think that Mr. Cosmo was more of a threat than him. He wasn’t really sure how to take that statement. A part of him felt compelled to prove her wrong. But he quickly reminded himself that he had more to worry about from Mr. Cosmo. He was better off letting at least one of these idiots beat that guy first before he himself tried anything.

Rudy seemed to finally relent, taking Penny’s words into consideration. He turned his head to Skrawl and he nodded his head slowly. His eyes were downcast and not even looking at him. “Okay, I will try. Hand me the rope.”

Skrawl handed the rope to Rudy. The male teenager first put Penny up towards a wall that she could lean on. Skrawl chuckled mentally at this. Of course the boy would not trust him to help keep Penny steady. He said nothing else as Rudy took the rope from him with both hands. Skrawl took a few steps back, folding his arms once more, watching in silence as Rudy carefully studied the rope.

Of course he would take his time. Rudy couldn’t just go up, could he? Nope, he just looked at the rope, turned his head up, then looked at the rope again before he gave another tug. It was like he didn’t trust Skrawl himself to make sure that it was steady. Skrawl raised an eyebrow at this, but he said nothing else. There wasn’t much of a point to really say anything. At least Rudy was now finally starting to climb the rope.

As Skrawl and Penny both watched Rudy slowly descend, the jellybean zoner couldn’t help but contemplate a couple of things. The most prominent right now was just how long this was going to take. Rudy was making good progress, but he didn’t know if it was going to be good enough. He had to get up there in a decent amount of time for any of them to have a chance of getting out of here.

The other thing he was wondering was just...what was he going to do once they were all out of harm’s way and Mr. Cosmo was still down there? He had the thought of just waiting until Mr. Cosmo was defeated. But at the same time, he could get rid of Rudy and Penny fairly easily. He could cut the rope while Penny’s climbing to try to kill her from the fall. He could yank Rudy down to do the same thing. He could…

No, that would be pointless. They survived the fall already, likely thanks to whatever they had landed in. There was something that provided a sort of cushion that lessened the damage. Skrawl could see it out of the corner of his eyes. A large mass of...something. He didn’t pay attention to whatever it was, though, and he had a feeling neither did Rudy and Penny.

So Skrawl turned his head away and shifted his attention back to watching Rudy climbing up. He silently wished that the chalk boy would move faster. He was almost tempted to do something to ‘encourage’ him to get a move on. If things came to that point, then he wouldn’t be afraid to use it.

sss

Draow felt his ears twitching once more, a mixture of emotions rising up inside of him. He narrowed his eyes a little and he took a few cautious steps forward. He wasn’t really sure how to handle this situation. Bardot never gave him any kind of orders related to what he should do if he found Mr. Wilter.

And he certainly had. The man was laying down before him, curled up on the ground in pain. The sight of him had made the man freeze and fall down, turning into little more than a whimpering pile.

Draow’s eyes examined the trembling body before him and he felt his lip curling up a little. He let out a low growl and he started to note what damage his creator had done. This had to be Mr. Cosmo’s doing. This was just the sort of thing that he would expect his creator to do. It perfectly matched his twisted personality.

It was something he himself would have done.

But at the moment, he was just stumped on what course of action would be more appropriate. Should he kill Mr. Wilter and put him out of his misery? Should he dispose of him and get revenge for that time years ago that he had humiliated him? Or did Bardot want this guy for a little while longer? If he killed him, would Bardot be angry at him? Knowing what that zoner was capable of, he didn’t know if he wanted to upset him or not.

Then there was the fact that he still needed to round up those particular zoners. Bardot was waiting for him. If he stayed here for too long, Bardot might come out to see what he was doing and what was slowing him down. He felt his eyes giving another slight narrow. As much as it would please him to kill Mr. Wilter, he realized that it might not be worth it in the end. Anything he did to Mr. Wilter would be a speck compared to what Bardot might do to him.

And yet he didn’t think he should just leave him here. This man might still cause problems. He might end up being the wrench thrown into the cog machine, so to speak. It would be best if he did something with him to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to get in the way. If not kill him, then just….

Draow took a step forward. Mr. Wilter let out a weak scream and scrambled to get back, raising an arm up to protect himself. Draow got close enough to bite down onto the man’s shirt collar. He pulled him up quickly, ignoring the cries of pain that he gave while doing so. He let the human dangle there for a few seconds before he opened up his wings, stretching them, and then jumping into the air.

It was time to find some of those escaped zoners.

sss

Pain swirled through his head. It was like someone had taken a jackhammer and pushed it against his eye socket and drilled through it. He could still hear his screams echoing against the walls. He wasn’t sure if they were because he was still screaming or not. He was hardly aware of anything at the moment other than the pain that his eye had been exploded into.

Mr. Cosmo let out a few ragged sniffles as he pulled his hand back to examine the blood that now caked on it. He felt a pang of horror surge in his stomach as he saw just how much blood there was. He could see bits of what was left of his eyeball just clinging there like some kind of morbid jelly. He struggled not to throw up at the sight of it and he put his hand back against his eye socket.

Even amidst his pain, he still had enough room to be angry. He still had enough rage left inside of him to remember what that stupid zoner had done to him. And Rudy still wanted to go off believing that zoners were ‘good’? He still wanted to think that they could be your best friend? Bah! The boy knew nothing.

Perhaps there was some good in this action after all. Rudy had seen it. Surely he would finally realize that any zoner can attack, no matter if you were its creator or not. Skrawl was Rudy’s creation, wasn’t he? And he still attacked. He still tried to kill….but then, Rudy might still come up with some lame excuse like ‘he was just defending himself’, as if somehow Mr. Cosmo himself was to blame just because he was being cautious. What a joke… But that’s exactly how someone as brainwashed as Rudy might think.

He needed to do something about that child, and fast. He needed to keep him from making any sort of mistake again. Even as his mind echoed in agony, he still had some semblance of realizing this stuff. The black chalk was helping him with that. And that reminded him… He squeezed the black chalk tightly. There was something that he needed to do first.

This was not something that he could do often. It drained too much energy from the black chalk. It could easily render them useless if he did this too much. But he was only going to use it for a little bit. It shouldn’t take too long, he hoped.

He whispered to the chalk softly. He spoke a series of small words, pleading with it to help him. He made a few promises, all that ran along each other and he imagined that it would be difficult for any outsider to understand what they were.

But the black chalk did. And soon, with a dull glow, the black chalk began to respond to his pleas.

He could feel the cool, embracing sensation of the black chalk’s dark-colored wisp rising up from the tip. It traced around his face a little, and it was like someone was gently caressing him. Then he squinted his eyelids shut when he could feel that stuff starting to enter where his eye was. He had to struggle to not blink as the black wisp began to burrow in a little more deeply, heading deep into the wound. There was a few sharp stings, a tingling sensation, and then it almost felt like someone was pouring ice cold water throughout his eye socket.

Then came the warmth.

Mr. Cosmo opened his eyelids for a moment, only to be instantly overwhelmed by the black light. For something so dark, it was sure bright. He had to shut his eyelids again but the warmth continued to spread throughout his body. He could feel an increased tingling sensation followed by an increased desire to scratch himself. He had to resist the urge, allowing the black chalk to do its work.

Slowly, he could feel the blood in his empty eye socket drying up and hardening. Then it broke away, shattering into pieces that disappeared. Or at least, that’s how it felt to him. He then could feel the black chalk’s dark wisp working its way at where the gash was; the claw went in deeper than he thought. With a swirling sensation there, he could feel something thick forming and he realized that it was being patched up. A wave of relief began to wash over him as the pain started to seep away, numbing the once agonizing area.

Mr. Cosmo started to relax some more. He felt his body’s shaking stop and he felt himself starting to smile. Being able to feel nothing just...felt so good. The pain left him, evaporating into the air, pulling from his body. His eye might not come back. That was gone and the black chalk could not fix that. But he was able to feel himself return mostly to normal, the wound now patched up with only small scars to remind anyone of what had happened. By the end of it all, the black chalk’s wisp retreated back, rejoining the aura.

Mr. Cosmo put his hand to his face once more to caress it. He shuddered when he felt his fingers touch where his eye used to be. It felt so strange, almost indented. He pulled his hand away as he let the reality sink in further. He would never again be able to use his left eye.

With his remaining right eye, he turned to glare down the cave tunnel where he had heard them run off in. He ground his teeth together, bearing them and growling under his breath. Even though he wasn’t in pain anymore, he could still feel flashes of pain as that Skrawl character ripped out his eye. Forget Rudy and Penny for now. Skrawl is the one he now wanted. He was going to pay for what he had done.

With his mind burning, Mr. Cosmo wasted no time in moving down the tunnel. He moved as quickly as he could, uncaring if they heard him or not. He didn’t have time to be stealthy. He didn’t have time to waste. He needed to get to them quickly if he wanted a chance to stop Skrawl before he got away.

Soon he managed to arrive at the end of the tunnel. He was about to make a charge, but then he stopped, putting his fingers around the edge, and he watched carefully.

It looks like they hadn’t yet escaped. He could see Rudy squirming up the rope while Skrawl and Penny waited. Mr. Cosmo knew that he had a chance now to get at Skrawl. He narrowed his eyes as he glared at the jellybean. It should be easy for him to shoot the guy from this spot. He could kill him off and then he could deal with Rudy and Penny. So long as he acted now, he had a chance to get all three of them.

But something still stopped him. He hesitated, a part of him wondering if this is what he should do. What if he messed up? What if he caused Skrawl to go feral and he would… He shook his head, trying not to let those thoughts dominate his mind again. He was not going to have another Banjo incident. He was not going to let another zoner get the best of him again.

In the back of his mind, he struggled to think of just how he was going to go about this. He focused intently on Skrawl and he licked his lips slowly. He could feel his emotions surging inside of him and he gritted his teeth in a twisted smile. He still had his black chalk with him. It would be so easy to take it and draw a weapon really quick. Indeed, he could already feel his hand moving down into his pocket, feeling his emotion energizing his every muscle movement. He started to raise it up and he brought it down to start drawing.

It only took a matter of seconds for him to draw a blowdart with a lethal poisonous tip. It glowed bright green and he could see its aura radiating from it. He put the arrow carefully into the round tube that he just drew. He lifted it up and pointed it at Skrawl. He leaned a little outward, drawing in a deep breath. Then, with his cheeks puffing up, he started to blow on it.

...until something fell on top of him. He widened his eyes and he struggled not to scream as a heavy rock hit him in his back, causing him to fall forward. While he did manage to keep his mouth shut, he wasn’t able to stop the loud crack from sounding out.

And no surprise, this did not go unnoticed by the others.

Lifting his head up, he could see that both Skrawl and Penny were looking at him now. They were both stunned and then horrified, at least Penny was, at his arrival. Skrawl on the other hand…

“You….” Skrawl growled through gritted yellow teeth. “I’m so glad that you showed up.” He smirked twistedly. “It saves me the trouble of having to come and find you…”

Mr. Cosmo could feel his heart skipping a beat as he struggled to his feet. His remaining eye widened and filled with fear as Skrawl started to rush towards him. He managed to scramble up and he tried to move. But he was not fast enough to dodge it completely. He felt part of his side being struck and he stumbled back. He soon felt himself hitting painful against the rough, bumpy cave wall. He opened up his eye as he saw his vision rapidly filling with Skrawl’s face.

In the moment, in his panic, he had forgotten about the poison dart that he had created. He could only grit his teeth in fear as Skrawl glared down at him, his body shaking with emotion. Mr. Cosmo struggled to lift his hands quickly enough to push Skrawl back. The large creature was too heavy and his arms were too shaky to do much of anything. Then Skrawl just rushed forward again, ramming and squeezing him up against the wall.

Only then did he remember the dart. But now his arms were pinned and he couldn’t grab it. In fact, it had fallen to the ground. Skrawl didn’t seem to notice, but that didn’t change the fact that it was now out of range.

“Think you’re going to get away this time?” Skrawl’s lip curled up into a snarl. His red and blue eyes stared into his soul, sending a cold chill through Mr. Cosmo’s body. “I should have just finished you off when I had the chance…”

Mr. Cosmo immediately felt a pain in his right eye as he imagined Skrawl striking a claw through his other eye. It would be too easy, and with him blinded, he wouldn’t even be able to draw to defend himself.

He soon started to hyperventilate at the thought, sweat starting to move down his face. He started to struggle more frantically, twisting himself from side to side, his eyelids clinching shut even more tightly.

“How amusing that you try to get away, when you forced me to do your bidding for you. I know you wanted to try to kill me.” Skrawl’s voice was dripping with something poisonous. It was almost like he had swallowed the poison dart and ‘absorbed’ it, and now he was using it against him. When the zoner opened his mouth, he honestly expected to see several arrows emerging from his mouth. “Master Tabootie isn’t here right now.” Skrawl’s voice was low. “He isn’t going to stop me from doing this…”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes started to widen at this. “You wouldn’t…”

“Oh why would’t I? Aren’t we zoners dangerous…?” Skrawl moved his head closer to him, his antenna swaying to the swift motion. “Aren’t I just acting like any normal zoner would?” His voice was edged with sarcasm. “Am I right?”

Mr. Cosmo felt tears moving down his eyes, even the empty one, which stung horribly, adding to the negative emotions that he was already feeling. He let out a strangled whimper as he could see Skrawl starting to raise his hand up to strike. Mr. Cosmo cringed back, unable to look away as the jellybean zoner got ready to attack. All he could do was just stare and wait, his eyes glued to those claws, one of them still covered in his blood….

“Wait!” Penny suddenly called out.

Skrawl staggered a little, lurching forward from shock. He looked over, trying to stare at Penny. “What is it?! Can’t you see I’m busy?!”

Penny drew in a few shaky breaths. “...p-please don’t kill him…”

Skrawl raised an eyebrow at this. “And why should I not? He was going to kill you, too.”

“I-I think she has a good point…” Mr. Cosmo said, giving a shaky smile to Skrawl. “M-Maybe you should…”

Skrawl snarled at him, making the man go silent. Then he looked back over to where Penny was. “Give me one good reason why I should let him live. If you can convince me, then maybe I will let him go.” He turned his head down, his eyes darkening. “I’ll give you one minute…”

Mr. Cosmo bared his teeth nervously as he looked from Skrawl to Penny and repeated this motion several times. He tried to push against the zoner’s hand that held him tightly. He stopped and flinched in pain when he felt the zoner pressing his claws into his flesh to keep him from struggling too much. He then turned to face Penny once more. He wondered just what she was going to do. Did she even have a plan?

If her face was anything to go by, she did not. Mr. Cosmo swallowed, feeling a burst of horror shooting through his stomach. He was doomed, wasn’t he..?

sss

Rapsheeba ached all over. She put a hand to her forehead and rubbed it slowly. She had to move carefully. The wires hooked to her body made it difficult to move effectively without accidentally yanking something. She could feel her head spinning and she didn’t know exactly how much time had passed by.

But that didn’t stop her from trying to keep herself calm and relaxed. She reminded herself that she was now safe and sound, away from that awful place. She was no longer being forced to do things against her will. The nail was gone. Her head had been wrapped up in a cover. The tin foil had done its job and now her head wound could start to heal. She didn’t need to worry about going crazy ever again.

Or so she hoped.

She laid against the hospital bed, glad that it was over. It hadn’t taken the doctors long. When they said they were fast, they weren’t joking. They were able to get her in and out in what felt like no time. Though perhaps it was just the result of her own loss of time and perhaps it was longer than that. But regardless, she was just glad to be out and now she could start to recover.

At least until the doctors would come back to look her over. They wanted to get that nail taken care of first, and she had a feeling they weren’t quite done. They might need to do more work, perhaps an implant of some kind. But they also wanted to see how she would do when she woke up. She hadn’t been awake too long, and her head did still ache from tiredness. The anesthesia still had a griplock hold on her head. And if she went under again soon, she could just imagine it would take even longer to wake up and shake off the feeling.

She turned her head to the bed next to her. Snap laid down not far, but he hadn’t yet woken up. She didn’t think that he would be up for a while. Not after all of that. She furrowed her eyes a little as she stared at where his feet where, biting her lip.

Snap had been injured more than she had been. His feet were a reminder of that. They had been horrifically burned and she couldn’t help but shudder as she imagined just how this could have happened. She felt so horrible for Snap and sick to her stomach. She hadn’t gotten all of the details on how it happened, but no doubt that man who kidnapped the zoners was responsible for this.

But she couldn’t stay mad about that for long. She reminded herself that they were in the hospital now, being taken care of. There wasn’t a reason to worry right now. At least not for herself and Snap. They both had the nails removed from their heads and they were both being treated. They were on their way to recovery.

And Rudy and Penny would be able to defeat that man and get him to stop hurting zoners...wouldn’t they?

As she finished this thought, she felt her head turning away from Snap and towards the door. She could feel some heaviness in her head. She drew in a slow, deep breath, and then exhaled, her vision starting to blur a little bit. She was feeling extra tired all of a sudden and she couldn’t stop her mouth from opening up, stretching and yawning. Soon her eyes closed completely and she felt everything just start to relax.

Her eyes snapped open when she heard the sudden rush of something rolling loudly through the hallway. It was another of those beds. Someone was being pushed down the hallway and they were coming straight in this direction. Curiosity getting the better of her, Rapsheeba pushed herself up a little and strained to see what was going on.

There was a flash of silver and some blurred bodies moving across. But she couldn’t think of who it could have been. She wasn’t able to see them for long. She could only make out that they were tiny. Like, really small. Almost like they were…

Spy Fly?

Rapsheeba widened her eyes at this thought. She never thought of Spy Fly being one to get injured. She was usually too fast for that. She wanted to think that it was someone else, and indeed it could have been. But if it was Spy Fly, then what was fast enough to catch her and injure her like that? Did she even want to know?

sss

Draow grumbled to himself. He should have just quit while he was ahead. He should have just bolted when he had the chance. It wasn’t like Bardot would have found him if he flew off into the distance. Why the fuck did he stay here and still do his bidding? At least if he had left, he wouldn’t have had to deal with this crap. But now it was too late and he was going to have to see it through.

At least Mr. Wilter had stopped squirming. That was a good thing. His jaws were getting tired and he could feel some pain in his teeth from holding a struggling human for a while. He had let the human lay on his back for the time being. This wasn’t something he was particularly happy about. But it was better than the human trying to rip his teeth out by mistake.

The fact that Mr. Wilter was finally relaxing to some extent made it easy for him to search around for some stray zoners. They were easy to see from a distance. All he needed to do was look for any zoners that behaved erratically and violently.

And that didn’t take long.

Draow had managed to remain quiet as he dove down to grab the zoners. They were not the same ones from before. One of them was in some kind of bathtub. He was amazed with himself that he was able to hold this zoner with one of his feet. His other one held a small puppet-like zoner, who seemed to like squirming a little too much. Then finally, the third zoner he managed to get was some kind of toast-shaped zoner with a never ending melting butter thing on its face. This zoner was easier to hold than Mr. Wilter had been in his jaws. The top of the zoner’s head was a bit soft and cushioned his teeth when he bit down. He was careful not to bite down too hard, though, as he didn’t want to kill the zoner.

With his quota met, he was already getting close to the Chalk Mine where Bardot was waiting for him. He could see it right up ahead. He had barely lost sight of it in general. He began his descent, getting a little lower to the ground. He quickly realized that he would not be able to land right away, but that wouldn’t be a problem. He could at least get into the mine entrance, where he could make sure that they weren’t able to get out.

Through the large opening, the large zoner flew through. He was able to easily fit through the opening and he found himself in the gigantic section that was the White Chalk Chamber. He did feel uncomfortable in this spot, considering that Mr. Cosmo said about white chalk, not to mention Mr. Wilter could use the stuff against him. But he settled himself down and, without remorse, flung his captives into the ground painfully.

There was an immediate reaction.

The puppet zoner, right away, had already begun to run towards the exit. Draow narrowed his eyes and flew over there. He jumped in front of the puppet zoner and opened up his wings, letting out a loud hiss and preventing it from getting too far. The puppet zoner seemed startled, but then its eyes flickered with rage and it tried to attack. Draow flinched and raised his foot as the thing started to bite him. For such a tiny thing, it sure packed a wallop with that bite.

He was able to force the zoner to let him go by flinging his foot in one direction. The zoner hit the ground painfully, rolling across like a doll of some kind. In a sense, it was, which made the moment even more amusing.

Draow hissed when he felt something hit against his toes. He looked down to see that bathtub zoner running across his feet. He couldn’t tell if it was trying to attack or not, but he wasn’t about to let it get away with this. He let out a roar and lowered his head. He rushed over to the bathtub zoner and struck against its side. He could hear it crack its tub a little, and it immediately recoiled, the sound of splashing filling the air.

Then as he turned his head, he could see that the toast zoner was climbing up his neck. He could see its teeth bared and he could feel its fingers digging into his fur and skin. Draow snorted and stretched himself out, shaking himself violently from one side to the other, managing to make the zoner let go. It dropped to the ground and Draow put his foot against the zoner, putting his weight upon it. He opened up his jaws and he let out a loud roar.

Amidst the echoing, he realized something was off. He could hear a snap and break. He could hear some heavy panting. He could see a particular shadow on the ground, and it was not hard to figure out what was going on. His eyes widened as he turned his head to see Mr. Wilter standing by an overhanging branch of white chalk. And he already had a piece pulled and was holding it in his hand, his mouth open and heavy pants escaping from it.

Draow felt his ears immediately lower. The other zoners didn’t seem to be doing anything. Or if they were, he was not paying attention. His focus was solely on Mr. Wilter. The man might be hurt and he might be wobbling. But so long as he could move his arm, he could use the chalk.

And Draow knew what would happen if the man attempted to draw anything.

Draow gave out a low hiss as he arched his back, raising his wings up slightly. He started to move around slowly, keeping his eyes on Mr. Wilter, forgetting what he was doing previously. He could see that the man was weak and that he would be easy to take care of if he just moved fast. But the piece of chalk, even if wobbly, was still raised up as if to strike. If he didn’t time his attack right, he could get himself hurt. But he still wasn’t going to give up.

He made his first attempt. He rushed over, his feet carrying him relatively quickly, and he raised his foot up to strike. The human immediately held the chalk higher and started to bring it down. Out of fear of him creating something to hurt him with, Draow recoiled, putting his foot back down. He let out a growling hiss, keeping his teeth bared, his fur raised up on end. Mr. Wilter just furrowed his eyebrows.

But that did not make him look more intimidating, considering just how tired and hurt that he looked. Mr. Wilter may be able to draw something, but it was likely only going to be one thing. But if it is just one thing that he could draw, Draow would bet he would make it count. He took a defensive stance, his feet planting to the ground, his front end lowering while his back end rose. He kept his teeth bared and he growled repeatedly, hoping to intimidate Mr. Wilter into not drawing.

He was normally not like this. He was designed to resist creators. And the fact that he was behaving this way did frustrate him. Perhaps it had something to do with how this was the same human who had hurt him in the past. The same one who had first defeated him, and his psyche had never forgotten. He growled in irritation at this. He hated being dominated by these old fears. Now was his chance to make Mr. Wilter pay for that. Now was this time to strike. He pulled his head back in a striking pose, almost like a raptor about to launch itself at prey. With his talons pressing into the ground, Draow curled his lip up slightly and he made his charge.

“Raaawrr!” His voice boomed against the walls, echoing, as he opened his mouth wider to strike at the human. Mr. Wilter attempted to get ready to draw, but it would seem he had overestimated his skills.

Draow’s head made contact with Mr. Wilter, sending him flying back. The white chalk rolled from the man’s hand. Draow was quick when he saw Mr. Wilter trying to scramble to get the piece of chalk. He rushed over and he put his foot against his body, holding him down affectively. Mr. Wilter struggled, and soon just stared up at him in fear.

Draow started to smirk at him and he opened his jaws once more, preparing to bite. But then he was stopped by the sound of stomping. He raised his head up and he looked over to see…

“What do you think you’re doing?” Bardot hissed. He didn’t look especially mad, but he still looked at him like he was going to hit him at any moment. “Why are you wasting your time with this human? You….” Soon Bardot stopped, blinking his eyes a few times as he turned his head from side to side in a swinging motion. Pulling his head back and chin up, he said, “Oh….I see. So you did grab a few zoners. Perfect.”

Draow didn’t answer. He just moved back from Mr. Wilter and he nodded his head.

Bardot took a look at the zoners, who hadn’t yet tried to flee. Draow imagined that they wouldn’t get far anyway now that Bardot was here. Something about those claws of his…

“These aren’t the same ones I was thinking of. But they will do just fine.” Bardot said with a smirk.

Draow wasn’t really sure what to think about that earlier comment. But it didn’t matter right now. There was something else on his mind. He let out a low, rumbling growl as he swung his head to one side, pointing his snout at Mr. Wilter. He released a low growl as he stared intently at the man. Bardot got what he was trying to ask right away.

“Oh don’t worry. He won’t be much of a threat.” Bardot raised his head and nodded it once. “Just grab something heavy to keep him pinned down. I don’t want him to get in the way.”

Draow cocked an eyebrow up as this. He wondered why Bardot didn’t just tell him to kill the human. But he must have his reasons, he presumed. Perhaps he was more interested in Mr. Cosmo. Not bothering to reply, Draow made his way over towards one of the nearby overhanging stalactites. He gripped his jaws around it and yanked to one side. It easily broke on his jaws.

As he headed over to Mr. Wilter, he could hear Bardot scrambling to get the other zoners in line. Draow dared not to look. He could hear enough already, The yelps of pain, that sizzling sound, his ears twitching from it. He shook it off and he focused on placing the heavy stalactite across Mr. Wilter’s body, dropping it on the human before he could try to crawl away.

“This will do just fine…” He could hear Bardot say. His ears lowering in uncertainty, Draow looked over to see Bardot standing with the three zoners, each of them now having a red glow in their outline. Bardot turned his head and gave him a sideways upwards stare, the green eyes looking like they were glinting. “Do you know where Mr. Cosmo is? I think it’s time that he faced fear before the fall.”

Draow lowered his head slightly and took a small step back. He was immediately struck with a confliction of emotions. He struggled to think of what exactly he should do.

sss

The large jellybean zoner growled under his breath as he glared at Penny. He took in a few slow, deep breaths, his mind pondering just what was going on. He didn’t understand why the girl was doing this. Why would she beg him not to kill this pathetic creature known as Mr. Cosmo? Didn’t he try to hurt her? Yet she still defended him? Yeesh, she had some messed up morality. And she and Rudy said that he was messed up. At least he knew some lines and logic.

But this guy…

Skrawl had forced Mr. Cosmo to kneel in front of him, his hand gripping his shoulder and threatening to tear into his shoulder to make sure that he didn’t try to move. He kept his grip there as his gaze lifted up and glared right at Penny. The two of them refused to look away from one another. It was almost like a staring contest, and Skrawl wasn’t about to lose it.

Penny looked back at him, hardly having spoken since she interrupted him. He realized that she didn’t really know what she wanted to say and she had halted herself from going any further. He guessed that she just wanted to say something to get him to hold himself back from doing anything anything else to the man. But ultimately, she just made it harder for her to make a good case and she was doing little more than waste his time.

He let out a low growl as he kept his eyes on Penny, occasionally shifting it to where Mr. Cosmo was below him. It was so tempting to just drive his claws through the human’s body and kill him. But yet he still held still, waiting for Penny to come up with a good excuse for why he shouldn’t do this. The only thing that she could come up with was just ‘it would be wrong’. And that wasn’t good enough for Skrawl.

“I’ve been waiting for a response, little genius girl…” Skrawl growled as he brought his claws down towards Mr. Cosmo. The man whimpered and looked over at Penny with desperation, as if he really did believe that she was his last hope. “I already told you why you shouldn’t care about him. You haven’t yet told me why you think he’s still worthy of living.” He pressed his claws against the man’s throat. “I’m not giving you any more time. You’re already past your limit. Either you tell me right now why he should live, or I’ll tear out his throat right now.”

Penny opened her mouth to speak. “I-I…” But she wasn’t able to say anything further. She soon shut her mouth and lowered her head slightly.

“You can’t think of anything, can you?” Skrawl accused her. “You know that I’m right, don’t you? This man tried to kill you! And you know that there’s nothing you can defend him with! So why don’t you just give it up? There’s nothing here that you should consider worth fighting for!”

Penny remained quiet for several seconds. She kept her gaze averted. And at first. Skrawl thought she had finally given up. She turned his attention to Mr. Cosmo and was about to deal with him.

That is, until Penny spoke up once more.

“What about a trial?”

Skrawl blinked at this, wondering what Penny was talking about. “Come again..?” He asked as he tilted his head. “What did you say?”

“I said, what about a trial? Why not, instead of killing him, we take him to court? Get him charged for all the pain and misery that he’s caused ChalkZone? I’m sure someone here can find a more befitting punishment for him than simply being killed off.” Penny explained. She raised her hands up, motioning towards the large green zoner. “I mean...sure, you could just kill him, but what about someone else who may want a piece of this? Wouldn’t a trial be more affective?”

Skrawl blinked once before he narrowed his eyes. “Of course not… Why should I care about what some other zoner thinks? This is my business! I’m doing this because I want to! This is for me, not for anyone else!” Skrawl pointed a finger at Penny. “So don’t you try to stick me with this ‘for the greater good’ bullcrap!”

Penny hesitated to answer at first. But then, just when Skrawl thought she was done, something slithered out of her mouth. “Do you really believe that…?”

Skrawl could feel his eyes widening slightly at this question. He then moved his hand towards himself and he gave Penny a disgusted and shocked look. He could feel his body giving a quick shake before he gave her an answer. “Why the hell wouldn’t I be serious? Do you really think that I would lie about something like that?”

Penny narrowed her eyes back at him. “I would have thought you would have more concern about your fellow zoners. But seeing how you tried to drown a portion of them…” She folded her arms to her chest. “...something tells me that your priorities don’t lie with helping them out, do they? You only care about yourself!”

Skrawl smirked at this. Finally the little brat was getting it. “You see? So you now admit the truth! You know that I don’t give a crap about anyone else! I’m doing this for myself! I don’t care what he did to the others!” There was a small hiccup at this, his tongue tripping over itself a little. But he shrugged it off as he continued, “To hell with the others! I’m going to kill this human because I want to!”

But despite all of that, Penny didn’t seem like she was going to back down just yet. The little brat just didn’t know when to quit, did she? From the look in her eyes, he knew that this was the case. All that she cared about was just making him let go of this human, ignoring the fact that he had hurt her. Skrawl couldn’t help but roll his eyes at this. She was such an idiot, wasn’t she?

He should just get rid of this human. There was no need for him to keep standing here. It wasn’t like Penny could stop him. It wasn’t like Rudy could do anything. He was still heading up the rope, probably not aware of what’s going on. And by the time that he did, it would already be too late. He could have Mr. Cosmo’s head ripped off by that point, rolling on the ground like some kind of morbid volley ball. The sight of it was tempting him to actually doing it for real.

Yet he still remained still, glaring at Penny. He wasn’t sure why he wasn’t doing anything. He didn’t know what it was about the girl’s stare that was making him hold still like this. He gritted his teeth in frustration. How long was this going to last before he actually did something?

Penny finally broke the silence. “Skrawl...can it at least wait until we’ve gotten out of here…? We don’t know what else….what more he has done or what he has planned. Wouldn’t that be better?”

Skrawl grumbled under his breath. He was tempted to tell Penny to just screw herself. But he had a feeling that it wouldn’t change her position. She would still be determined to stop him. And he honestly wasn’t interested in worrying about that right now. He turned his head to glare down at Mr. Cosmo, feeling anger still surging through his body. He looked from him to Penny, and then back again. He did this over and over again, unsure of when he was going to stop.

Eventually, he just...gave up. There was no reason for him to keep delaying things. There wasn’t any interest on his part to keep listening to Penny, or enduring her pathetic whining when he did kill Mr. Cosmo early. So you know what? Just forget about it. He just didn’t care at this point.

“F-F-Fine! Whatever!” Skrawl shouted at Penny. The girl scrambled to get back, obviously afraid of what he might do if he got a hold of her. The massive zoner’s body trembled in rage and he lifted Mr. Cosmo into the air. “This putrid thing isn’t worth my time anyway!”

He was tempted to throw Mr. Cosmo in one final show of frustration. But rather than do that, he managed to resist and control himself. He just opened up his hand and let the human drop into the ground. He watched him fall, listened to him cough and yelp in pain, and snarled at him. Skrawl did make one more move and that was to kick Mr. Cosmo in the side. This caused the man to flip over on the ground, landing on his back and holding his side tightly.

Penny glared at him for this unnecessary act, but Skrawl just didn’t care. Why should he? It wasn’t like Penny had the final say in what he did. He would have to remind her of where her place was here. Sure, he might be lenient now and allow Mr. Cosmo to continue living. But that didn’t mean that he….. Argh, he could feel a headache forming inside of his skull. This was getting annoying.

There was another reason he was bothered by this. He still didn’t know why Penny was so insistent on him letting Mr. Cosmo go. He didn’t know why she would bother with that. Did she have any fucking clue what she was doing? Did she not think of the consequences? He had a feeling that she did not and this was mostly her goody two shoes speaking for her. How predictable...

“Okay, there you go! Happy now?” Skrawl said under his breath. “I sure hope you are happy! Because whatever happens, it’ll be on your head.”

Penny snorted softly. “I still stick by my decision. You know that you can’t just…”

Suddenly there was a flash of sharp pain coming from Skrawl’s side. His eyes bulged open and he tried to scream. He was in too much pain to even do that. He just held himself still, mouth open and struggling to breathe, gasping raspily. He could hear Penny letting out a scream of her own, and it echoed inside of his head along with the pain.

Skrawl managed to turn his head down to see his wound. He could see that something sharp was sticking into his side. Some kind of knife with a black handle was embedded deep in his flesh. He could see and smell his own blood as it dripped down from his body and onto the ground. He kept looking at this for several long moments, gasping painfully. Then he looked over at where Penny was.

Even with his blurred version, he could still see the look of horror in her eyes. He could still see the way that she looked at him, her hand now glued to her mouth. There was a wave of regret putting a strangle hold on her. It was easy to detect this even though she said no words. He could just feel it radiating off her body. He couldn’t help but release a bitter chuckle at this. It would seem that even a genius girl could make mistakes.

The jellybean zoner smiled, a trickle of blood moving out of the corner of his mouth. He could taste his iron-flavored blood on his tongue easily. He gave Penny a look of ‘I told you so’ before he collapsed forward.

Then everything around him went pitch black.

sss

“Aaaargh!”

The sudden scream nearly caused Rudy to lose his grip on the grope. He could feel himself swinging around a little as he tried to recover from that nasty surprise. He shook his head and he looked over to see what was going on.

Though he was pretty high up, it wasn’t difficult to tell what was going on.

“Penny?!”

He could hear himself calling out without stopping himself. He couldn’t tell if she was hurt or not, but she was clearly worried and horrified. She looked like something big had happened and this caused Rudy to lick his lips nervously. She wouldn’t be like this if there wasn’t some reason for it. He turned his head a little more up and then he saw it.

Skrawl was laying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Rudy stared at this for several long moments, his body going rigid, his blood chilling into ice. He struggled to breathe and everything just came crashing down upon him like something heavy. He could feel a bitter sensation in his mouth and he swallowed hard, trying not to let himself throw up. Yet he could already feel his stomach trying to empty its contents.

All he could do was just stare at this long and hard, letting the reality of what happened sink in. He swallowed hard and his head started to spin. Even though Skrawl was his enemy, he just...didn’t want something like this to happen to him. He didn’t deserve something like this. What the hell had happened to him that…

He turned his head up a little further and his eyes flashed. With a glint, they narrowed and he curled his lips up into a snarl. He could see that Mr. Cosmo was standing there, holding the weapon of his choice, which was a dagger. It still dripped with chalky blood. The sight of this was enough to nearly make Rudy lose his grip on the rope. He had to struggle to keep holding onto the rope, even with all the sweat moving down his trembling fingers.

How dare Mr. Cosmo do that…. How dare he hurt a zoner… Try to kill one… These thoughts and more burned through Rudy’s mind. The shock of seeing the man up and about so fast or the fact that he mysteriously healed took a while to register in his head. Even then, anger was what mostly dominated his mind right now.

He struggled to think of what he was going to do. He couldn’t move no matter what he tried. He didn’t know which direction to go. Should he head on the rest of the way up and call Penny over? But what if Mr. Cosmo attacked her? Should he come down to rush over to get her to safety? Mr. Cosmo could do the same thing again and try to hurt her. He could feel the temptation to clutch his head and he had to keep his arms still to keep that from happening.

The only thing that made sure that he didn’t completely lose it was the fact that Skrawl appeared to still be breathing. The wound might not be as damaging as he thought. Maybe he wasn’t even knocked out yet. Maybe he just collapsed or something. Rudy couldn’t tell from up here. But what he could tell was that Penny was frozen in terror and Mr. Cosmo seemed to have his sights set on her. Rudy narrowed his eyes further. He was not going to let that man get away with this. He wasn’t…

He suddenly heard something crack above him. He widened his eyes a little when he heard a low growl emanating from something massive. He could feel his head nearly snapping. Oh no, not now… Anything but that… He had enough to worry about.

With those thoughts in mind, he forced himself to look up at where the opening was above him. Despite there still being quite the distance, he could still see a familiar shape.

It was Draow.

Rudy watched as Draow stared down at him intently, those teal eyes glowing, glinting off the Day Zone sun. Rudy licked his lips dryly and remained frozen, uncertain of what he could do. He wondered to himself if things could possibly get any worse.

“Ah, I see we have a little friend down there…”

Rudy shuddered. Of course it would get worse. Looking up, he could see something yellow and red looking down at him. Even with how far down he was, Rudy could still make out his twisted smile.

“How are you doing down there? Just hanging around?” Bardot asked, chuckling at his own stupid pun. Rudy snarled at this. Bardot’s ears twitched. “Aww and here I thought you would have been happy to see me.” He put his paw to himself. “I mean, you do seem so lonely there. Why not want company?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this. “Fuck you.”

Bardot remained quiet for a few seconds. He then looked up at where Draow was, giving what looked to be a small smirk. Or was it a snarl? There was no way to tell from here. But when the zoner spoke, Rudy did detect some aggression in his voice. “Hey, why don’t you give our little ‘friend’ down there some help?”

Rudy’s eyes widened as he saw Draow start to move in towards the whole, his mass covering the opening and bathing him in darkness. Rudy couldn’t see anything, causing terror to rise up inside of his stomach. He looked around, squinting his eyes, struggling to see just where this guy had one. But it was useless. There was no seeing him in this darkness.

Then, before he knew it, he could feel Draow ramming into him. Rudy’s grip on the rope loosened and he felt himself being pulled downwards towards the ground. Seeing the ground rushing up at him swiftly, all Rudy could do was shut his eyes and wait for the blow. And when it did come, it felt like everything inside of his body was broken into tiny pieces.

He was only just barely aware of Penny’s screams of horror for him.

sss

The sudden sound of something collapsing and hitting the ground sent a jolt through the red-haired man’s body. He curled up into himself at first, his eyes wide in fear. He looked around left and right quickly, trying to find the source of that sound. He then heard Penny’s screaming and he realized rapidly what had happened. This was confirmed when he turned his head to look.

There, standing a distance away, he could see Draow, his wings outstretched, his teal eyes gleaming in what light was available to him. He had his wings arching over, his sickle claw wings aiming right down towards a certain child who was laying on his back now, looking like he was in a lot of pain.

Mr. Cosmo had a hard time processing what he was seeing. He didn’t recall just where Draow was or why he was here now. And he certainly didn’t recall ever ordering him to do something like this. Draow knew that Rudy was off limits unless given explicit permission. So what the fuck did he think that he was doing? Was he trying to get himself into trouble? Did he just somehow forget that he wasn’t supposed to do something like this to Rudy?

But for all that he was angry at Draow for this, something else caught his attention. Turning his gaze to one side, he watched as Penny ran to where Rudy was. The boy was surprisingly still awake, as shown by his groans of pain and shuddering and attempts to move. Draow didn’t do much to stop Penny from getting close, but he did still prevent her from dragging him away. He put his foot on Rudy and hissed loudly at her, forcing her to keep back.

The red-haired man narrowed his eyes at this. He honestly had expected better of Draow. He thought that he could contain his natural feral nature for longer than a normal zoner. Perhaps he had been wrong. Of course, to have this thought, he’d have to be hypocritical and ignore the fact that he used Draow to kill countless others in the past. He shrugged that thought off, keeping his mind focused on his hypocritical thought, his eyes narrowing.

Exactly why did these brats thing zoners were worth saving again?

He didn’t focus too much on that question right now. Instead, he shifted his gaze to where Draow still held down Rudy. He swallowed hard before starting to make his move over towards the massive zoner, snarling in disapproval. Was he worried? Perhaps a little, but if Draow still had a bit of loyalty left in him, then he will listen to him.

“Draow!’ Mr. Cosmo called out, his narrowed eyes facing the large zoner. Draow seemed to notice him and his body immediately slouched a little and his eyes lowered, showing some signs of submission. “Get your foot off of him! I didn’t give you permission to attack him!”

Draow let out a low, rumbling sound intermixed with something akin to a sigh. He looked from Rudy to Mr. Cosmo and then back again. Draow gave a small snort before lifting his foot up and taking a small step back.

“Good…” Mr. Cosmo approached Draow slowly. “Now do you mind telling me just what made you think that you could just try to kill him like that?” Draow flinched at the man’s tone of voice and looked away. His facial expression indicated that he was hiding something. This was not something that Mr. Cosmo was interested in approving. He reached over and grabbed Draow by his neck fur, yanking him forward a little. “Did someone give you this order?” Draow nodded his head shakingly. “Who, then…?!”

Mr. Cosmo waited for Draow to indicate something. A piont or whatever. But all the zoner could do was look away, his snout pointed at the ground in a diagonal fashion, his eyes furrowed with what looked to be guilt.

Mr. Cosmo snarled at this. “Well then, I…”

He stopped himself as he took notice of how Draow was acting. With his head moving about, tilting up, his eyes darting, he guessed that Draow was looking for whoever had given him the order. But he apparently didn’t see anyone, judging from how he was lowering his body a little, either confused or worried. He looked back at Mr. Cosmo, his ears giving a twitch before lowering yet again.

Mr. Cosmo furrowed his eyes. He could try to think of a suitable punishment for Draow. But right now, he was more interested in figuring out just who had given Draow the okay to attack, and why the fuck Draow would even obey such a command. He worked for him, not for whoever told him to do this. He would figure out who it was. He didn’t care how long it took.

But he didn’t get that far in making another attempt before he could hear something beside him. A hissing voice telling him one thing.

“Y-You monster....”

Mr. Cosmo turned to stare at Penny, who was glaring at him like he was some kind of devil or whatever. He didn’t speak a word to her. He just looked back at her for a few moments, chuckling inwardly at how stupid this girl was acting. With a dry voice, he said, “You were the one who spared me, girl. You should have listened to your jellybean friend there. Look at where your kindness has gotten you.”

Penny curled her lip up into a snarl as she slunk her uninjured arm around Rudy. “If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead! You ungrateful bastard!” Her voice shook with emotion, tears dripping from her eyes.

Mr. Cosmo said nothing more to the teenager. He didn’t want to waste any further time with her. She was nothing but a distraction to him right now. And Rudy was alive, so he didn’t need to check up on him. Skrawl was of no threat to anyone right now. The only thing that he needed to focus on now was Draow himself. Ignoring whatever else Penny said, Mr. Cosmo’s eyes bore right through Draow’s once more.

“So, dear Draow... Are you going to show me who told you to do this? Or are you just going to stand there and gawk?” Mr. Cosmo hissed through clenched teeth. After more silence, the man’s eyes narrowed slightly more. “Do you think I’m joking about this? If you don’t tell me exactly who told you to attack the boy, I swear I will force it out of you!” He pushed forward against Draow roughly as he let him go.

Draow let out a small whine and lowered his head as the man raised the black chalk in a threatening manner. Draow took a few steps back and he curled his body inward a little. He stared at Mr. Cosmo with those large eyes, shivering almost violently.

“Why are you treating him like that? He’s your own creation!”

Mr. Cosmo ignored Penny’s outburst as he continued to glare at the massive zoner before him. He wasn’t going to let Draow get away so easily with this bullcrap. He was going to cough up what he wanted. And then he could decide later if he was worth keeping around for much longer or not. Just how fast that happened would depend on how Draow behaves right now.

But when Draow was still motionless save for his shaking, making no effort to show him where this person was or try to grab them for him, Mr. Cosmo just grabbed Draow’s throat yet again, this time with more force and causing Draow to let out a loud whimper of pain. When he pulled, he nearly ripped out the chunk of fur located in that spot.

“You stupid....!” Mr. Cosmo was suddenly cut off when he felt someone pushing against him. He staggered to the side a little and he turned his head, expecting to see Penny. However... “Rudy? You’ve recovered already?”

Well that might have been a stretch. The teenager was awake, but his droopy eyes indicated that he still had some more time left before he fully recovered. This was strongly indicated by how his body swayed fro mside to side. But regardless of that, he was still on his feet, fighting against his body’s natural inclination ot just collapse again.

Rudy had taken a step in front of Penny. It was a rather comical sight, considering that the fall gave Rudy a new set of injuries. It was commendable that he was able to even still stand up to fight. But he was still wasting his potential. There was so much that he could accomplish, if only the boy would try to see that...

Oh well, if he needed to be forced before he would see the light, then so be it. He wasn’t going to complain anymore.

Especially since they were in the Black Chalk Chamber now.

“You are a foolish child. I’m sure you’ve heard that a lot. It’s become a stock phrase, I’m sure.” Mr. Cosmo motioned his hand out towards Rudy. “I do solute you for being able to attack me like that. Tell me, how much energy did that take for you to do?”

Rudy’s answer had nothing to do with what he just said, causing him to smile in amusement. “Wh-Why are you.. s-s-so determined to get.... m-me on your side...? Why me...?”

Mr. Cosmo had no idea why the boy was asking, except perhaps to waste time. Didn’t he already know, anyway? But if he wanted an answer, even if a repeat, then he could amuse him with one.

“Oh, but Rudy, I thought you know by now what I want with you.” Mr. Cosmo walked away from Draow, releasing him in favor of attempting to reach out towards Rudy. The teenager jerked back, making Mr. Cosmo freeze, but he soon just smiled at him. “My, being a little sensitive, are we? Fine, then.” Mr. Cosmo straightened himself up to make himself look more important. “I want you to be my apprentice, Rudy. I want you to follow in my footsteps. I know I won’t be around forever. I need someone to continue in my place.”

Rudy growled at this and Penny’s eyes narrowed. “What the fuck makes you think I would want to do something like that?”

Mr. Cosmo’s smile never faltered. “It’s not about wanting. It’s something you and I both need. This mission of mine is important, Rudy. So many people are counting on it. And if you are just going to turn your back on all of them, well....” He paused to let out a sigh. “I suppose I can’t force you in the end...” A small lie, of course. “..but I do hope that you consider your place amongst....”

He stopped himself when he froze at the sound of something familiar. A low growl that he could never mistake, even if it were faint as shit right now. That sound echoed through the opening that spiraled down here and he immediately felt a little sick. He swallowed hard as he felt himself taking a step back.

What course of action should he take in this moment?

sss

Ms. Lezro curled her lip up into a snarl as she stared intently at the dead body before her. She hadn’t expected to come across such a horrific sight. It reminded her of why she hated working here and why she thought that they should just wipe out these things and move on. Why she had stayed, she didn’t know. Perhaps she was just too polite, or just too much of a coward to leave.

Now one of her fellow co-workers laid upon the ground. She had found Mrs. Panthea’s body just moments ago. She saw how torn up her body was, how her limbs and back were twisted, the fact that her face was contorted in sheer pain and agony.

The sight of this gruesome display nearly made Ms. Lezro release her stomach contents. She managed to keep herself reserved enough so that she didn’t snap and go crazy. She licked her lips slowly as she pondered what she should do, the bitter taste perfectly reflecting how she was feeling. She knew that she couldn’t just stand here and do nothing. Something needed to be done. But there was one problem.

She had no clue where Mr. Cosmo was.

She had to report this to him first before she did anything. She had to make sure that he knew what was going on. He was the one who insisted on all of this. So he should be the one to do something about it. Of course, if he had just killed off the zoners like she had told him to a week ago, then none of this would have happened.

But no, she thought bitterly. He didn’t want to do that. He wanted to just remain on his stupid plan doing whatever the fuck he wanted to do. She didn’t know anymore and she frankly didn’t care. She wasn’t the only coworker who was thinking this. Many of them were, yet they all stayed for some reason. She didn’t understand why. But what she did know is that she was not going to keep putting this off. Sooner or later, she was going to confront this madman about this. She might even have an edge this time. By showing her the dead body, maybe that would open his eyes and…

...or it might just make it worse. Mr. Cosmo was determined to create some sort of ‘safety’ and this might only add fuel to the fire. Ms. Lezro just rolled her eyes at the thought, trying hard not to chuckle bitterly. She didn’t think her dry throat could take much more of that.

She got pulled out of her thoughts when she lifted her head up and she heard the sound of someone approaching her. She turned her head and she could see one of her fellow co-workers walking towards her quickly, an urgent look in her eyes.

“Ms. Teelar… What’s wrong?” It wasn’t hard to see the look of horror in the woman’s eyes.

“I-I found… something…” The woman choked out. She took in a few shaky breaths, her eyes wide with terror. It was clear that something was really bothering her. She was more of a nervous wreck than other people and she wasn’t one to lie. Ms. Lezro listened carefully to what she said. “Blood… torn clothes… where the chalk creatures escaped…”

Ms. Lezro widened her eyes in horror. “Someone else is dead?”

Ms. Teelar nodded. She fumbled her fingers together. There were some tears moving down her face, indicating horror. “I-It was… Mr. Nicolas…”

Ms. Lezro narrowed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She had a feeling that other co-workers already knew this but didn’t have time to tell her. She and Ms. Teelar had been stationed further way and only just recently, like within the hour, found out about this shit going on. Their minds were still processing it. Fear gripped their hearts, even worse than before now that they knew people died from this.

They hadn’t yet run into any zoners. But that was hardly of any comfort to them. A zoner could pop in from nowhere and try to kill them. They needed to get away from here. They had to figure out how they could escape this madness before it takes a hold of them.

Ms. Lezro chuckled bitterly. It would seem that Ms. Saffron was on the right track after all…. Speaking of that woman, where did she go? She hadn’t seen her in a while nor was she in any of the hallways. Perhaps she was with Mr. Cosmo on some kind of mission? Mr. Cosmo did seem to favor her for some reason. Or was it really favoring? Was he just using her like a tool? He certainly seemed to like doing that with everyone else here. She was just one of the few who saw this.

Ms. Lezro turned her head to look down one of the nearby hallways. There was one place that she hadn’t looked yet and she imagined that something might be going on there. She gritted her teeth tightly. “Do you know where that large portal is? The one that Mr. Cosmo doesn’t want us to use?”

Ms. Teelar blinked a few times. She shifted her gaze to the side, rubbing her arm up and down. “I-I think so.. B-B-But….why do you want to know…?”

Ms. Lezro looked at her, narrowing her eyes further. “Because we are going to find that poor excuse for a man and make him stop this craziness that he’s gotten us all involved in.”

“But, wouldn’t that involve going into…” Ms. Teelar swallowed hard. “..th-their world..?”

“I don’t like it either. But we don’t have much of another choice, now do we? Mr. Cosmo is nowhere to be seen and I don’t think he realizes what his foolishness has caused. I don’t think he wanted any of us killed. If he saw what happened to Mrs. Panthea and Mr. Nicolas…”

“...what if he still doesn’t care..?”

Ms. Lezro froze at this question. She could hear just how serious the woman before her was being. She turned her head down, pondering the question. She….did see where the woman was coming from. In all honestly, it was a concern of hers as well. But... no, she had to keep moving forward. She should not let this discourage her. She shook her head once and she took a step forward.

“We will just have to take that chance.” She said.

Ms. Teelar didn’t seem to do anything to try to contradict her. Despite her obvious fears, the woman knew that she was right about this. She could only just nod her head slowly, keeping her eyes a little downcast, and she started to move towards her slowly, her lowered head indicating surrender and understanding.

Ms. Lezro did soften up her expression just a little bit. She didn’t mean to make the woman feel so intimidated. She just wanted to get going as soon as possible. But she had no time to apologize now. They had to get going and quick.

At least it wouldn’t take too long to get there. All they needed to do was keep going down the hallway, following this path straight, and they should get there soon. It would take only a few minutes. Then all they had to do was cross that damn portal and see if Mr. Cosmo was anywhere on the other side. So what if the thought of it was terrifying? So what if this is those damn creatures’ home world? It wasn’t like they would be there long. She doubted Mr. Cosmo was dumb enough to wander into that place too far.

But then again…

She shook her head hard once and she pushed herself to keep moving forward. She told Ms. Teelar they were heading out, and that’s exactly what they were going to do. Those stupid zoners can’t scare her. She smirked at the thought of strangling one with her bare hands. It would be too easy. Maybe they would even scatter and flee and try to evade her attacks. It served them right after what they had done.

But she was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn’t realize where they were. And she most certainly didn’t notice the large shadow encroaching upon her. It was only when Ms. Teelar screamed did she do anything.

At this point, it was too late.

sss

Shit, oh shit… This had been a horrible idea. They shouldn’t have here. They should have just left this building like she wanted to ask and now they…

Ms. Teelar could feel her mind swirling a million miles an hour as she watched Ms. Lezro being pushed into the ground by something large and white. One of those chalk creatures, its eyes wide and just bleeding with evilness. The beast was biting down on Ms. Lezro’s arm and she could hear bone starting to crack. She put her hands to her mouth and she just stood there and trembled, tears streaming down her face.

“Wh-What are you doing…?” Cried out Ms. Lezro. Her voice was trembly. “H-Help me…!”

But Ms. Teelar couldn’t bring herself to move. She couldn’t get her feet to move forward or anything. They remained frozen where they were, her head churning like someone had wound something inside of it. She could feel a dull headache spreading throughout her head and she gripped it tightly. She seethed as she breathed in and out heavily. She tried to control her crying, but she only seemed to be making it much worse.

What was she going to do? She wanted to help Ms. Lezro. But her body just wouldn’t respond. Her brain was locked in fear and she felt her logic center becoming hindered. She sucked on her lips and when she did finally manage to move, she went backwards, away from the woman who needed her help.

Meanwhile, the polar bear monster was tearing into Ms. Lezro. The woman screamed loudly, as if she was being skinned alive. What was actually happening wasn’t much better. She had no idea why this thing was doing this, other than the fact that it was some unnatural being that shouldn’t have come into existence in the first place. She watched in sheer horror as the beast started to rip off one of Ms. Lezro’s arms.

“Aaaahh! Help me! Please!”

Ms. Teelar listened to Ms. Lezro’s screams of agony, her body still rigid and trembling. She still struggled to breathe as her wide eyes stared at what was going on. She looked rapidly left and right, trying to think of what she could do.

But how could she take on something like this? There was no way that she would stand a chance. She was better off just leaving and…

Another bloodcurdling scream echoed in her head. By this point, Ms. Lezro’s arm had been ripped clean off. Ms. Teelar saw the arm laying useless on the ground, the shattered bone peaking out, bits of muscle exposed, clear as day, and blood leaking out rapidly. She put her hand to her stomach and, unable to control herself, she bent over and she let her stomach contents spill out all over the ground.

With the horrible smell of blood intermixing with the taste and smell of whatever remained of her vomit, Ms. Teelar did the only thing that she could think of doing.

She ran.

“You coward! I hope you go to hell! You always run away from everything! Now you’re a fucking murderer! Fuck you, bitch! You… Aaaargh..!” The woman’s voice was cut off by the sound of loud cracking and a low grumble.

Ms. Teelar just continued to run as fast as she could. She only stopped when she tripped on something and she fell into the ground. She didn’t bother getting up. She just curled herself on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, her arms instinctively going over her head to protect herself. She felt her body shaking, wracked with emotion. She shut her eyes tightly, wanting to shut out everything that was going on.

“Ms. Teelar…?” A calm, masculine voice called out to her.

Ms. Teelar forced her eyes open and lifted her head up. In her blurry vision, she saw Mr. Malcolm standing there, his eyes filled with worry.

Mr. Malcolm looked over her and gritted his teeth nervously. “What….what happened to you…?”

Ms. Teelar curled her lips downward and she started to cry harder. She lifted herself up from the ground and she latched onto Mr. Malcolm. She held onto him tightly and she cuddled up against him. Though startled, the man did wrap his arms tentatively around her and tried to calm her down. His soft whispers did help, but the woman still shook and trembled, horrified and guilty about what she had just witnessed.

She really was a coward, wasn’t she…?


	54. Unfolding

A wave of confusion dominated the boy’s mind. He was unable to look away, unable to think of how he was going to handle this situation. He hadn’t expected something like this to happen. He could feel his mind and body being overwhelmed by emotion as he struggled to comprehend what was going on.

Rudy didn’t think that he would ever feel any pang of sympathy for Mr. Cosmo, but here he was.

Rudy watched in silent horror as the man was surrounded by three zoners that fallen through the opening. All three of them looked rather vicious and they looked like they were out for blood. Rudy silently wished that he had some more of that tin foil to use to help them escape this madness. But all he could do right now was just watch as zoners that he knew, zoners that he was aware weren’t normally like this, hounding on this man.

Rudy was especially horrified when he could see that two of the zoners were his own creations. He didn’t make Howdy or Bathtub Granny to be vicious monsters. But that, along with Buttered Toast Man, was exactly how they were acting like. Even if they didn’t yet attack Mr. Cosmo, they were still glaring at him and growling like vicious monsters.

Why weren’t they attacking? He would have thought that they would recall how this man was the one who had hurt them. And why weren’t they aiming these snarls at Draow? He was responsible for bringing them into the Real World, wasn’t he? So what made Mr. Cosmo the draw of attention? What was gluing them to him but not to Draow? Something was going on here and he was going to figure out what it was.

Could it be related to the fact that their outlines were now red in color? Rudy’s mind suddenly snapped and he stiffened up, his memories flooding straight into his skull. He gritted his teeth and he hissed, recalling what Bardot had done.

So that sneaky little beast was…

Rudy whirled his head and he glared straight at Bardot. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Bardot gave him a sideways glance. “What does it look like I am doing? I am helping you.”

Rudy spluttered at this. “How is this helping?” He felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle slightly. “You’re controlling these zoners and making them do terrible things!”

“How is keeping your enemy at bay terrible?” Inquired Bardot. He didn’t sound mad. Just interested in what Rudy had to say. If he wanted an answer, Rudy would be glad to give it to him.

“I don’t want help that involves tormenting another person!” Rudy declared. He suddenly felt a twist in his stomach as he recalled some of his earlier thoughts. He hadn’t exactly been happy with Mr. Cosmo before. Wasn’t he just being a giant hypocrite by doing this? Shouldn’t he just…

Bardot gave a small chuckle. It would seem he, too, had spotted how he was feeling. “I’m surprised you’re even trying to make me stop.” He looked over, casually watching Mr. Cosmo cringing in a corner, the zoners snarling and snapping at him like wild animals. “Didn’t he hurt one of your creations? Didn’t he try to kill your friend? Why do you want him alive?”

“I…” Rudy stopped talking, his eyes widening when he realized that he didn’t have much of an answer. How could he respond to a question like that when he himself didn’t know why he was doing this? Outside of his own sense of justice… But Bardot did make a good point. Why was he trying to help someone who clearly didn’t care about how he felt? Yet he still stubbornly clung to this mindset and he shut his eyes tightly, feeling a burning sensation sweeping through his arms and legs. He uttered the only answer that he could think of. “Because it’s the right thing to do…”

Bardot leaned in a little, turning his head to one side. He gave a small smile, his lips curling up just slightly. “You are all so confusing. Humans are a confusing species.” He raised his head up, his pupils shrinking once before returning back to normal. “Zoners are easier to understand. At least we’re not so complicated.”

Draow looked down at Bardot at this, but remained silent.

Bardot took a few steps towards Rudy. He raised his haunches up, making him look bigger than he really was. His snout was pointed down and his ears flicked forward. His green eyes stared straight at Rudy. “It is no wonder why both the red chalk and black chalk want zoners and humans separated.”

“What do you mean?” Penny asked through her pain.

Bardot looked at her, his eyes widening and he spoke in mock shock, “Oh my you don’t know?!” He looked at Rudy. “You as well?! I’m surprised!” He then closed his eyes and his facial expression relaxed. Rudy and Penny glared at him, not appreciating the way that he was speaking to them. After giving a couple of amused laughs, Bardot raised his head again and he sneered in their direction. “I’m shocked that your pitiful jellybean ‘friend’ there didn’t tell you. But I suppose I can amuse you with an answer.”

Rudy glanced towards Penny. Neither of them had any clue what this zoner was going on about. They looked over at Mr. Cosmo to see if he had any idea. But the man was too busy being wary of the zoners to give them any sort of answer. So all they had to go on was Bardot.

Who was more than happy to tell them, apparently.

“Both the black chalk and the red chalk want humans out of here. The black chalk has its own way of doing things. It makes humans afraid. It conquers their minds and make them petrified. It ensures that the humans attack out of self defense, in hopes of getting them banished.” Explained Bardot, who raised his paw up in gesture, turning it so that his palm faced up. “The red chalk on the other hand, has a different, less risky approach.” He put his paw to himself. “We prefer a more direct approach, making creators draw horrible things to scare them, and get them to become afraid of any magic chalk. We think that this is a more affective way of controlling creators and getting them to leave.”

When the zoner finished talking, everyone fell silent. The implications of what was said permeating through their heads. Rudy and Penny glanced at one another, both silently asking the other what they thought. But they couldn’t speak. Not yet anyway. They were still just...so shocked by all of this and...

Rudy couldn’t help but snarl at this. He didn’t really know if this zoner spoke the truth or not. But regardless, the more he thought about this, the more disgusted he got. He couldn’t believe just how hypocritical Bardot was being. Did he not see where his logic was failing? Did he honestly expect him to believe that the red chalk had any sort of nobility? It’s not like Bardot was the only zoner with this sentiment but it didn’t change Rudy’s mind about the red chalk.

And with the black chalk… Rudy snarled at the thought of it caring about ChalkZone. He could feel his body shaking and he had to resist the urge to charge at Bardot to slap sense into him. He had to force himself to exhale heavily three times before he could get himself calm enough to speak any words.

“The red chalk and the black chalk want to protect this world? I call rubbish on that.” Rudy’s voice was cool like ice, surprising himself, especially considering his present mood. Bardot cocked his head at this. “You say they want what’s best for ChalkZone, but both have caused nothing but pain and misery. The red chalk zoners attack anyone in sight and don’t stop until they are contained, and the black chalk caused a fucking war that cost countless lives!” He pulled himself back before he got too energized. Through clenched teeth, he finished his statement off with “And you expect me to believe that they have noble intentions…? As far as I’m concerned, everything was fine until they got involved. They are the true enemy here…”

Rudy stopped himself from speaking when he saw the way that Bardot was looking at him. Or more specifically, how it felt when the zoner stared in his direction. It was like he had something on his mind, something more sinister than what he had indicated prior. It was like he had something that he wanted to do, but was only just barely holding himself back. Rudy wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what it was.

Despite that, Rudy still held his ground. With Penny being a bit nervous and Mr. Cosmo too preoccupied, this left Rudy the only one willing to confront this zoner on this mess. He knew that it was going to be tough and even now, he could feel his stomach stinging sharply inside of him. Yet he still just glared at the zoner before him, showing that he wasn’t willing to back down.

Bardot kept looking at him and his eyes went bigger, indicating surprise by Rudy’s bold stance. Or perhaps he had simply brought up something that the zoner hadn’t thought of before and… No, with how the zoner was gritting his teeth, there was nothing new brought to the table. Bardot was just as stubborn as ever. Rudy glared right back.

“So this is where you stand? This is what you think that we are doing?” Bardot sat down on his hind legs like a dog, turning his head up and to one side. He gave a small snarl. It wasn’t out of pure contempt it would seem, but instead disappointment and confusion. “I would have thought that the so-called Great Creator would see where I was coming from.”

Rudy kept his glare steady on Bardot.

The yellow and red zoner turned his head back, giving Rudy a sideways glance. “But I see you are just as much of a fool as I feared. You blinded yourself to the necessities one must take for the greater good. You see the red chalk’s actions as monstrous. While I can understand you not really trusting the black chalk, and trust me, I don’t either. But you fail to see the real good the red chalk is doing because you refuse to.”

Rudy could feel his blood starting to heat up. Yet he somehow remained still. He couldn’t risk himself getting injured. Not while Penny needed to get to the hospital and fast. Not while Skrawl was unconscious. He had to remain as unharmed as possible for their sake.

Though what of Mr. Cosmo? He admitted, he hated the idea of helping him. He would never admit it openly and even within himself, he often clashed on this. But it was almost tempting to leave him with the red-tainted zoners. Maybe to scare him straight, perhaps? He wasn’t sure and he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea. But Mr. Cosmo was not his top concern right now. It was not Mr. Cosmo who was in control right now.

Bardot seemed to be staring right into his soul. Rudy couldn’t help but shudder at this. He could feel something cold rushing through his blood. He could feel something twisting inside of him as those glowing green eyes became a beacon that his eyes and mind were attracted to. Bardot was not going to back down just yet.

And neither would Rudy.

“Wouldn’t tormenting people and terrifying them make things worse? You criticize when the black chalk does it, but you’re no better!” Rudy snarled. He motioned his hand towards Bardot, pointing a finger at him. “You are giving people like Mr. Cosmo more of a reason to attack this world! Why do you refuse to see it?!”

Bardot cocked his head to the right. “And why do you still insist on helping someone like that man? You know what he’s done.” He raised his paw up in gesture. “Why not let him be taken care of? Then you won’t have him torturing your friends.”

Rudy bared his teeth. “But with people like you around, the clash will never stop! You will just replace him with someone else!”

Bardot stared at him silently for a few moments. It almost looked like he was really pondering what the teenager was saying. His expression had gone blank, however, and it was hard to read what he was thinking. He kept staring at Rudy like he was turning into something bizarre. Rudy was really not enjoying this. It was like the hybrid zoner was silently scrutinizing him.

Then slowly, Bardot started to pull his head back, causing his neck to become sort of S-shaped. There was something about this posture that was unnerving, though Rudy couldn’t explain why. That was when he noticed the zoner’s fangs and he started to silently wonder if Bardot wanted to bite him.

If he did, Bardot diverted that thought into merely speaking. “So you think you are so much better off with Mr. Cosmo here? You think that keeping him around is worth all the pain and suffering that he’s caused?” Bardot motioned to the man, who still hadn’t spoken. “You think that he is the lesser of the evils here?”

Penny spoke softly, “Out of you two? Yes.” Rudy looked at Penny with wide eyes.

Bardot blinked at this before he narrowed his eyes further. “I am trying to help save this world and you act like I’m tearing it apart… You have your morals mixed up and you are trying to prolong the life of the man responsible for this world’s near death. And you two are supposed to be protectors of this place?” He turned his head to one side swiftly. “Bah…! What garbage!”

Rudy nudged Penny to keep her from replying. Then he turned his head to face the angered zoner. “And what would you have us do? Kill him and let you spread your corruption everywhere else? Do you want us to kill everyone that you end up tainting one way or another?” Bardot snarled at this. “Is your goal a means of saving his world, or are you hiding your natural red chalk violence behind a facade of courageousness? Is this how the red chalk feels conflicts should be ended?” Rudy gave a bitter smile. “I wonder why the white chalk is the dominant one then..”

“Shut up, you….” Bardot’s ears flattened before he stopped himself. Draow’s ears flickered but he gave no indication which side he was on. Bardot stared at Rudy intently, silently, his twisted expression shining with a mixture of emotions. This only lasted a short time before he managed to seemingly push it all out like a sponge. He started to smile, the bitterness matching Rudy’s. “Heheheheh…. Tell me, boy…. Do you know what that is over there…?”

Rudy furrowed his eyes in confusion. “What thing?”

Bardot’s smile grew twisted, his eyes glinting brightly. “Right over there…” He raised his paw up and he pointed in one direction. “Take a good look at that pile over there. Tell me if you notice anything ‘special’ about it.”

Rudy looked at Penny, both of them wielding confused expressions. Just what was Bardot getting on about? Why was he pointing towards that pile? What was so special about it? Why was…

Suddenly Rudy froze upon recognizing that pile. He had seen it before. Wasn’t that the one with the….?

Rudy fell silent as Bardot’s smile spread further across his face. “I see you’ve noticed now…”

Rudy stared at the burnt skeletal body on the ground, feeling his body quaking with emotion. He struggled to keep his stomach contents inside of his body. He didn’t know why Bardot had to remind him of that gruesome sight that he had encountered when he and Penny first fell in here. He could feel those fears from before reawakening, making him unable to focus on whatever he was before. He could only see that zoner skeleton flashing in his mind.

“I know that you are upset by this. I can see it in your eyes.” Bardot spoke. Rudy didn’t dare look over at him. “But this is the sort of thing this man does. You won’t see any red chalk doing this sort of thing.” Bardot turned his head to glare in Mr. Cosmo’s direction. “If you allow him to go free, what if more zoners wind up like that?” Bardot’s snout pointed at Rudy once more. “What if Snap ends up like that?”

Rudy felt his stomach twist in horror at this thought. Bardot did have a good point there. Mr. Cosmo did try to hurt Snap. And he had succeeded as well. Would he really hold back hard enough to not kill? He had little reason to believe that.

And yet…

Rudy snarled, “You’re such a hypocrite! You tortured Snap mentally and you made him attack me!”

Bardot shrugged his shoulders. “Such meaningless details….” He let his paws drop back into the ground, his expression remaining serious. “And you would know that, too, if you actually cared about this world. It’s not minor details that count, but the whole picture. So tell me, Rudy…” Bardot started Rudy intently. “Would you let this happen to another zoner?”

Rudy ground his teeth. “Of course not! But you’re not…!”

“I-I told you...these zoners...they lie and trick you… They can’t be trusted…”

Everyone, sans Skrawl and the red-tainted zoners, jolted in surprise at Mr. Cosmo’s sudden voicedness. They turned to see the man, though still huddled up against the wall, looking at them straight on. Nothing about his expression indicated a joke.

He choked out, “Zoners...never cared… Bardot n-never cared… Neither did B-Banjo… None of them care, or have ever cared…” He swallowed hard, his voice tinged in fear. It was amazing he was even still able to speak coherently. “Z-Z-Zoners are nothing but liars. They pretend to be your f-f-friends… It’s just a ploy to get you to lose your cautiousness around th-them and…” Mr. Cosmo swallowed hard once and then he said, “Th-They just want to tear you apart…”

Rudy furrowed his eyes as he stared at Mr. Cosmo. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to hear him talk about zoners in such a horrible way. But he also knew that the man was not going to stop. He could see the look in his eyes and he could tell that Mr. Cosmo was going to spill out his thoughts. He might as well let it happen.

Looking over, he could see that Bardot and Draow were looking with great intent and curiosity, especially Draow himself. He was Mr. Cosmo’s oldest living creation far as Rudy knew, and he had been acting like a loyal puppy to Mr. Cosmo. At least for a while. But now it seems something was starting to shift in the winged wolf zoner. It would seem that he had finally taken notice to how Mr. Cosmo really feels about him.

Mr. Cosmo was up on his feet now. He was a little shaky, but after pushing away his fears just enough to glare at where Rudy and Penny were, he became mostly stable. He took in a few shaky breaths, his eyes slightly downcast, his pupils shrinking into dots, his teeth becoming gritted tightly. The three zoners had moved back away, as though the man’s aura was becoming a repellant for them. Or perhaps it was more simple than that, like the fact that the man was holding up the black chalk piece.

“I’ve t-t-tried to warn you, kid…” Mr. Cosmo breathed in, sounding really painful. “...I-I have been around th-these creatures long enough… I learned that e-e-even the most loyal will betray you one day.” He let out a few small coughs. Then he said, “D-Do you really think that any of your zoner friends actually care about you? Do you think they give a fuck about you if you get h-h-hurt?” He smiled weakly, giving off a bitter chuckle. “All they want to do is dominate you… T-To them, you’re nothing b-b-but a t-t-toy…”

Rudy gave a small snarl at this, growling softly. He could sense some anger from Penny as well, though she managed to remain silent; not even a growl could be heard. Rudy did manage to silence himself quickly after as he glared right into the man’s blue-grey eyes. He just keeps getting worse and worse as he listened to him, didn’t he?

A part of him wondered why he had said he preferred this guy over Bardot. In truth, he hated both of them. Bardot was making up some kind of excuse for the red chalk’s destructive behavior and even trying to make the black chalk look heroic. Rudy had no idea if this guy was telling the truth or not. Was he lying or did he honestly believe this stuff? But it wasn’t like Mr. Cosmo was much better, who was acting as if the genocide of an entire species was acceptable.

In the end, both were disgusting and both deserved to be defeated and locked up, killed, whatever would come. They just couldn’t roam free. He had no doubt in his head that both of them would just keep up with their antics if allowed to roam around like everyone else.

He had to resist both of them. Mr. Cosmo wanted to use him and he bet that Bardot only saved them because he, too, saw use in them. He wasn’t sure exactly what Bardot was planning specifically, but he knew it couldn’t be anything good. For all he knew, Bardot might have been planning on using him and Penny to get rid of Mr. Cosmo before getting rid of them himself. Rudy narrowed his eyes at this thought. Even if this weren’t the case, he was not going to let Bardot use him like a fucking tool.

Bardot seemed to notice Rudy’s expression and he apparently took it as a sign of losing control over him. He straightened himself up to his feet and he motioned his paw quickly towards where the skeletal remains of the zoner were still sitting in a heap. “Y-You did see what he did, right?!” His voice had gained a bit of a high pitch. Was he really getting nervous? The idea amused Rudy. “H-He will do this to more zoners! Aren’t you going to do something about it?!”

Mr. Cosmo started to laugh at this, tinged with amusement and bitterness at the same time. He looked directly at Rudy, his eyes seeming as though they were starting to glow a little, a trail of blackness moving behind him. “Do you notice...what he’s d-d-doing there, b-boy…? He’s trying to b-blackmail you… He’s trying to make you side with him. Th-This is what a-a-all zoners d-do.” He stopped to take in a quick breath before he continued, “D-Do you think...that your f-f-friend will be any...different? G-Go ahead and try to...d-defy me, kid.. But you will see that I was...right.”

Rudy gripped his head tightly as a pain started to spread throughout it. He tried to think of what he was going to do. He felt himself being yanked on both sides. He was being presented with a choice that he honestly couldn’t make. He could never side with either of them. They were both trying to confuse him and get him to attack the other. And he knew that, based on what he knew of both, they would not be grateful when all was said and done.

He could feel Penny’s hand on his shoulder and he could hear her whispering to him. She was trying to calm him down, trying to console him however that she could. Despite her efforts, Rudy could barely hear her. His mind and attention were fully on the zoner and human that were trying to pull him towards them. And it didn’t look like they were going to stop at any point. He gritted his teeth and seethed through them, turning to face first Bardot and then Mr. Cosmo.

In the end, he had to make a decision. He had to choose a target. He had to do something if he was going to get out of this. If he just remained here, then who knows what these two might do. Making a decision was going to be difficult. He didn’t want to let Mr. Cosmo get hurt, but he also didn’t want to give Bardot a chance to spread the red chalk to other parts of ChalkZone, or whatever the heck he had planned. Neither path was desirable, both leading up to a potentially catastrophic event. Yet a decision still needed to be made and…

He felt his eyes widen slightly. What about a third option? Was there something else that he could do that would…

He slowly realized that there was.

He could fight both of them.

Rudy took a few steps back, arching his body in self defense, staring at the enemies before him. He held his hands out a little, flexing his fingers, and tried to think of how he was going to go about this. He knew that he was making the hardest decision of all. He was ill prepared to fight either of them. But both of them needed to be stopped. This was the only way to do that.

“Rudy...what are you…” Penny whispered softly.

Rudy turned to her and hissed under his breath, “Stay here. Don’t move.”

Penny still called out for him, still confused by what he was doing. But Rudy couldn’t stay there for much longer. He had to start to take some kind of action. And while he knew this was not the best move for him, he still realized it was his most encompassing decision. Dealing with both of these idiots and making sure that ChalkZone was safe.

Rudy turned to face the nearest one, which was Bardot himself. Rudy narrowed his eyes at him and he could see the zoner jolting a little in surprise. When the teenager started to run towards him, it was obvious that the zoner did not foresee this coming. Bardot tensed up, his tail raising as he opened up his mouth in preparation for an attack. Rudy did momentarily slow down as he saw this, but he shook it off and he pushed himself to keep going, his mouth open and panting.

All the while, Bardot just stood there, growling at him in confusion. Even Draow didn’t attempt anything, likely surprised that a chalkless creator was trying to do anything against them. Bardot reared up onto his hind legs and raised his paw up, ready to strike.

Rudy dodged around the zoner, managing to miss him just barely. As he swung around, he reached over and grabbed onto Bardot’s tail. He lifted him up and he started to swing him around. Then he let him go and tossed him into the zoners that surrounded Mr. Cosmo. As soon as he saw an opening, Mr. Cosmo rushed out and smirked in Rudy’s direction. The young teen took action immediately.

As Mr. Cosmo started to draw something, Rudy lowered his head as he ran and he rammed it against Mr. Cosmo’s chest. The man gasped in pain and he staggered back, losing his chalk as it rolled along the ground. The red-haired man fell backwards and he hit his spine against one of the sharply pointed rocks. His eyes widened and he seethed in pain. The man attempted to get up, but with that kind of blow, he was forced to stay on the ground, groaning in pain.

Rudy turned to face Bardot, who was now back on his feet. He shook his head and snarled at him. This was followed by Draow’s lips curling up and showing his teeth. A subtle movement from Bardot caused him to stop, but Rudy could still see that Draow appeared to be taking orders from Bardot now. Or perhaps he just didn’t want to get in the way? Either way was possible, but both had the same outcome. Draow moved back, giving Bardot some room to maneuver towards Rudy.

Bardot’s body was pressed low to the ground and he almost looked as if he was crawling over. Rudy watched carefully, keeping his body tense and ready for any upcoming attack. He had no idea when Bardot would strike or what he would do.

Then he could see Bardot baring his teeth more, his entire line of gums exposed as well as his teeth. His face scrunched up almost like a canine’s snout would, and his pupils shrank into slits. Rudy noticed something dripping from his fangs. Seeing the steam, he realized that it was something heated. Was it venom? He wasn’t really sure, but even if it were, he would not need to worry about its effects.

But all the steam…. Just how hot was this…?

Rudy wasn’t able to finish his thought when the zoner suddenly charged at him, his feet pounding the ground heavily. His fur was raised and his tail slightly poofed and his crest a little bit raised up. It was as if he had lost himself in the moment and the red chalk half was dominating. Rudy felt his eyes widen and he took several steps back. He realized too late that it might not have been a good idea to toss around an armed zoner without any sort of weapon of his own.

When Bardot jumped into the air, Rudy could do nothing to knock him back. A punch would just hit against the zoner’s mouth and make it easier to bite. Instinctively, Rudy moved an arm over his head to try to protect it from the attack. He remained frozen there as he waited to feel those heated fangs entering his arm.

Instead, he was greeted by something far more horrific.

“Aaaaah!” Penny’s bloodcurdling scream echoed in the rocky chamber, followed by a small, choked cry. Rudy felt his heart stop when he saw Bardot biting down on Penny’s injured shoulder.

“P-Penny… No!” Rudy managed to choke out.

Bardot looked a little surprised by this turn of events and he immediately let go of Penny. He moved back and watched with wide, curious eyes as Penny dropped onto her knees, clutching her shoulder tightly, tears running down her face. Bardot just looked on in surprise as did anyone else watching. But he simply shrugged his shoulders, showing no signs of remorse.

“Stupid girl… You shouldn’t have gotten in the way.” Bardot muttered as he turned and started to walk away. His entire demeanor shifted back into something calmer, as if nothing had happened.

Rudy glared at Bardot, fighting against his own tears. “Wh-Where do you think you’re doing, you…!” Rudy formed tight fists with his hands and he looked ready to tear into Bardot like he was nothing but a stuffed toy to be ripped to shreds. “C-Come back here right now, or I’ll…!” Rudy couldn’t finish his sentence.

Bardot stopped in his tracks and looked over behind him. He gave Rudy a calm, calculating look, his eyes seemingly boring right through him. Then Bardot simply looked away and began to walk off further. He didn’t quite leave. Instead, he chose to sit down on his haunches several feet away and he started to watch like some kind of morbid bystander. The sight of this made Rudy’s blood boil. Were they some sort of entertainment for him?

Rudy didn’t have much time to focus on Bardot, for the three zoners that he had knocked using Bardot were coming towards him. Howdy, Buttered Toast Man, and Bathtub Granny all wore vicious expressions, their faces contorted and looking nothing like how they did before. Rudy cringed back, but refused to leave. He wrapped his arms around Penny, who had been knocked unconscious at this point, and held her to himself. He watched the zoners with narrowed eyes and bared teeth. He didn’t know what he was going to do but he couldn’t let them get the best of him.

Then, after several tense moments of waiting for one of the zoners to make a move, Howdy was the first one. The puppet-like zoner crouched, stretching his fingers in an arch like he were a raptor. It was unsettling to see. Howdy wasted no time in launching himself at Rudy, shouting like some sort of wild animal.

Rudy held Penny further against him as he shut his eyes and curled up, shielding Penny from the oncoming attack.

Nothing happened.

Confused, Rudy opened up his eyes to see Mr. Cosmo standing here, holding Howdy by the neck. The man slowly raised the zoner into the air before tossing him to the side. The three zoners began to approach him. Though the man was still clearly afraid of them, now being chalkless for the moment, he still didn’t back down.

“Back off…” Mr. Cosmo warned. “Or I will give you a reason to leave…”

“Mr. Cosmo? What is…” Rudy stammered before he shook his head and narrowed his eyes. “I-If this is some kind of trick…”

Mr. Cosmo looked at him with a cocked eyebrow and slightly widened eyes. “You are the one holding your hurt friend whom I might add was attacked by a zoner, and the only reason you weren’t again was because I intervened. You still consider me the enemy?”

Rudy bared his teeth. “You’ve proven yourself just as dangerous already…” He looked down at Penny, his expression softening up slightly. “You were the one who ordered Draow to kill her. You are responsible for this, not some zoner.” He shot a glare back at Mr. Cosmo. “You’re just as bad as the zoners you claim.”

Mr. Cosmo stared at him long and hard. He looked like he was having some trouble controlling his emotions. But soon he gave a soft snort and growl, his lip curling up just barely as he hissed, “There is a way to help your friend… But I guarantee you are not going to like it.”

Slowly furrowing his eyes, Rudy couldn’t fully fight off the tinge of curiosity that he was feeling. He stared intently at the man in front of him, gritting his teeth tightly. A part of him wanted to just blow him off. It was likely going to be another trick. He had little reason to believe that the man actually wanted to help.

And yet he was desperate to help his friend. She was getting worse by the second. He could hear her breathing raggedly, each breath a strain on herself. Rudy looked down and he bit his lip. He could feel her pain ringing in his head. The saliva that got injected into her might have already dissipated due to contact with Penny’s blood. But the burning was still there. Much of Penny’s whimpering was because of that. If it were to go on for a little while longer…

Rudy turned back to Mr. Cosmo. He agreed that he was going to hate it. But he might as well ask the man just what he was talking about. “And what is this plan that you suggest?”

Mr. Cosmo looked at Rudy straight into his eyes, as though to silently tell him just how serious he was on this. “The black chalk can help.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. He just couldn’t afford to be surprised by this any longer. “And why exactly should I consider using that…? How do I know this isn’t a trick to try to…”

Mr. Cosmo cut him off. “It’s no trick. It does...require a lot of energy on the black chalk’s part. But it can and it will help your friend. It will heal her wounds right up. And it can heal yours as well.” Mr. Cosmo looked at Rudy’s arm. “You haven’t seen good days, either.”

The young teenager felt a surge of pain shooting through his arm at this comment. But he nonetheless managed to hold still and just glare at the man. He wasn’t about to fall into his tricks too easily. He remained skeptical that the black chalk could really do this. Even if it could, he was certain that it came with a certain ‘cost’. He doubted it would be free of charge.

“It’s all up to you, kid.” Mr. Cosmo said. “You can either accept the black chalk’s help and heal your friend up...or you can just wait until she dies.” He motioned towards Draow. “He’s killed many with that bite of his. Don’t think for once that your friend would be immune to it.”

Rudy glared at Mr. Cosmo before turning to glare at Draow. The zoner looked at him with those heartless, soulless eyes. Draow wasn’t exactly smiling, but for Rudy, it was obvious that Draow simply didn’t care about what happened to Penny. If he had permission to kill her, then he was certain that he would.

But he didn’t exactly have a lot of time to consider his options, and if he wasn’t careful, Penny might… He swallowed hard at this thought. The idea made his head spin and he felt a bitter-tasting bile in his mouth. He forced himself to swallow, feeling it pushing slowly down into his throat. He exhaled deeply as he lifted his gaze up to meet Mr. Cosmo’s once more. He didn’t have long to decide. He would have to make a decision now.

Seeing how he didn’t have much of another choice, seeing how he didn’t want Penny to die, he had to cave in. He could always hate himself later. “....fine. Just...make it quick.”

Mr. Cosmo gave a small smile at this. Draow and Bardot exchanged looks, though did nothing. They couldn’t close the gap quickly enough anyway, as Rudy and Mr. Cosmo were already standing in front of each other. The three zoners saw the black chalk and backed off. Rudy guessed they feared Mr. Cosmo using it on them. He thought he heard Draow stopping them from leaving. But his mind was focused on this twisted man, this Dark Creator, who stood before him.

Mr. Cosmo reached his hand out towards Rudy. “I do think you are making a very wise decision, Rudy. Finally, you are starting to see some sense. I see you really do care about your friends after all.”

Rudy hissed lowly at this. The man was only saying this because he was caving into what he wanted. This man didn’t know what real companionship was like. He felt the urge to punch him in the face. But he had to resist. He only needed to hold out long enough to help Penny. Then they can take care of Mr. Cosmo together.

Slowly, without realizing why, Rudy moved his hand to meet Mr. Cosmo’s. He could see the palms pressing together and the fingers wrapping against the other’s hand.

And that’s when he felt the sharp jab of cold.

Mr. Cosmo’s smile spread along his face, growing ever twisted. His eyes glinted a flash of black as he said, “I’ve got you now…”

To his horror, Rudy realized that within Mr. Cosmo’s hand was a piece of black chalk. And he was now touching it.


	55. Blackness Takes A Hold

A wave of cold started to rush through his body. It went up and down his spine, causing him to feel sick. He could feel something twisting in his gut, burning him alive in addition to freezing him. Everything around him started to compress and he felt his world beginning to get dizzy. He felt his vision starting to blur a little and it remained this way for several moments, even after he blinked several times.

He looked over, seeing the singular eye of Mr. Cosmo’s glowing and piercing through him, his face contorted into a hideous smile. He tried to turn his head away, but it was like he was glued to it. He felt himself becoming locked in place and it was like his brain was not allowing him to move. Or perhaps his brain thought that it wasn’t allowed to do anything.

“So we see you finally started to accept us…”

“Just hold still…”

“Everything will become clear…”

Rudy let out a strangled yelp as he gripped his head, swinging it to and fro. He wasn’t sure where Penny was at this point. He thought he heard a pained grunt not far from him. Was she starting to wake up? He wished he could tell, but oh gawd, the pain… His head felt like it was going to start imploding in on itself. He could feel his very brain pulsating and beginning to crack open.

And that was when he started to feel something cool beginning to seep into him. That was when the cold stopped being as painful and began to get soothing. Rudy felt his body slowly stop shaking so hard and he began to look around slowly.

Everything was so dark. Why was it so dark? It was like he was wearing sunglasses, but turned up to eleven. It was hard to see. Upon noticing Mr. Cosmo’s eye’s black wisp, he started to wonder if this is how Mr. Cosmo saw the world at times. Did he see things through a black filter? Rudy shut his eyes tightly and shook his head. He reopened his eyes, a part of him opening that he would see some improvement in his vision. But there was nothing.

Rudy, using whatever sense that he still had, sent silent scoldings to himself. How could he have been so stupid? He should have seen this coming. He should have realized that Mr. Cosmo was trying to trick him. He should have foreseen this and acted accordingly. Yet instead, he was dumb enough to fall for the man’s obvious trick.

“Just let its energy run through you, Rudy. Don’t fight it.” Came Mr. Cosmo’s voice, which seemed a bit twisted and echoey right now. Rudy wasn’t sure if it was because of the black chalk invading his head or if it was because Mr. Cosmo was really talking like that. “It’s only trying to help you, like it did for me. Just remain calm and let it open your eyes.”

Rudy shot a glare in Mr. Cosmo’s direction, baring his teeth. He could feel his muscles aching and twisting, wanting to rush over and attack him. He wanted to tear him apart. He wanted to break his neck. He wanted to…

He could feel a flash of horror as all these violent thoughts came to mind. Even as his face remained contorted in rage, his eyes nearly glowing, Rudy still felt horrified about what he was feeling. This wasn’t like him. He would never do something like that, would he…? Then again, he did have those thoughts earlier and.. He clenched his fingers into his scalp even tighter, nearly drawing blood from his scalp. He hissed through clenched teeth and he let out a small whimper. What in the world was he going to do now?

He could see movement. Was Penny off the ground now? Was she healed up? Rudy couldn’t tell nor could he turn his head to see if this was the case. He could only just shut his eyes and squint tightly, letting out another soft whine. The teen could feel his walls starting to clash in all around him and he could feel his body shaking harder, fighting to get himself free from this icy feeling that still lingered, even if it was starting to feel good.

“Why do you fight…?”

“We only want to help you…”

“Please let us help you…”

“You will have clear vision…”

“Don’t you want that…?”

Rudy drove his fingernails further into his skin with his remaining hand, the other still clasped by Mr. Cosmo to keep the black chalk pressed against his palm. Rudy swayed his body from side to side, opening his mouth and soon letting out a scream.

“Aaaah! Get out of my head! Leave me alone! Somebody, help me…!”

“Rudy...wh….ge…”

Rudy couldn’t tell who said that or what they were trying to say. Voices around him began to get distorted and he could only hear the voices of the black chalk. He felt himself curling inward towards his own body, letting out some soft whimpers, shedding tears down his face. His lips curled downward and he felt the salty fluids entering his mouth.

Rudy looked around slowly, his eyes wide in horror. He could feel himself starting to shake once more. It was growing more and more difficult to keep his feet firmly planted and he licked his lips dryly and slowly. He felt his pupils shrinking for a second before going big, taking in all the information that they could around him. He tried to see what was around him, tried to see what was going on.

He could see figures around him. He could see how twisted they looked, wobbly like heat was dissipating around them. He could see glowing eyes and twisted smiles. And then some of them...they looked like more horrifying creatures, like from his nightmares. They were looming towards him, arching long, twisted bodies over, their mouths open and ready to tear into them. The mere sight of them nearly caused Rudy to release the contents of his bladder.

What were these things…? Why were they looking at him this way…? What were they going to do…?

“Do not fret, our child… You will not be harmed…”

“We will protect you… Trust us…”

Rudy wasn’t sure how much more of this that he could take. He struggled to pull against Mr. Cosmo’s hand repeatedly, wanting to get away from this mess. This isn’t what he wanted. He jerked himself from side to side, a few tears starting to move down his face. This wasn’t fair. He shouldn’t be…. This wasn’t….

He kept looking around his surroundings, his wide, horrified eyes taking note of everything around him. He saw more of those twisted monsters. They did not duplicate in number, sure, but with how they were looking at him… He gulped and licked his lips slowly in nervousness. He could feel his heart pounding in his head and he felt his stomach twist for what felt like the fifteenth time. He could feel sweat pouring down his face and he couldn’t stop his series of whimpers.

He could hear more voices in his head. Some of them were from the black chalk, he was certain. But their voices began to feel more...comforting. They sounded sincere in their words and there was a certain warmth to their voice despite all the iciness around him. He was starting to feel like he could lean against them and trust them.

But other voices, they weren’t from the black chalk. They were coming from an unknown source. He saw a less disfigured person looking towards him. There seemed to be something familiar about them, but he didn’t know what it was. The other creatures hadn’t moved towards him, but this figure did. Rudy blinked his eyes several times, but no matter what he did, he just wasn’t able to get himself to feel safe or see anything different.

“...wha...Rud….pl...kay…”

That voice began to sound more and more distorted, and then he heard something like a gargle. Rudy looked away and then found himself looking at whom he knew was Mr. Cosmo. The man had looked darkened and almost shadowy, yet he could see his face. Somehow, the man looked more inviting than before and Rudy almost felt compelled to huddle against him for comfort.

And when the man spoke, he could actually understand him.

“Shh… It’s all right… The black chalk is here now. It will protect you. I will keep you safe.” Mr. Cosmo’s voice was soft and gentle. Even though his face did look a little twisted and though his eyes had a dark glow to them still, he still looked and sounded...warm and enticing.

Rudy gave another look at the twisted creatures around him. The ones that were stretching towards him, their claws outstretched, their glowing eyes piercing through his soul...and he felt his body stiffen still. Despite all the comfort he was getting, the sight of these creatures still left him afraid. He feared for his life. His blood turned into a solid block of ice and he couldn’t bring himself to move anywhere. Everything was just locked down.

“Fear not….”

“With our help, you will not die…”

“We will take care of your enemies for you…”

“Trust us…”

Rudy took in a few deep breaths, his mouth open and panting. He could feel many thoughts shooting through his head at this. He felt his eyes going towards the black chalk. He stared intently at it, feeling a sense of safety from it. For a brief moment, he wondered why he had rejected the black chalk before. What had he been so afraid of?

But what scared him now… These creatures… He tightened his grip on the black chalk and turned to face them. He needed to do something about them. If they were allowed to roam free, they could hurt him. They could hurt others. He wasn’t going to take that chance.

Slowly, Rudy curled his lips up into a snarl. He could feel his body trembling, yet his muscles remaining rigid. He could feel goosebumps spreading along his body and he adopted a fearful, defensive stance. He widened his eyes big, his pupils increasing in size so he could take in as much light as he could around him. His heart thumped and he could feel adrenaline rushing through his body.

Then, with the energy pumping through him, Rudy started to draw something.

sss

Everything was so confusing. It was hard to keep up with it all. Her mind nearly exploded with all of these conflicting emotions. She felt her body starting to sway a little, dizziness spreading throughout her skull. She turned her head downward a little and he felt her hands reaching up to clutch at her face. She kept repeating the same questions over again.

Just what was she going to do? What course of action was appropriate for this? Should she attack? Should she yell? What if that made things worse? She had to fight against her bitter tasting bile rising up from her stomach, which kept lurching. She managed to hold in her lunch, but that did not make her feel better considering what was going on.

Penny had no idea just what had happened or why she suddenly felt better. Was it the black chalk? She woke up and she didn’t feel any pain nor any of the normal things she should have after falling unconscious like that. Although no one told her what happened, she had recalled seeing some kind of blackness in her skin. It had since dissipated, but with what she was seeing before her, it became rapidly clear in her unnaturally quick healing brain that the black chalk had to be responsible.

Her feelings of confusion were replaced with horror when she realized what was going on.

For herself, she could hear distant, echoing voices trying to invade her mind. She did her best to fight it off, not allowing them to take a hold of her mind. She had to shake her head a few times, and she could feel herself trembling more than usual. It was like someone was trying to turn her blood temperature down and she couldn’t do a thing about it. Left and right, she felt her mind being under attack. And to her horror, the voices slowly began to become more clear.

But that didn’t frighten her as much as what she had seen going on with Rudy. The boy was trembling violently and almost looked as if he had a tail tucked between his legs despite not having one. His eyes were filled with horror and she almost imagined them rolling out of his sockets. He was holding up a piece of black chalk and already drawing, his eyes looking directly at the nailed zoners around him. It didn’t take much imagination for Penny to realize what was going to happen and she gasped in horror.

“Wait, Rudy! Don’t do that! Please! This isn’t like you!” Penny screamed.

But when Rudy looked over at her with those eyes, she gasped again and took a step back. It didn’t look like Rudy even recognized her anymore. To him, she must look like some sort of creature ready to tear into her. Penny put her hands to her face and she tried not to gasp in fear. She wished that there was something that she could do to comfort Rudy. But if he wasn’t hearing her right now, what could she say?

Before she knew it, Rudy had already drawn something vicious-looking, and that was a long pole with spiky string attached to it. It was like a fishing rod from hell, and Rudy was already pulling it back to strike at the zoners.

And Howdy was the first intended victim.

Although still crazy due to that nail in his head, Howdy did seem to have enough awareness to realize what was going on. He could see Rudy’s attempts to attack him and he started to move back. The twisted, poisonous-looking meat hook missed the little zoner entirely. Howdy then whirled himself around and, dropping on all fours, went towards Rudy again, taking the chance to attack him while the reel was too far.

But Howdy had underestimated Rudy. The teenager, fueled by this horrible, black energy surging through his body, had swung around swiftly and the string had managed to strike the zoner and began to wrap around him quickly. Soon, Howdy’s arms and legs were pinned together, the hook’s tip near his face. Rudy yanked back hard and then tossed Howdy against a nearby wall. There was instantly a loud crack.

Penny’s eyes widened in horror and she called out for Rudy to stop. She reached her hand out and she started to make her way towards Rudy, hoping to grab him before it was too late. But the fishing line snapped and a rock fell onto the puppet zoner, trapping him.

Suddenly Penny felt another wave of cold striking her. With a flash of momentary pain, she dropped onto her knees. She clutched at her head, her mind starting to burn as something crawled through her skin. She twisted herself from side to side, but it wasn’t enough to stop what was happening. She opened her eyes up and she could feel her vision darken, a sheet of transparent blackness coming over her eyes.

“Oh come on, dear… Why must you fight us..? Can’t you see we want to help..?”

Penny jerked her head at the sound of that voice. She turned her head left and right and she noticed that things were starting to become distorted. It was like someone turned the temperature up too high; everything started to melt.

“There is nothing to fear so long as we are hear…”

“Let us help you…”

The voices started to grow louder, causing Penny to grip her head more tightly. She could feel her fingernails digging into her skin. She felt herself drawing blood. She could feel fear crawling in the back of her mind, spreading its way throughout her brain and..

...no. She couldn’t let that happen. She had to fight back, no matter what.

Penny started to force herself up to her feet. She gritted her teeth tightly, feeling herself pushing against some kind of invisible force. She felt sweat dripping down her face and she could feel herself giving a small grunt of effort. She tensed up her leg muscles and then, with one strong push, she managed to knock away something solid that was placed on her head. Though she heard nothing, she somehow could feel a loud thud somewhere. Only after that could she appear to stand and balance herself just fine.

And after this, she started to notice her vision clearing up just a little. It was enough to let her see Mr. Cosmo glaring right at her.

“Why the hell did you do that..? You ungrateful little child…!” Mr. Cosmo snarled at her, glaring with his teeth bared and one of his hands clutched tightly into a fist. This display of anger was only temporary as the man seemed to quickly calm down. “Well...at least you weren’t the one I wanted, anyway.”

Penny growled softly, but she hardly paid any attention to Mr. Cosmo. She instead just kept glaring over at where Rudy was, her fears still becoming painted clear as day on her slightly paled face.

What was she going to do? She had to find someway to help her friend. She had to get him out of this mess. She had to get him to free himself from whatever the black chalk was doing. If it was anything like what was happening to her, and if Rudy could not fight it off…. Penny feared the worst. She had to try to save Rudy from…

Penny shook her head a few more times, trying to get more of those uncomfortable feelings off of her shoulders. She narrowed her eyes a little as she focused on Rudy once more. She could feel her vision starting to sharpen a little more and brighten, indicating more of the black chalk influence was leaving her. Then she started to make her way over towards Rudy.

A part of her wondered why she was able to break free, but not Rudy. That’s when she took notice of the black chalk in his hands. He was getting it more directly, wasn’t he? The thought filled her with horror and she wondered just what he could be going through. She narrowed her eyes and she started to pump her arms to go faster. Soon she broke into a full on run and she headed over towards Rudy as quickly as possible, her feet pounding against the ground loudly with each stride.

When she got close enough, she launched herself at Rudy. The teenager was about to strike a fist against Howdy, who was still trapped. Penny managed to stop this. She gripped Rudy’s wrist tightly and started to push back, trying to get Rudy to back away.

Rudy was looking at her with wide, terrified eyes, acting as if he was being confronted by a large number of predatory beasts. Penny felt a jolt going through her body as she realized that Rudy was becoming paranoid, just like how Mr. Cosmo had been acting. His earlier words echoed in her head, reminding her of what he had said. Didn’t he try to tell them all that zoners didn’t care about anyone and just wanted to kill anyone they met? That kind of paranoia fuel was repeating itself with Rudy. The voices were…

Penny let out a grunt when she felt someone grabbing her from behind and pulling her back. Her legs and feet left the ground as she felt Mr. Cosmo lifting her up. The man glared at her with narrowed eyes and bared teeth and he looked like he was about ready to rip her head off. Penny looked at the man with narrowed, fearful and yet determined eyes, her legs kicking wildly in the air. She jerked herself around and tried to wriggle her way free. But Mr. Cosmo managed to tighten his grip before she could get too far in getting away.

Mr. Cosmo tried to keep his expression calm. She could see how much he was struggling not to keep glaring at her. Perhaps this was because he was getting what he wanted and her interventions no longer were much of a threat to him. Or perhaps there was another reason. Regardless, Penny still kept herself rigid and prepared as Mr. Cosmo went to speak to her.

“Please try to be reasonable…” Mr. Cosmo said, practically pleading with her. Penny didn’t expect this kind of tone of voice with this man. “The black chalk is only to help him. Don’t try to intervene. It will be fine in the end. You will see.”

Penny turned her head to the side, snarling. “Like I would believe something like that…” She turned to look back at him. “I’ve heard the voices as well! They were trying to control me!”

“The zoners were trying to control you.” Mr. Cosmo attempted to correct her, raising a finger up as if to tell her how naughty she was. “It is a shame that, even after hearing the lovely, comforting voices of the black chalk, you still reject it. Is the white chalk still having that much influence on you?” Penny growled at this. Mr. Cosmo sighed softly. “....I see. That is rather unfortunate.”

Penny felt her teeth becoming bared and she felt herself releasing another growl. She thought of some way to retort to the man’s statement. But would it even be worth it at this point? This man was already too far gone. He was too poisoned by the black chalk. The only option left for him was to be ‘taken care of’, whatever that entailed.

But Rudy… She looked over at where her friend was. He had recovered from her attempts to stop him and he was trying to get at Bathtub Granny now. While Bathtub Granny looked like she was getting ready for a fight, rearing up almost like a wild horse, Penny couldn’t help but fear for her. If Rudy were self aware enough to know about electricity against water…. And Bathtub Granny was in water…

As Penny struggled, Mr. Cosmo gave a frustrated grunt. It was like he was just giving up on her and this turned out to be the case when she could hear him calling out one heart-shuddering name.

“Draow! Get your tail ass over here!”

Penny whipped her head over and watched with wide eyes as Draow came closer to her. The beast looked a little reluctant given his posture. But she could still see the fierceness in his eyes. Penny felt her mind flashing back as she saw those teeth being exposed to her. She watched as his mouth opened up slightly, making it look as though he was about to attack her.

But to her surprise, Mr. Cosmo had another plan. “Hold onto her until Rudy Tabootie has been convinced of the black chalk.” Penny felt a cold shudder at the word ‘convinced’. “Rudy still needs a little time and I don’t want this girl to interrupt the process. It’s a painful process, but he must go through it. Understand?”

Draow lowered his head and nodded quickly. Mr. Cosmo moved Penny closer to the winged beast. Penny scrambled to get away. She soon could feel Draow’s jaws on her arm, being surprisingly gentle compared to how he was before. He pulled her into the air with ease before dropping her and using his foot to keep her down. Penny squirmed about, but she could not escape. She turned her head towards Rudy.

At this point, Rudy seemed to have given up on going after Bathtub Granny. A few bruises indicated that she had attacked him. He didn’t lose the black chalk, but he seemed to start thinking better of going after her. So now his attention was going towards someone else, that being the last zoner still trying to go up against him. And that was Buttered Toast Man.

The bread-shaped zoner didn’t look very deterred from fighting Rudy despite what had happened. He was glaring at Rudy with his hands raised and fingers arched like claws. Rudy took notice of this and he became more visibly afraid. But it seemed like a quick flash from the black chalk was enough to calm him down. Then with a sneer, Rudy started to raise the black chalk into the air, preparing to draw something else.

Penny felt her eyes widen in horror as she saw Rudy drawing what looked to be a cattle prod. She could see the tip sparkling of electricity. While she was glad that he didn’t use this on Bathtub Granny, the fact that he was going to use it on any zoner petrified her. Penny started to fight back. She struck against Draow’s snout and pulled on it and dug her finger into the flesh. She tried to do whatever she could to make him let go, including biting, something she normally wouldn’t have done to a zoner.

Draow responded by swaying himself about, growling deeply and glaring at her with those piercing eyes of his. Penny refused to stop, no matter how much the massive zoner’s teeth were bared. She had to escape from this. She bit down even harder, sending waves of pain throughout the zoner’s muzzle and causing him to release a loud shriek of agony.

“Draow, what are you doing?! Keep holding her! I made you better than this!”

Penny flinched as she felt Draow putting his jaws on her arm again. She could feel the tips of his teeth pressing against her arm and she nearly felt them breaking through. She could feel the unbearable pain traveling up and down her arm and tears formed in her eyes. She forced herself to stop, having little option to do anything else.

But despite her going limp, she still had the strength to glare at Mr. Cosmo. The man wasn’t paying attention any longer; once he had seen that Draow got her to stop, Mr. Cosmo decided to watch Rudy’s ‘performance’ with a smile. The sight sickened Penny, and her mind quickly struggled to find a way out of this.

That was when she heard some kind of low whispering sound. She looked around for its source, and her heart nearly jumped out of her mouth when she saw that it was Bardot. With his body hunched, he drew steadily closer, licking his lips slowly. Penny narrowed her eyes as he crept towards her and Draow. She wasn’t sure how Draow was looking at him, but Penny could feel her narrowed eyes grow stiff and rigid.

Just what was Bardot going to do? She didn’t exactly trust this guy. He wasn’t more noble than Mr. Cosmo, despite what he might try to say. She had seen his kind of behavior before. He was a manipulator. He wanted something out of this. Whatever he was about to do, she was certain that it would be something that benefited him. If he didn’t get something out of this, then there was no reason for him to do it. And for that reason, she kept her glare upon him. She wanted him to know that she was not going to easily fall for his ‘charms’.

But then it quickly turned out, it was not she whom he wanted to address.

“Draow, I would suggest that you put the little brat down. We have a bigger problem on our paws.” Bardot turned his head in the direction where Rudy was presently. His green eyes furrowed deeply. “Do you know what would happen if that little idiot manages to get tainted by the black chalk?”

Draow released a low growl. There was a muffled sound as though he was trying to speak. Penny didn’t know if she was hearing things or not, though.

Bardot looked back at Draow, his smirk stretching upwards a bit further than it seemed possible. “I know you have had your fun with the black chalk as your ally. But what of Mr. Cosmo? Do you still think he’d keep you around? If he has another black chalk creator with him, the one whom the zoners here trust…” Bardot’s expression fell a little bit as he gave Mr. Cosmo and Rudy sideways glances. “What use would he have for you anymore…?”

Penny could hear more growling from Draow as he was apparently trying to make a decision. He shifted himself a little, tensing his leg muscles, his jaws releasing her arm and bringing her some relief. She looked up and she could see a mixture of emotion in those teal eyes of his. She had never seen him so conflicted before.

Draow was torn between his loyalty to Mr. Cosmo and something else. She guessed self preservation, based on how Bardot was talking. Draow looked down at Penny, cocking his head to one side, and then lifted his head to stare over at Mr. Cosmo. His ears flicked a few times and he let out a low, rumbling sound. His eyes soon focused on Bardot alone. There was a flash, a snarl, and then Draow took action.

Penny felt a rush of air zip by her when Draow suddenly started to chase Bardot. The yellow and red zoner let out a startled squeak and started to make a run for it down in the nearest direction. Penny wasn’t sure what was going on, but she couldn’t let it distract herself for long. Shifting her gaze towards Mr. Cosmo, she started to make her way towards him.

sss

Mr. Cosmo watched the display before him with a smirk on his face. Was this a bit extreme? Shouldn’t he try to do something? He did agree with his more concerning side that maybe this wasn’t the best way to go about things. Rudy looked a bit...crazy. But he did know that this was still necessary. Rudy just needed sometime to adjust to the truth being exposed to him.

Mr. Cosmo felt his smile falter a little as he started to wonder if this is how he himself had behaved when he touched the black chalk. He had blacked out and when he had woken up, he hardly remembered anything that he had done. He just knew that he was defending himself. Why else would he have attacked Banjo? That zoner must have been trying to hurt him. There was no other way that he would have...

...but was there a small possibility that something else happend? Was there a chance that he was the one who had gone vicious and Banjo was defending himself...?

He had this thought appear in his mind a few times before. It became more frequent now that he was speaking to a couple of young creators. He still didn’t let it dominate his mind and he still shrugged it off for the most part. But at the same time, that didn’t stop some of these doubts to rise up and mess with his head.

He soon found himself momentarily distracted, thankfully, when he heard a loud screech, a snarl, and heavy footsteps. He lifted his head up a little and looked to the side. He could see that Draow was chasing Bardot around. At first, the man smiled at this, glad that Draow was making sure he was usable. But then he froze, a question moving through his head. If Draow was not guarding Penny, then that meant that...

Mr. Cosmo was startled when he felt the female teenager rushing by. She had moved quicker than he had seen anyone go. Perhaps letting the black chalk heal her was not a good idea. It was for this reason that the black chalk that Rudy held was taking so long in helping to open Rudy’s eyes. The black chalk was tired, worn, having used up a huge chunk of its energy. It would take a while before it could fully replenish itself, especially with how Rudy was using the chalk to attack the hostile zoners.

The red-haired man felt his eyes furrow as he saw Penny rushing closer to where Rudy was. She looked determined to get to him, to try to stop him from hurting the evil zoners, he realized. Mr. Cosmo snarled and he rushed over as quickly as he could.

“Stop, you will not interfere!” Mr. Cosmo wrapped his arms around Penny and pulled her towards the ground. He tightened his grip as the girl struggled, twisting and turning his arms. “Let the black chalk do its work! You are not going to undo this glorious moment! You should be happy!”

Penny snarled at him, her teeth fully exposed to him. “Fuck you to hell! I am not going to let my friend get entangled in this mess! Get off of me!”

Mr. Cosmo soon felt the teenager kick him in the stomach. His eyes bulged open, a sharp pain spreading throughout his stomach, and he staggered back from the girl. He curled up on the ground, holding his stomach firmly and protectively. He lifted his head up and he snarled at where Penny was fleeing. He struggled to get up to his feet.

But he wasn’t fast enough. Just as Rudy was about to make the killing blow against the deserving bread-like zoner, Penny had tackled Rudy into the ground. The two children tumbled across the ground, rolling like an out of control spinning top. Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened in shock and he reached out towards the two.

“Rudy, no!” Mr. Cosmo called out in horror. What had that stupid girl done....?


	56. Forced Against A Friend

Penny had no idea how she was going to do this. She didn’t even know why she was attempting something so stupid. This was crazy, irresponsible, and she was probably going to get hurt because of it. But she could not just stand idly by and do nothing. If she did that, then wouldn’t that make things a whole lot worse? She hated to think what would have happened if she didn’t step up to the plate.

Unfortunately for her, tackling Rudy did not solve things like she had hoped. She didn’t manage to dislodge the piece of black chalk from him. He had gripped it tighter and he was glaring at her with those intense eyes. Penny gasped in horror when she saw how bright even the blackest glow looked like.

Rudy snarled at Penny, grinding his teeth together. She could see the faintest hint of fear in his eyes. He started to struggle against her, twisting himself left and right. He tried to bite at her, missing her only by centimeters. Penny had to struggle to move from side to side to dodge these attacks. No matter what she did, Rudy just kept coming and it began to get harder and harder to pull off the dodging.

And then finally, Rudy managed to sink his teeth into her. Penny’s eyes widened in pain and she let out an agonizing scream. She managed to yank her arm back and she struck Rudy across the face. She hated to do it, but it was the only way to stop him from trying to bite her again.

Rudy wasn’t yet finished, though. He slowed down a little, growling deeply, and he started to look more...methodical was probably the right term. He was just glaring intently at her as though she was hiding something from him. And he looked determined to get that something.

Without warning, Rudy grabbed onto her arms and yanked her towards him a little. Penny let out a surprised yelp at this. She then saw Rudy’s head make its way towards her. She wasn’t able to respond quickly enough and she could feel their heads colliding with each other, colliding at the foreheads painfully. Penny immediately released her grip on Rudy and she fell backwards, her feet slipping on the ground. She clutched her head firmly, fighting against its pain.

Penny could feel an earthquake of agony racing through her forehead, spreading out, radiating like a cloud. She removed her hand to examine her palm to see if there was any blood. She saw nothing but she still seethed in pain. She covered her injury again before turning back to face Rudy.

At this point, Rudy had already turned his attention back to Buttered Toast Man. Rudy was advancing on the zoner, who was showing his arched fingers in self defense. Penny widened her eyes when Rudy started increasing his footstep speed and she struggled to get herself off the ground. She tensed up her leg muscles and she charged towards the boy once more.

The male teen seemed to have heard her this time. Rudy turned his head and he stared at her coldly. No, it was more than that. She could sense his fear. She could see his body shaking slightly. And this is what was motivating him to raise the black chalk.

Penny felt her heart starting to skip a few beats when Rudy began to quickly draw something. She tried to rush over to stop him. But Rudy was just too fast. His arms flexed through the air like they were attached to a lightning rod, and when she got halfway there, he had already drawn a weapon. Penny had to skid to a stop when she saw the sharp tip of a sword being pointed right at her. The blade was between her eyes and she had to cross them to get a good look at it. Penny let her body go completely rigid, her hands raising up slightly to prepare to defend herself.

The sword did not come down like she had expected. Instead, Rudy just jabbed it in her direction a little, narrowing his eyes. But he didn’t actually try to harm her with it. It was like he was trying to just keep her at bay. It dawned on Penny that Rudy hadn’t become aggressive towards humans, but just towards mediums. This made sense given what she had seen thus far, but it did not bring her much comfort. What if Rudy managed to….

Penny wound herself around Rudy, trying to find some way to get away from him and towards Buttered Toast Man. She knew it was a huge risk. She knew that the zoner might attack her in his current state. But perhaps she could at least get him to chase her, or perhaps she could push him or something. But whatever she ended up doing, she just had to make sure that he was out of range of Rudy’s deranged attacks.

She could see Rudy coming after her, the sword down and his hands outstretched. With the look in his eyes, she was wondering if he even recognized her at this point. It didn’t seem like he was before and now that was plainly obvious. But he was still not using the weapon on her, which meant that he was seeing her as less of a threat.

This revelation did not stop Rudy from grabbing her roughly, though, and dragging her over somewhere. Penny felt his fingers digging into her shoulders and she flinched. She had a flashback of the horrific pain she suffered under Draow’s attack and she could feel herself going limp against her will. It was like her body was submitting itself to avoid getting hurt again.

Penny’s feet left the ground as she was tossed against a nearby wall. She hit her back against it and she let out a cry of pain. She hit against the ground painfully and she put her hand on her forehead. She shook her head and rubbed the back of it. She felt a bit dazed for a few seconds before she lifted her head up to see what Rudy was doing. She felt a sharp gasp going through her mouth at what she was seeing before her.

Rudy didn’t leave the sword in the ground. He had pulled it out like it was fucking Excalibur and he started to rush towards Buttered Toast Man with it. Penny reached her hand out towards the charging Rudy, screaming for him to stop.

But she was too late.

Penny felt her head and heard endure a sharp, twisting pain as she witnessed Rudy driving the sword right through Butter Toast Man’s body. The zoner released a pained, gurgled grunt, blood seeping out of his mouth. Rudy held the sword there for several long moments before he started to twist it slowly in one direction. The zoner screamed in pain, twisting his body around. Rudy soon yanked it out in one fell swoop, allowing the zoner to thrash on the ground.

Penny watched this scene in horror. She put her hands to her mouth, tears burning at her eyes. She could feel her blood running cold and her heart struggling to continue its pumping. Everything seemed to slow down and all she was aware of was the suffering zoner that was holding his hands against a deep, bloody wound. The sword had gone through his stomach and out his back as well. Penny realized immediately all the damage that had been done. And twisting that sword… That would have increased the damage even more.

All the while, Rudy just stood there, glaring at Buttered Toast Man with those black, glowing eyes. He was not smiling; he was cringing back a little, staring at the zoner with great caution as though he thought that he was going to attack him at any moment. Rudy readied his sword to attack again just in case.

Buttered Toast Man’s movements rapidly ceased. A pool of blood rapidly formed around him, filling the air with its stench. The toast-like zoner’s eyes started to fade and darken and any sign of aggression and hostility stopped completely. Now all that was left was a severely wounded zoner who was having trouble breathing. Penny’s heart clenched each time that he tried to take in a breath. It was shaky and trembly and she was honestly surprised he could keep it up at all.

Then after a few moments, the zoner just couldn’t stay awake for much longer. Raising his head up, Buttered Toast Man looked to see Rudy, his mouth open as he still struggled to breathe. The two locked eyes with each other. Rudy giving a stern, frightened look. Buttered Toast Man looking at him with a mixture of confusion and fear. Then as if someone had flipped a switch, Buttered Toast Man collapsed into the ground, going limp.

Immediately assuming the worst, Penny felt her stomach lurching. She grasped her stomach and covered her mouth. She felt herself huffing a few times, retching as her stomach tried to empty its contents. She could taste something foul in her mouth. She forced herself to swallow, pushing all of that stuff back. She let out a choked cry as a few tears dropped to the ground. She lifted her head slowly up, her gaze still towards the ground, as she felt her head being plunged into a sea of mixed thoughts and feelings.

How could this have happened? How could she have let this happen? Why didn’t she move faster? Why didn’t she try harder? She felt her mind spinning and wavering about as she tried to comprehend what had happened. She felt her vision becoming blurry with more tears and she found it difficult to turn her gaze away from Rudy when she started to stare at him.

Rudy…. How could he have done something so horrible and wretched? How could he have betrayed his duties as ChalkZone’s protector and go as far as… Penny felt a surge of emotion rising up in her stomach and she felt like something was being lit inside of her. She licked her lips slowly and she swallowed hard. She couldn’t believe that Rudy had…

No, it wasn’t Rudy. She stopped to remind herself of what had actually happened here. It was not Rudy who had truly done this. No, he was forced into it. He was made paranoid by the black chalk, and this was only going to continue so long as he had that disgusting thing in his hand. She glared over at Mr. Cosmo, who was truly ultimately responsible for this. But she could not charge at him despite every ounce of her body wanting to deal with the man this very moment. She had to shift her gaze over to Rudy. She had to get that thing out of his hand no matter what it took.

Snarling, Penny started to make her way towards Rudy. The male teenager had already moved on and was now heading towards Howdy, who was struggling to free himself from the boulder that held him down. Penny prepared to jump at Rudy, hoping to knock the black chalk out of his hand.

That was when Mr. Cosmo made his move.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Penny let out a startled cry when Mr. Cosmo grabbed her hair and yanked it back hard. The swift motion caused her head to flip back and her glasses tumbled to the ground.

Mr. Cosmo growled into her ear, “You are not going to interrupt the black chalk’s work, you little brat!”

Penny reached behind her and grabbed onto Mr. Cosmo’s hand. She struggled to push it away, trying to make him let go of her. But he just yanked down and in another direction, pulling so hard that her scalp was being moved with it. Penny felt tears stinging in the back of her eyes at this and she struggled not to let herself give off a whimper. She tried to turn her head to shoot a glare at the man. All she could see was a blurry mess.

It wasn’t like Mr. Cosmo was happy to see her, either. Despite her vision being like a giant puffball right now, she was able to hear his soft growl as he had spoken seconds ago, and she could feel how tight his muscles were in his arms. It was rather obvious just how much anger and emotion was going through his mind right now. She didn’t need to see his face clearly to understand that he must be glaring daggers in her direction.

“I really wish you wouldn’t make this so damn difficult! I know that you don’t trust the black chalk, but that gives you no fucking right to force Rudy to reject it just because of your irrational fears! Why can’t you just let him decide for himself? Why are you acting like his mother?!”

Penny felt her body start to tremble for a few seconds at this. “How dare you say such a thing…. You were the one who forced him into it! You didn’t give him a choice!”

Mr. Cosmo boomed back at her, “Because he wasn’t even trying to give the black chalk a chance!”

“The black chalk is brainwashing him just like it brainwashed you!” Penny started to struggle harder and this time, with another yank and twist, she managed to free herself from the man’s grasp, albeit at the cost of a few hairs being torn from her body. Moving back a couple steps, she added, “You talk about letting Rudy decide for himself, but you pushed him in that direction! A choice was not something Rudy was given! He said ‘no’, but you ignored that and violated his right to his decision by forcing this upon him!”

It was hard to tell just what expression Mr. Cosmo was wearing right now, but the snarl was all that she needed to hear to know what mood he was in. “Y-You… You don’t know what you’re talking about… You couldn’t possibly know what it’s like to be surrounded by monsters… You refused to see them!” Mr. Cosmo motioned to himself. “You say that I am brainwashed but look at you!” He pointed at Penny. “What about the white chalk? What about the fact that it blinds you to the hostility around you? What about how it lulls you into a false sense of security for its own twisted deeds?!”

Penny narrowed her dark brown eyes further, curling her lip up into a snarl. “At least the white chalk doesn’t rely on bullying others into doing its bidding! At least it doesn’t put creators into a fucking trance and try to pull them to believe what it does! With the white chalk, you are free to use it however and whenever you please! But with the black chalk…”

“Penny…” Mr. Cosmo growled in warning.

“The black chalk doesn’t give you a choice! It just makes you think how it does! It won’t let you use it until you are exactly how it wants you to be! There’s no real freedom with the black chalk!” Penny screeched. “It doesn’t even care! It just wants to…”

“Shut up!”

Penny felt a strong sting spreading along her cheeks when Mr. Cosmo suddenly struck at her. She felt her head being forced to one side and she seethed through clenched teeth as she held her head in place. She fought back against the urge to scream as she didn’t want to give the man that sort of satisfaction.

When the stinging pain ended, she turned to glare at him once more. His blurry body and face hardly looked any different from before. But the aura around him, the emotions that he was radiating, they began to grow firmer, more sinister, and it was permeating throughout her soul. Penny clutched at her heart, her fingers sinking into her shirt as though to tear at her own heart. Penny didn’t bother looking for her glasses at this point. There was no time for that and she knew that Mr. Cosmo would take advantage of her looking away.

But what about Rudy? Shouldn’t she try to do something about him? She couldn’t just allow him to kill Howdy as well. She had to go after him. But the moment she would turn around, she knew that Mr. Cosmo would grab her and drag her back, and without her glasses, she would have a hard time dodging either of these two. She had to think of some other way that she could fight. Until then, she couldn’t make a move.

Yet she also couldn’t just hold herself here like she was some kind of a statue. She still had working legs for the time being. The black chalk hadn’t reversed the healing process on her. She still had a chance to do something to improve this situation.

If she couldn’t turn around to face Rudy, then she would have to settle for the next best target.

Mr. Cosmo himself.

Penny lowered her head and she charged full speed at the startled man. She collided with him, using her body’s weight like a bowling ball to knock him over. Mr. Cosmo fell on his back and she could hear something crack. She thought it was his back at first, but she soon realized that he just hit some kind of soft pebble. He still laid there and groaned, soon reminding Penny of the fact that this red-haired man had hurt his back a little while ago.

And this gave her a chance to turn around and get at Rudy. And with Mr. Cosmo’s vision being impaired with only one eye left...

Wasting no time, while Mr. Cosmo still reeled from having his back injury, Penny dashed towards Rudy. She released a loud shout as she ran. “Stop this now! Rudy! Stop!”

Her sudden shouting did seem to have some kind of effect on Rudy. Even before she reached him, the boy seemed to jerk a little, his body shaking once, and he looked over at her. But this did not stop him from making his move. Likely as a result of him being startled, he still struck the sword forward. Penny let out a scream and reached her hand out, but there was little that she could do to stop what happened.

At least the startlement Rudy suffered kept him from being too accurate. Instead of actually cutting into Howdy, Rudy only grazed his arm. Howdy still let out a feral-sounding cry of pain. But he was at least not as injured as Buttered Toast Man was.

Despite that, Penny still tried to urge herself to go faster. She had to get over there as quickly as possible and stop Rudy from trying to attack again. It wouldn’t be long before he would try to pull something off. If she failed to save Howdy, she would never forgive herself. He had already endured the pain of death years ago, even if he didn’t actually die. This would be different and far worse. She just...couldn’t let that happen.

But she wasn’t able to get too close to Rudy. Though Mr. Cosmo was still on the ground and thus not able to do anything, there was still someone else could make a move that Penny had forgotten about.

And that was Bathtub Granny.

Penny felt a sharp pain in her side when one of Bathtub Granny’s hard tub feet struck against her in the leg. She tumbled back, nearly tripping into the ground. She had to struggle with herself to keep from falling, waving her arms about and slowly her body tilted back in its proper origins. She shook her head once and brushed herself off before turning to glare at Bathtub Granny.

How was she going to handle this? She understood that this zoner didn’t know what she was doing. She wasn’t in control anymore. She was being forced into this. But she had to fight somehow. She had to defend herself or else Bathtub Granny could tear into her. But how was she going to…

Bathtub Granny took advantage of her quietness and had rushed over for another attack. She reared up onto her back ‘feet’ like she was some kind of a horse and thrust downward towards Penny. The sheer weight that rammed into her was enough to knock Penny into the ground. She hit her back hard, feeling a wave of agony shooting through her spine, and she hissed in pain, trying to shake it off. But she was too slow in getting up quickly enough and she was struck again, this time, with more force.

Penny seethed through gritted teeth as she clutched her leg. She looked down at it and saw the large, nasty bruise forming on it. It wasn’t as bad as what she suffered from Draow, but it was enough to cause her some difficulty walking. Even the act of just standing still caused her some discomfort and she still wobbled a little. She had to put her foot down very gingerly to avoid any sort of pain.

Bathtub Granny had her head lowered and her teeth bared. She looked like she was ready to rush at her without warning, and when she snorted, Penny thought for sure that she could see some kind of steam coming out of her nose. Penny began to began away, holding her hands up in hopes of deterring the crazed zoner from attacking her again. She had no magic chalk to defend herself with, which left her with only one other option.

“H-Hey.. It’s me… Penny… Don’t you recognize me…?” Penny whispered softly. She tried to sound as nonthreatening as possible. But Bathtub Granny still looked as volatile as ever. Penny felt her heart starting to race. “B-Bathtub Granny, please… Don’t do this… I-I…”

But the female zoner would not listen to her. She was already preparing for another attack. Penny could feel tears starting to form in her eyes. She didn’t want to have to do this. But if this zoner was giving her no other choice, then…

When Bathtub Granny started to come towards her again, ready to deliver another blow, Penny knew that there was little alternative. As the zoner got closer, she tensed up a fist tightly and she struck forward as soon as the female zoner was within striking distance. She flinched as she felt her hand making contact with the zoner’s face and she tried not to gasp when she saw her hit her head against the back of her own bathtub. It all looked so incredibly painful and with Bathtub Granny now dazed and slipping into the water, Penny felt horrible feelings arise, various thoughts going through her head.

But she forced herself to rip away from that and, although very reluctantly, she started to rush towards where Rudy was once more. He had already recovered from his previous stun and he was already getting ready to kill Howdy. The sword was already raised and it was already being brought down. Penny managed to startle him into missing again by shouting at him.

“Rudy! Stop!”

This time, Penny did manage to grab onto Rudy. She managed to pull him into the ground, holding onto him tightly. She managed to pull him away from Howdy and prevented him from trying to hurt the zoner. The two of them fell into the ground and they started to wrestle with one another.

Rudy was furious at this point. Terrified and furious. He started to fight back against her, snarling and snapping at her like before. Penny endured multiple bites, multiple bleeding wounds, just to keep Rudy on the ground. She gripped his arms tightly and held them down so that he couldn’t try to draw anything. She tried to pry the black chalk from him, but such a task would be hard without getting affected herself. She had to think of another way before he could…

Penny let out a pained gasp when Rudy punched her in the throat. She could feel her windpipe start to collapse slightly, enough to make it hard for her to breathe. She clutched at her throat, feeling the bruise stinging her muscles there. She gasped and she inhaled deeply as she looked up at Rudy, her eyes wide in horror.

Rudy stood over her, asserting his dominance through trying to appear taller. He smirked down at her, as if satisfied with what he had done. No, Penny realized. It was more of a smile of...relief? Was Rudy thinking that he was going to take care of some big major threat to his life? Was he starting to see Penny as a….

Oh no…

Penny rolled out of the way quickly before Rudy could stomp down on her. She couldn’t move too fast without having to gasp for breath again. She rubbed her throat firmly, trying to shake off the soreness that was spreading throughout the internal structure. She turned her head in time to see Rudy trying to strike at her. She couldn’t dodge and she let out a pained yelp as she was thrust backwards.

Upon hitting the wall and sliding down, Penny forced one eye open to watch as Rudy started to stalk towards her. She realized in that moment that she had now finally gotten his attention. While this was good news for the zoners, what in the world was Rudy going to do with her…? The thought terrified her.

“Th-This is what happens...when you interrupt the black chalk too many times…” Mr. Cosmo seethed, who had finally started to crawl back up to his feet. He gave her a serious look, no attempts at joking. “You should have just let it done its thing, Penny Sanchez. Now you are going to have to deal with the consequences.”

Penny glared at Mr. Cosmo, but her fearful expression still returned to Rudy. Now with her on his full attention, when he raised the magic chalk, Penny could feel a surge of horror going through her body. As Rudy started to draw, Penny scrambled back to her feet.

sss

Draow let out another roar as he struck towards the yellow zoner, deliberately missing. He had no idea how far they had gone into this cave or if Mr. Cosmo was even watching anymore. He had a feeling that the man had long just dismissed him, paying more attention to Rudy and Penny than them.

Still, trying to keep up appearances wasn’t a bad thing. And it did give him sometime to think about the situation.

Did he really want to do something like this? Was he really that invested in siding with Bardot, or did he still want to work for Mr. Cosmo? It was true that he was iffy about being considered obsolete, to be struck down just because he ‘had no more uses’. And he wasn’t happy with how Mr. Cosmo had spoken about him earlier. All of this was enough to start pushing him even closer to Bardot.

But he wasn’t there all the way yet. There were still some strings that were attached between him and Mr. Cosmo. The most obvious of which was the fact that the man was still his creator. He still felt some obligation towards him. The man did bring him to life after all and…

...but as a weapon…

Draow tried his best to hold back his snarl when he thought about that. To Mr. Cosmo, he was ultimately just a weapon for him to use. Not that Draow minded for most of the time. He had enjoyed his position and he did enjoy fighting against the white chalk creators. But this also meant that Mr. Cosmo truly saw no further use out of him, and given the man’s fear of zoners, it was only a matter of time before he was going to do...something to him, take some course of action.

Yet...why was he still feeling some attachment to the man? Was he feeling worried about him? Was he concerned about what might happen if he did nothing? Was he worried about…

“Hey, quit daydreaming there!” Bardot suddenly shouted, cutting through the air and piercing Draow’s eardrums. “Aren’t you supposed to be making this look convincing?”

Draow spluttered at this. “Well I…”

“Nevermind it. I think we did enough, anyway.” Bardot’s ears lowered a little, straightening himself out, stretching his muscles, as he walked a few steps in one direction. He sat down on his haunches and curled his tail towards himself. “I do think we should think of our next move.” He turned his head and stared up at Draow with one green eye. He pulled his lips back a little in a smile as he said, “Are you ready to make the move?”

Draow tilted his head in confusion. His ears twitched as he heard the fighting going on. He turned his head to see what was happening. Even from back here, he could see some of the blurred bodies moving about, and he saw no sign of Mr. Cosmo watching. He looked back at Bardot and hissed under his breath, “What kind of move?”

Bardot pulled himself upwards a little, his head pointing down slightly while his eyes stared right at him. He raised his paw up and he motioned towards the beast-like zoner, smirking with a simple statement leaving his open mouth, “Are you ready to confront Mr. Cosmo?”

This question caused Draow to immediately drop his ears and widen his eyes in horror. He could feel several flashes going through the back of his head and he could feel a surge of some kind of emotion crawling in the back of his throat. He could not bring himself to answer. He could only just take a step back from Bardot.

Could he really do that? Was he even ready to do such a thing? Would it be smart for him to make that sort of move? He licked his lips slowly, feeling a cold chill rushing through his body. Despite the fact that he would like to make some kind of move to show that he isn’t something to be tossed out, at the same time, what would happen if he slipped up? What would Mr. Cosmo do? The thought left him feeling rather uneasy.

“What are you afraid of? You’re bigger than him and he doesn’t have the black chalk right now. You should do something about him now while you have the chance.” Bardot told him, still smiling broadly.

Draow gave a small grunt before looking away.

Bardot furrowed his eyes a little. His voice tone changed slightly, although he still seemed and sounded a bit cheery. Leaning in and turning his head to one side, he said, “What? Are you chickening out on me now? After all you’ve helped me through? That is a shame…” Bardot took a step towards Draow, his tail swishing a bit more aggressively than usual. “And here I thought I finally met an intelligent zoner.”

Draow stared at Bardot with widened eyes for a moment before narrowing them, realizing what the yellow and red zoner was implying. He couldn’t help but release a low growl, a sparkle shining in his eyes. “What are you saying…?”

Bardot shrugged his shoulders and raised his paw up in the air. “Well you decide that for me. I thought you were smart enough to know that something needs to be done about Mr. Cosmo. And Rudy now too, seeing how the boy is getting corrupted himself. Do you really want another Mr. Cosmo running around? How long would you survive that? You already should know that Mr. Cosmo would replace you if he had another black chalk artist on his side.”

Draow felt his fur spreading upwards, his wings starting to go outwards. “But he’s used me before with other black chalk creators! What would make this so different?”

“I’ve told you. Rudy is the Protector of this world. Back then, Horace was...or was supposed to be as he didn’t get involved with the war right away. But so long as Rudy is on his side, he has little to fear.” Bardot’s narrowed green eyes seemed to strike through Draow’s soul. “And that means that he will have no use for you.” Draow stood there in silence. Bardot cocked his head to the side. “Do you need more convincing…?”

Draow let out a low snarl, bowing his head slightly. He could feel his legs stretching back, going a little further back. He could feel his ears flickering and his lips curled up into a snarl. He struggled to think of how he was going to reply to this. He didn’t want to step out of line as he didn’t want to fall victim to Bardot’s power. And yet at the same time, was it really better working for him?

Bardot just seemed like he was going to be another Mr. Cosmo…

“Grrr…”

Draow’s eyes started to glow and he let out a low grumbling sound through his throat. He lowered his head and hunched his body a little. His wings spread upward and out, showing just how massive he was. A shadow quickly casted over the small zoner before him. In that moment, Draow felt a sense of power.

Bardot stared up at him with widened eyes, clearly surprised by this turn of events. Draow realized that he could take control of the situation. He could take advantage of Bardot being startled like this. If he moved quickly enough, he might be able to sink his teeth into the small zoner’s body and crush him. He could then do whatever the hell he pleased. He could pull himself out of this crazy shithole that he had put himself in. He didn’t need to be a part of this. He could leave. He could…

But where would he even go? Where would he belong? He was not welcome here in ChalkZone and he would not survive long in the Real World. He didn’t have any allies that would help him, either. The black chalk artists all saw him as a tool, though they would be the most likely ones to assist him. He could not count on the other zoners or any non-black chalk artist. He rapidly realized that his options were limited if he did turn on Bardot, and as that realization came in, he could feel something pushing him down and he gritted his teeth.

Then slowly, he lowered his head a little further, signifying submission. As soon as he did this, Bardot’s surprised face twisted into a smile and he narrowed his eyes at the large zoner before him.The yellow zoner straightened himself up and assumed a more dominant stance. His tail raised up and curved inward towards his head. He bared his teeth in a small grin, his nostrils flaring and letting out a snort.

“So you finally realized it, didn’t you? I thought you did before but… I guess it’s official now?” Bardot’s tone suggested that he wasn’t sure about Draow anymore. It also suggested that he was quite annoyed, clearly unhappy about the previous turn of direction. “You know you need me. You know that you have nowhere to go. Get rid of me and what will happen? Mr. Cosmo will not keep you around and you know that.”

Draow couldn’t really disagree with that assessment.

Bardot sneered, “So why don’t you just stick with me… And help me take care of Mr. Cosmo….” As Draow remained silent, Bardot lifted his head up, his snout pointing in the air, his eyes still staring intently at the zoner in front of him. His eyes glinted and he grinned broadly. “Take back your life, before he takes yours.”

The wolf bat zoner lifted his head to look more directly at the small yellow and red zoner. He stayed like this for several moments, silence surrounding them like a vice. Draow took one more moment to consider what his options were before opening his mouth and showing off his sharp teeth, snapping his jaws at the air.

He was ready.

sss

“We’re not going to keep asking you over and over again. So you’re better off just answering our question.”

“Tell us just how your friends came in contact with this black material.”

Mrs. Sanchez bared her teeth as she glared at the people before her. She struggled to think of what kind of answer she could give them. But frankly, she wanted to tell them to fuck of and leave.

Yet this was not an option. She was not exactly tied down, but she was trapped here with no way out. They had locked the door and she knew that if she tried to run out, they would grab her and pull her back. She realized, with her chest tightening up in fear, that she had absolutely no way of escaping this. They weren’t going to let her leave until she told them what they wanted to hear.

But there was nothing else to tell. She told them what she knew. Maybe there was something that she was missing or forgetting. But overall, she told what she rememembered, yet that was somehow not good enough? She didn’t know what else she could tell them. And she had no idea just what they wanted to do with this information.

She blamed herself for getting in this situation in the first place. She should have been more watchful. Perhaps then she would have figured out what was going on and she could have gotten away before it was too late. If she had resisted when they were still on a higher level, she could have gotten Mr. Tyreek to back off. After all, he couldn’t be too persistant while within sight of other people, right?

“Please try to cooperate. This is important. We need to know everything.” Mr. Tyreek spoke up, as if on cue. “We understand that you are quite upset and we would love to let you go. But with this… We need to gather whatever information that we can.”

“And I told you everything.” Mrs. Sanchez hissed.

“Not everything. You didn’t tell us the last thing that happened before your friends went nuts.” Ms. Ghadir pointed out.

Mrs. Sanchez blinked at this, turning her head downwards a little. She furrowed her eyes, darting them left and right. She hadn’t told them about that? She thought for sure she had relayed what she had heard from Penny. Was this a detail she had overlooked? It was possible but… Why would this information be important? It still wouldn’t identify what this black stuff was.

But if that’s what they wanted to know…

Mrs. Sanchez forced herself to exhale. She lifted her head up and she stared at the two people before her. She could see how they looked at her intently, like she was the life of the party, only far creepier. She spoke through slightly gritted teeth. “If you really want to know…” She forced out another exhaled, her facial expression softening up. “...my daughter mentioned something about her friend’s parents being given something to drink and they apparently passed out then and…”

Ms. Ghadir tilted her head to the side, furrowing her eyes deeply. “And you didn’t bother telling us about this because…?”

Mr. Tyreek leaned in closer to Mrs. Sanchez, putting his face close to hers. “That’s mighty important information that you kept from us, miss. You should have told us sooner.”

Mrs. Sanchez turned her head to the side, looking away from the man. “Well sorry. But after you locked me up in this room against my will…” She bared her teeth and growled as she looked back at them, her eyes glinting slightly with anger. “...I guess some details just slipped from my head…”

Mr. Tyreek sighed and nodded his head. “Yes, we can understand why you’d be upset. Just...try to understand that this was important. This is vital.”

Mrs. Sanchez looked at him deep in in the eyes, feeling as though some kind of drill was coming out of her eyes and striking a the man in the face. She had to call upon as much willpower as she possibly could to keep herself from doing this. She didn’t bother saying anything else. What else could she say, anyway? Not like anything she could say would get them to let her go.

Ms. Ghadir let out a low hiss, her voice nothing but an airy whisper. “Do you think that it’s…”

Mr. Tyreek nodded his head. “I don’t know what else it could be. We both know that we’re dealing with the same thing but...I…” His tone seemed to shift to something with a tinge of worry and concern. “I thought that this issue vanished long ago. For it to resurface like this…”

Mrs. Sanchez furrowed her eyes as she listened to this. She wasn’t sure how to take this, and a part of her wondered if she should attempt to leave now while they were distracted. She could probably pull it off if she moved quickly enough. Yes, she should rise up from the chair and….

Then the two doctors suddenly swung their head in her direction, their heads moving so fast that they were nothing but a blur for a moment. Mrs. Sanchez nearly yelped in surprise at this sudden motion and she felt herself leaning back. She had to struggle to keep herself from falling down. She then blinked rapidly at the two, stunned before she managed to furrow her eyes.

“What is it? I told you what I know. That’s all I can tell you.” Mrs. Sanchez hissed at them. She had her head low, her eyes facing up and almost glowing with emotion. “What else could you possibly want to know…?”

There was a bit of silence before Mr. Tyreek said, “Do you know where the children are now…?”

Mrs. Sanchez bared her teeth, feeling not too comfortable with answering this question. But seeing as she had no choice, she just muttered, “Probably with this Mr. Cosmo fellow.” She paused for a moment and then she cocked her head to one side. “Why do you want to know that?”

She didn’t expect to see the two doctors flinching slightly at this. She could feel her expression softening up and she stared at them in confusion. Why were they looking at her and each other like that? What had them so gawd damn worried? Why were they…

Then she heard the words that caused her to freeze.

“Just what I feared…”

Mrs. Sanchez stared at them in silence, blinking slowly. Just what were they talking about….?

sss

Mr. Cosmo snarled as he watched the scene playing out before him. Penny was still being as bratty as ever and was trying to get Rudy away from the black chalk. He knew that he couldn’t just stand idly by while this happened. He had to do something to keep her from causing too much trouble. If she succeeded in ripping him away from the glorious black chalk, then…

Mr. Cosmo cringed at the thought. He didn’t want to think of the poor kid’s fate if he were to be subjected to the twisted white chalk again. He didn’t want the boy to have to endure that kind of hallucinations and trickery again. Not after he was almost freed and able to see the truth. He had to do something to make sure that Penny couldn’t intervene any longer. And for him to do that, he had to take action now.

And so he did. He didn’t think of what he was going to do. He just acted, moving swiftly in front of him, his feet launching from the ground hard each time. Penny was still wrestling with Rudy, and managed to escape his attempt at stopping her by pushing the boy into the ground. And now she was working to get the black chalk away from him. Oh no she doesn’t…

The red-haired man reached Penny just before she could swipe the black chalk away. He pulled her up and into the air and dragged her off into one direction. In one swift movement, she was off of Rudy and the boy was now free to do what he felt was necessary. Mr. Cosmo smiled at this, proud of his achievement.

Ignoring his back pain, Mr. Cosmo dragged Penny into the ground. Keeping his grip on her wasn’t easy, what with her struggling and squirming and him having lost his depth perception due to an eye being ripped out. He gritted his teeth firmly as he curled his fingers around her wrists, pushing her hard against the ground. She yanked her head from side to side before glaring up at the man, seething through her clenched teeth.

She didn’t bother to say anything this time. This clash between them kept happening and this was what….the third time maybe? Penny had learned that he was not going to stop trying to keep her at bay. She knew that words were not going to work. So all she could do was glare at him and struggle repeatedly to get free. Mr. Cosmo was aware that Penny would not give up herself and he was prepared to hold her down until the black chalk did its work. It shouldn’t be long now.

As Penny squirmed, Mr. Cosmo turned his head to watch Rudy. With Penny now out of his way, he was moving back towards that little puppet zoner. He lifted up the sword once more and was preparing to strike. Mr. Cosmo watched this with a proud smile on his face. The boy was finally learning.

But what was this? The man frowned when he saw the bathtub zoner coming towards Rudy from behind. Having recovered, the bathtub zoner reared up and was preparing to attack. With the boy’s attention on the puppet zoner, he was going to be an easy target. Mr. Cosmo had to make sure that the boy would be safe. And there was an easy way for him to ensure that.

“Rudy Tabootie! Look behind you! Quick!” Mr. Cosmo cried out. “Get the zoner before it gets you!”

Penny gasped in horror at this. She started to struggle harder. She tried to push herself upwards and forward, soon leaning herself towards Rudy’s general direction. Her eyes were wide and as Rudy had already turned around to face the zoner, Penny screamed, “Rudy! Don’t...please! You ca…”

Mr. Cosmo covered Penny’s mouth with his hand firmly, pulling her back into the ground with his other arm wrapped around her to keep her down. He used his weight to keep her from squirming away so easily. Penny let out muffled cries and twisted herself around. But she ultimately wasn’t able to get free and she just collapsed back down. She shut her eyes and let out a series of tearful, muffled cries. She could do nothing to stop Rudy from defending himself.

Mr. Cosmo hardly paid attention to how Rudy struck the sword across the bathtub zoner’s chest. He didn’t pay attention to the gurgled, agonizing cries that the zoner emitted when Rudy struck at it. He didn’t even bother turning his head to watch what was going on. His attention was fully on Penny, holding her down and keeping her from trying to get at Rudy. She kept squirming and jolting from one side to the other. She just wouldn’t quit. She might stop every so often and it would look like she finally gave up. But then she would start up again, frustrating the man further.

Penny let out some more mournful tears as she cried, managing to yank her head away from Mr. Cosmo’s hand for a moment to shout, “Rudy! N-No…! Please… This can’t be…”

Mr. Cosmo hand-gagged her again, pushing her head down hard into the ground and causing it to bang. Penny whimpered in pain, which soon dissipated into more whimpering, this time of emotion. He snarled at her and whispered in a harsh tone in her ear, “If you try to interfere one more time, I will make sure that you can’t speak again..”

Penny looked up at him in horror, her eyes bulging. She then squirmed yet again. Mr. Cosmo let out a series of low growls at this as he struggled to keep her down. But at least this time, she eventually ran out of energy and could only just lay there.

Those stupid cries of hers were going to give him a headache. He wished that she would just see things his way and understand what was really going on. She couldn’t see how Rudy was truly becoming free. She refused to realize just how much this truly matters. She was still too blinded by the white chalk. She was too far gone. She could not be saved. He hated for this to be done, but it was either that or the poor thing would have to live the rest of her life as a slave to the white chalk.

He knew which fate would be better.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t act right away. He first looked over at Rudy to see where he was right now. It would seem that the boy had already taken care of the bathtub zoner. The creature had collapsed, the feet bent at weird angles. Its feminine-like head was turned to one side, mouth open and eyes wide and glassy. The water in its tub had been replaced with a red color, obviously from the warm blood that now moved down its chest and throat. It was hard to tell if it was still alive or not, but even if it were still breathing, it wouldn’t last for long. Rudy was presently heading over to where the puppet zoner was still trapped, the bloody sword steady and ready to strike. Once Mr. Cosmo was certain that Rudy could finish the job, he turned his attention to Penny.

“I’m so sorry it has to come to this. I’m sorry if it really hurts you to see this being done with your friend. I wish you could try to understand and see things differently, the way that they should be seen.” Mr. Cosmo’s expression softened up as he let out a small sigh. “As a result, I’m afraid I don’t have much of a choice with you. There’s only one fate that I think will benefit you. Now if you could hold still…”

Penny looked up at him with those frightened eyes. A part of Mr. Cosmo felt himself hesitate. There was something about how she looked at him that caused emotion to shoot through his body. He couldn’t help but stare at her with widened eyes and a dropped open mouth. He licked his lips and he swallowed hard. Why was he…

“She’s trying to trick you….”

“Don’t fall for her gaze…”

“White chalk trick…”

Mr. Cosmo widened his eyes at this before narrowing them, his remaining eye glowing intensely with anger. He shook his head almost violently as he shook it off, releasing a low, almost feral growl. How dare the white chalk try to trick him like that… How dare the white chalk use this girl as means of trying to brainwash him… Was she nothing but a tool to it?

And to think that these teens honestly thought the black chalk was the one doing the brainwashing. How stupid…

Mr. Cosmo glared down at Penny, feeling a fluttering barrage of emotions. It was so intense that he thought that he could suddenly see things from his non-existing eye. He was swift to pull Penny onto her back and he held her down firmly there. He gave her a harsh, determined, yet well-meaning glare at her as he gripped her neck firmly with his hand. Using his leg and foot to keep her pinned down, he started to apply pressure.

“I’m so sorry…” He whispered as he began to cut off Penny’s oxygen supply. He hated to have to do this to a teenager. He hated to see how much she was struggling. But he knew that this was for her own good.

After all...

What other choice did he really have...?


	57. Help From Surprising Place

Well this was certainly an awkward situation.

Rapsheeba kept herself silent. She didn’t want to make this any worse than it already was. But she still kept herself on stand by just in case. She could see how tense things were starting to get and someone had to be here to make sure things don’t go awry, right?

Snap was already awake and the moment that he was, he immediately shot a glare towards their new roommate, which was Spy Fly. Snap couldn’t have been that aware of anything at the moment. He couldn’t have really known what else had gone on. Yet somehow, he did seem to have enough awareness to respond to Spy Fly in this sort of manner.

This caused the female zoner some discomfort. While she understood that Snap may have a legitimate reason to be upset with Spy Fly, now wasn’t the time for him to be expressing such anger. They were all still recovering. As fast as these doctors were, they were not miracle workers and they still had a lot of healing to do. Not to mention, Spy Fly herself was in worse shape out of all of them, from what she could tell. Parts of her body had been crushed. She didn’t want to think that Snap would have still wanted to hurt her like this.

But seeing the look in his eyes, she might be wrong on that. The only thing stopping Snap was the fact that he was strapped down to the bed to keep him from moving too much. The doctors had noticed him trying to get up and this forced them to keep him down against his will. It wasn’t exactly the best thing to do, but it at least ensured that he couldn’t hurt himself so easily.

Spy Fly hadn’t really said anything since she got in here. She didn’t look happy to see any of them and she had remained silent. She didn’t respond to Rapsheeba’s attempts at conversation, always resulting in a weird, unnerving silence. Rapsheeba quickly quit this endeavour but she still looked at the zoner worriedly.

Just how had this happened to her? What had caused her to get torn up like this? How had she come to be in the emergency room? Why wasn’t she willing to talk to them? After whatever the hell happened to her, Rapsheeba would think that Spy Fly would want to talk to somebody about it. She would think that Spy Fly would seek comfort in knowing that she wasn’t in here alone. Didn’t that mean anything to her?

Didn’t seem to be the case, based on her actions. She just glares at them, snarls, showing nothing but contempt for them. But that was only part of the time, In the very short time she had been here with them, she seemed to act as though she was afraid or hateful of something. Her mind wasn’t always on them. She would look out into the distance, which would catch Rapsheeba’s attention. Snap might have seen it too, but he was too busy glaring at her to really acknowledge that he noticed.

But Rapsheeba could still see it. She knew that something was on the bug zoner’s mind. She knew that at some point, this zoner would need to talk about her feelings. If something was bothering her, she needed to tell someone about it. So why not them? Why not just tell them what’s going on? What is holding her back?

Rapsheeba didn’t know if she would ever get an answer. It didn’t seem like this zoner was interested in telling her anything. She doubted she would get much information from Snap, either. That small blue and white zoner was just silent and didn’t seem like he could bring himself to do anything aside from stare at Spy Fly like she was going to pull out a gun and shoot them. Rapsheeba wanted to ask Snap about that, but something kept herself holding back. Something about this room and this particular time to be….a bit rude to be asking such things.

Rapsheeba soon could hear the jingle of the door opening. It was just a nurse walking in. Nothing to get too excited for. But given the tense atmosphere of the room, for Rapsheeba, it offered her a break from all of this.

“Hello, doctor.” Rapsheeba spoke pretty quickly. She was just eager to talk to someone that wasn’t going to just glare and snarl at her.

The doctor, a female duck-like zoner, bright yellow like a rubber ducky, held a clipboard with her feathers, flipping through the papers attached to said clipboard. She didn’t answer Rapsheeba right away. She had a concerned look on her face as she seemed to be having some trouble finding what she needed. But soon she did and she looked over at Rapsheeba and she finally replied. “Hello there, Rapsheeba. Are you feeling well?”

“Better than before.” Rapsheeba admitted, offering the best smile that she could. She looked over at Snap and Spy Fly. They didn’t seem interested in talking. Rapsheeba sighed. “I think they’re doing...okay. I’m not sure.”

The duck doctor looked at the other two zoners and gritted her beak. It looked like she was going to say something about them, but she stopped herself and returned her attention back to Rapsheeba. “I’ll look at them later. I wanted to talk about you first. Well this pertains to all of you, anyway.”

Rapsheeba wasn’t sure how to feel about that. She wasn’t sure what to think of the duck’s tone of voice. Was this a good thing or a bad thing? “Yes? What is it?”

“It’s about your recovery rate…” The duck said. She was a bit slow and deliberate in how she was speaking. It was easy to hear her uneasiness in her voice. “We’re all astonished it was this fast. I mean, you’re still badly hurt but for you to be awake and alert this fast, it…”

Rapsheeba blinked her eyes a few times. “You mean to tell me that this wasn’t because you..”

The duck zoner raised her wing up. “Don’t get me wrong. Our doctors’ skills played a role in that as well. But even by our standards…” She held her wing up in gesture, her eyes furrowing in confusion. “...it still seems pretty...fast. We keep thinking that something else played a role in this. Have you...got any idea on that?”

Rapsheeba furrowed her eyes as she looked towards the ground. She searched her mind for anything that might have had a hand in this. But at the moment, nothing came to her head. There was nothing that she had encountered that would have explained this recovery. The only thing that she could do was just shrug her shoulders and say softly, “I don’t really know. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm...that’s quite all right.” The duck doctor said. “I’m sure we can figure out what it is.”

Rapsheeba nodded her head in agreement. She couldn’t deny that something should crop up eventually, even if it took a while. Someone would know something of what happened, surely. If not now, then eventually. They just needed to wait a while and some evidence might crop up.

In the meantime…

“Let me check you and your friends’ vitals. I need to make sure that you are still recovering.”

Rapsheeba didn’t try to move or resist when she felt the duck doctor zoner carefully lifting her arm up and wrapping something thick around it. Soon Rapsheeba could feel it tighten around her limb as the duck zoner began to test her blood pressure. As she did this, Rapsheeba turned her head away to look at Snap and Spy Fly.

She took quick notice of Spy Fly’s face. It was only for a split second before she shifted her gaze away, but Raspheeba noticed Spy Fly looking with a somewhat horrified face, or at least, a face that showed that she knew something of what was going on. Rapsheeba slowly narrowed her eyes. What could Spy Fly be hiding?

sss

Pain spread throughout Penny’s neck. She clutched at her throat in desperation, trying so hard to free herself. She opened her mouth wide and she took in several breaths, each one harder and harder to make. She widened her eyes further and she thought for sure she could hear something popping inside of her skull. She could feel her face growing gradually redder and her vision started to blur.

Above her, she could see Mr. Cosmo staring intently at her. He wasn’t glaring at her or looking maniacal. He looked almost….sad that he was doing this. But this bit of information was of no comfort to her. She could still feel her heart thumping loudly inside of her chest, panicking as she soon could no longer breathe. Pain echoed throughout her body, originating from her throat, which Mr. Cosmo seemed almost determined to crush.

Penny tried to kick her feet up at the man. She tried to strike him between the legs, the stomach, anywhere that would seem like a good target. But she was just unable to reach those areas, leaving her trapped under the weight of the man. This didn’t stop her from keeping on trying to struggle. But she was at a loss of just what she was going to do. How was she going to escape this?

“Just hold still, Penny. It won’t be long.” Mr. Cosmo told her, his voice unusually light. “Soon it’ll be over. You won’t have to suffer for much longer.”

Penny wanted to glare at the man so badly, but she couldn’t bring her eyes to make that posture. They remained open as fear crawled through the back of her head. She continued to struggle to draw in some kind of breath. She could feel her chest starting to light on fire the longer that she wasn’t able to breathe. She could feel her face reddening even further before starting to shift to blue. The lack of oxygen was becoming rapidly apparent and she could feel her logical thoughts start to melt away, fading into nothingness.

The rest of her moments were spent struggling and thrashing about, trying to do whatever she could to get the man to let her go. She twisted and she turned and she yanked and she pulled. She grew increasingly desperate as she fought frantically against him. Mr. Cosmo did not let up no matter what she did, and she could feel him tightening his grip even more on her sore neck. Penny started to feel a few involuntary tears moving down her face.

Then everything started to go numb and tingly at once. She could feel something surging in the back of her neck and she could feel everything around her starting to go dark. She realized that it would not be long before she would collapse completely, never to rise up again. She gave one more look to Mr. Cosmo before she could feel the last of her strength starting to leave her. She could feel her head lowering and tilting to the side and then…

Suddenly and without warning, something caused Mr. Cosmo to let her go completely. Penny was only barely aware of something blurry rushing over her, and she was barely aware of Mr. Cosmo’s cry of pain. All she could do for several moments was just lay there on her back. Her brain was quick to get her to breathe and she struggled to do so for what felt like many minutes. In and out, she breathed, refilling her lungs and her body with much needed oxygen. Only after she was able to breathe more normally did she lift her head up, supporting herself on one of her arms and hands, and see what was going on.

She felt her eyes widen in shock when she saw that it was Skrawl. The zoner whom had been knocked out before, the zoner whom didn’t seem like he could still fight, had somehow not only woken up, but fought against his wounds to attack Mr. Cosmo. Skrawl’s adrenaline was allowing him to ignore his wounds and his previous pain in order to keep attacking Mr. Cosmo.

The man was startled by Skrawl’s sudden attack and he was trying to fight back against him. The zoner had moved too quickly and knocked the man to the ground and he was now in a more vulnerable position. Skrawl’s body casted a shadow over the man and he had one of his hands raised up to strike at him.

Mr. Cosmo had a look of fear on his face. Terror was plastered all over his body. He was holding his arm up and he was trying to get the zoner to back off. He kept crying out pleadingly at Skrawl, begging for mercy. The jellybean zoner was clearly not interested in such a thing. With what happened to him, it was clear that the zoner was motivated largely by rage and nothing Mr. Cosmo said was going to stop him.

And this time, Penny did not feel compelled to help him. She thought back to what Skrawl said and realized that he was right. Mr. Cosmo was not worth saving. If she did, he was only going to try to screw her back somehow. He had just tried to kill her, he was corrupting her friend, and he was going to bring about pain and suffering to the zoners. How could she ever think that saving him was a good idea?

While Skrawl held Mr. Cosmo down, Penny clutched at her throat. She seethed through clenched teeth as she moved her hand up and down slowly, massaging her neck. She could feel how the soreness went deep in her neck and it was hard to move it. So stiff and sore…. Penny seethed, gritting her teeth further as she continued to massage her neck, hoping to try to rub at least some of the pain away. And so far, it did seem to have a soothing effect.

After her neck started to feel a little better, she turned her head back to watch what Skrawl was doing. He hadn’t actually struck the man, which surprised her. She didn’t know why he was holding back. Was the jellybean waiting for something or…?

“Aaaaargh….!”

Penny suddenly jolted when she heard the sound of Howdy screaming in pain. She whipped her head over, trying to move as quickly as she could. She felt her eyes widen in utter horror when she saw Rudy had struck the sword against the puppet zoner. He didn’t slice through him like he had with Buttered Toast Man, but it wasn’t any better. It didn’t take her very long to realize that Howdy sported a bloody stump, his limb having been cut off completely.

Penny stared with wide, horrified eyes as the arm dropped to the ground. She could see the splintering effect on the wooden arm and she could see blood dripping down profusely, intermingling with it almost like rain on unprotected wood. Penny put her hand to her mouth and she tried not to vomit at the sight. It was enough to make her wobble forward and back and it stifled her ability to get herself back up to her feet.

Howdy was already spasming. His body shook tremendously, going through the same horrific death throes that Bathtub Granny and Buttered Toast Man did. She couldn’t turn her eyes away from what was going on, a cold, burning chill clutching at her throat. She watched as Howdy’s face paled and he suddenly went limp, dropping like he was some kind of lifeless doll. For a few moments, Penny could feel her brain flashing back as she recalled when she thought Howdy had died by the tongue of a dog. But this time, there was no going back. Tears dripped from her eyes as she realized this was the deal with all three of these zoners.

Rudy had murdered them. He had….

Penny felt a surge of anger twisting up inside of her chest. She took in several ragged breaths as her eyes felt like they were burning. She suddenly could not see or hear Skrawl keeping Mr. Cosmo pinned down. She couldn’t hear the approaching footsteps, either, nor did she care to notice the shadows on the wall. Right now, all she cared about was going after Rudy.

She was not going to allow this to go unpunished. With a loud yell, she immediately rammed herself into Rudy.

sss

Mr. Malcolm had no idea just what had distressed the poor girl. Well almost. He did have some thought about what might have happened. The loose zoners were likely related in some way. He was aware that many of them got away, and while some were killed and disposed of, there was still a chance that some were still lurking around, ready to strike.

It was no wonder Ms. Teelar was so scared.

The man did what he could to try to comfort her. He kept his arms around her trembling body and pressed her against himself. He allowed her to keep crying into his shoulder despite her having done this for what felt like an hour now. He knew it was not professional, but he still found himself gently nuzzling her and keeping whispering soft words of comfort to her. Whatever she had gone through, he knew it was horrific. She deserved some comfort.

He just hoped that, whenever she was done crying, she would be ready to tell him what happened. He needed to know. There was no way that he could help her if she refused to tell him anything. He wanted to be able to aid her. He hoped that she would see that and be willing to give the information needed to ensure that.

Slowly, Ms. Teelar finally seemed to be stopping her crying. She leaned against him further, clinging to him almost desperately. But her sobs started to stop and her trembling began to cease. She let out a few small shaky whimpers before shutting her eyes softly, drawing in a few more breaths. In and out, and and out…

“There...do you feel better now…?” Mr. Malcolm asked tentatively. He listened to the woman sniffle as she wiped away her eyes. She looked up at him and she struggled to smile and nod her head. He could see through her ruse and he gently gripped her shoulder. “Listen….just what happened? Why were you running away like that?”

Ms. Teelar’s fake smile immediately fell. She lowered her head, more tears dripping from her darkened, watery eyes. “I-I didn’t mean to… I-I wish that I…”

“Hey, try to stay calm. Take in a few breaths, and then calmly tell me what’s bothering you.” Mr. Malcolm tried to sound as firm and gentle as possible. He didn’t want sound like he was pushing her. But it was imperative that he get the information as quckly as possible. “Please...tell me what happened.”

Ms. Teelar let out a few shaky sobs as she rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away her tears. Then she managed to choke out, “I-I-I was with M-Ms. Lezro and...and one of those creatures attacked her and…” Her voice trailed off for a moment. The man’s eyes widened as he stared at her in horror, silently digesting this information. “I-I-It looked hurt but it was going after her like it was s-s-starving and I…” She shut her eyes tightly and she let out a sob. “I’m so sorry.. I’m just a stupid coward… I-I…”

“N-No you’re not…” Mr. Malcolm struggled not to let his mind fall into fear and horror. He clutched onto the shaking woman again. He stroked her hair gently and he struggled to think of something to say to help her settle down. The only thing that came to mind was, “L-Let’s figure out where Mr. Cosmo is, okay…? He’ll… He’ll figure out something that can help. You’ll see. Would you like that?”

Ms. Teelar rubbed her eyes and nodded her head. “Y-Yes…”

“All right then… Let’s get going.” Mr. Malcolm whispered as he began to guide the terrified woman down the hallway. He held her protectively to help her feel safe. “It’ll be okay.”

sss

Bardot stood still for several long moments, his widened eyes staring out before him and wondering just what the heck was going on. He dropped his mouth open and he let his tongue wet his lips as he pondered what he could say. But h remained speechless. He soon realized that there was not much of a mystery of what was going on here.

After all, he knew exactly what Mr. Cosmo was trying to accomplish.

The red-haired man was busy tangling with Skrawl. Impressive that the zoner managed to wake up so soon. His red chalk sure did speed up the process, didn’t it? But Bardot didn’t have time to really care about that. He shifted his attention to what concerned him far more. And that was the fact that Rudy was under the black chalk influence, he had already killed three zoners it would seem, and Penny was fighting against him.

Bardot could easily see the look of fury in Penny’s eyes. It was hard to tell if she even realized Rudy wasn’t at fault for these particular acts or not. It kind of looked like she was angry at him for not resisting enough. But maybe he was just mistaken.

Either way, it was not painting a very good scenario. Bardot could feel himself snarling inwardly as he realized that his plans were falling apart. If they had just gone to the Red Chalk Chamber, this wouldn’t have been happening. Though Bardot had to blame himself to some degree for that. He could have come up with a better, more coherent plant. He wasn’t really sure what he was thinking with his previous actions. And now he was in this way too deep to just press the reset button.

Furrowing his eyes deeply as he stared at Penny and Rudy fighting, he turned his head to see where Draow was. The wolf bat zoner was watching with widened, confused eyes, as if he didn’t expect Rudy to be attacking Penny in this way, or was he more surprised about Penny’s eagerness to fight him? Well whatever, he was at least on the same level and page as him. With his eyes glinting, Bardot made his way closer to Draow.

“Draow, I need you to try to separate them.” Bardot said.

Draow looked down at him in confusion. “Why? If they fight, then….”

Bardot lowered his ears and took a step forward. “You really want to risk another Black Chalk Creator?!” Bardot snorted loudly as his ears went down a little further. “You know how problematic that would be! The longer they fight like this, the more that it increases the chances of the girl becoming corrupted as well!”

Draow blinked a few times. He slowly nodded his head as he turned to look at where Rudy and Penny were. “That does seem like it would be a bit of a problem but….” He turned to look back at the yellow and red zoner. “Would it be any worse than what I already faced? I’ve been around Black Chalk Creators, or Artists, whatever you want to call them, before. Two doesn’t seem it would be that back.” Draow motioned his head towards Mr. Cosmo. “Wouldn’t he be a higher priority for you?”

Bardot let out a low snarl. “He’s only easy to deal with because he has no other artists to help him.” He took a step forward. “But that’s only true so long as none of those two get permanently persuaded by the black chalk, you idiot!”

“...I see… Yes, that would be a problem.” Draow admitted as he took a step back. He gritted his teeth and he looked like he was truly pondering what course of action to take. He watched the fighting teenagers for several moments before he took a deep breath and sighed. “...yeah I think I get your point. I’ll just….wait…” He swung his head in Bardot’s direction. “What are you going to do?”

Bardot turned to glare in Mr. Cosmo’s direction. Any other pretenses that he showed before, any false friendliness that he put up for his own ends, it was gone now. It was replaced with the raw determination and anger that he’s had this entire time. His voice had transformed into a deep growl. “What I should have done in the first place…”

Draow went silent at this. For a moment, Bardot could detect a wave of protectiveness that Draow still had for Mr. Cosmo. But it had been weakened, and it didn’t take long before Draow just turned and began to head towards the fighting teenagers. He could sense the urgency in the zoner’s movements. Draow knew that this was of the utmost importance.

Now as for Mr. Cosmo…

Bardot lowered his body towards the ground and he began to make his way over to the man. Skrawl appeared to be doing a good job so far, but he was running out of energy. An understandable side effect considering that the zoner had been previously injured. Mr. Cosmo himself looked pretty tired. That did give Bardot a chance to try to pin him down. He just needed to do this carefully. If he was able to land at least one good blow, he might…

Suddenly, Mr. Cosmo struck Skrawl where it seemed to hurt him the most, and that was his head, where his missing feelings had been. Bardot raised his ears straight up at this low blow. But it was no different from what he had expected the man to do nor was it anything that he himself wouldn’t have done. But it still came out of nowhere and it quickly put Mr. Cosmo above Skrawl in winning this. It was a quick change as Mr. Cosmo managed to get Skrawl into the ground. The man pulled his fist back and he was fully ready to strike at the large zoner.

Or he would have, had Bardot decided not to do anything. It took only seconds for Bardot to jump into the air and land on Mr. Cosmo’s back. The man let out a startled surprise and tried to shake him off. He wasn’t able to act quickly enough however and Bardot was able to bite into the man’s shoulder.

Mr. Cosmo let out a scream as the heated substance seeped into his flesh. Steam rose up from his shoulder, the skin already darkening from the overheated chalk liquid just burning right through it. Blood rapidly leaked out before stopping due to the excessive heat. But Mr. Cosmo’s screaming and trying to attack hadn’t stopped. Bardot had to jump away just to dodge an attack as the man swung around, trying to punch him. Bardot landed a few feet away, raising his tail straight up and bared his teeth at him. His fangs dripped with more heated saliva.

Mr. Cosmo snarled at him and started to walk towards him. He soon limped, nearly tripping forward. His face contorted in pain, his eyes shutting and his arm clutching his burned shoulder. The man’s body trembled in pain and he didn’t seem capable of continuing forward any longer. He just stood there and he glared at the small zoner before him.

Bardot glared right into the man’s eyes. A part of him was impressed with how well he seemed to be doing with fighting so far, what with one of his eyes missing and all that. But then he reminded himself of how this man had locked him away for years and how isolated he had been. How else was he going to keep his sanity from snapping than by having some ‘fun’ with some visitors? He had earned this.

But he wasn’t able to get another attack in. The moment that he tried to bite at Mr. Cosmo again, he could feel himself being swatted aside. He hit the rocky wall painfully. Holding his head and looking over, he could see Skrawl standing there, his injuries somehow looking even more defined than they had been before.

“N-No… He’s mine..” Skrawl snarled, panting heavily. “I...will take care of him.”

Bardot got up onto all fours, pressing his claws against the ground, his tail twitching irritably. “And why exactly do you get to deal with him? Did you forget who was in charge here?”

Skrawl gave him a twisted, somewhat shaky smile. “I haven’t forgotten. But I do believe that you have…”

Bardot let out a low hiss at this. He could feel his fur starting to rise up on end like a feline. He started to make his way towards Skrawl, feeling his teeth become more exposed. He could feel his muscles tightening as he prepared for an attack and…

Wait, why was he getting worked up about this anyway? It’s not like Skrawl was going to deliver the final blow. He was just going to mess with him for however long that he could. And now that the man had a new burn injury, he would be a bit slower in responses. Maybe he could let Skrawl play with him for a little while before he himself would step in. Sure, why waste the extra energy?

Bardot sat down on his haunches and he motioned his paw forward a few times. He said softly, “Sure, go right ahead.”

Skrawl scoffed at him before turning his attention back to Mr. Cosmo. The jellybean zoner started to head towards him, or rather limp over, as Mr. Cosmo tensed up and prepared himself for a fight. And all Bardot had to do was just stand around and watch.

sss

He couldn’t just keep laying here. He had to do something. He had to push himself up from the ground and try to get himself out of this place. The longer that he just laid here doing nothing, the more chances that those guys had to… He didn’t know exactly what they had planned specifically, but he doubted it was anything good.

Mr. Wilter gritted his teeth as he attempted to crawl up onto his feet. But everytime that he did, shooting pain would wrack through his body and cause him to fall back down. He nearly twisted his legs up a few times doing this. He could feel his weight pressing into them, bending them at odd angles, and he nearly twisted one knee up pretty badly. He kept wobbling forward and back until he finally just grabbed onto a nearby rock formation to hold onto and lean up against.

Mr. Wilter opened his mouth wide open and he let out a series of small panting. He could tell that his vision was blurring a little bit and he had to seethe through clenched teeth to avoid yelping or squirming around in pain. He shut his eyes tightly and he could remember that Mr. Cosmo was the one who had attacked him, though for the life of him, he couldn’t remember exactly how he was attacked. He couldn’t remember what kind of weapon that the man had used, only that it left him in this weakened state.

He let out a small yelp as he clutched at his arm. This caused him to let go of the rock formation and he slid down in a sharp jerk to the ground. He bent his leg oddly and he let out a small cry of pain. He remained there, bent awkwardly, putting too much pressure on one part of his leg, his ankle feeling like it was about to snap. He breathed in and out slowly before he got himself slowly back to a standing position. Then he just stood there, too nervous to move. Perhaps he needed some other way to find some other way out of here.

It was then that he recalled that he was not alone here. He turned his head and out of the corner of his eye, he could see Biclops. The large cloth and tourniquet that he just barely managed to draw before collapsing for a while did seem to help the giant. At least he was no longer bleeding. But it was still plain to see just how much pain this zoner was in. He could tell from how he kept squirming around every so often. His struggles were dulled and had been for a while due to a lack of strength. It was all just a pitiful sight to see.

Mr. Wilter felt a sense of guilt regarding Biclops’s predicament. He hadn’t been the one to hurt him like this, but he did feel responsible nonetheless. He had been the one to deal with Mr. Cosmo in the past. He should have found a way to make it more permanent. He should have just gotten rid of the man back then.

But no, he just had to let him stick around, didn’t he? And because of that, Mr. Cosmo was able to come back and hurt more people. As much as he and Biclops didn’t see eye to eye, he never wanted something like this to happen to him. He never wanted to see the giant with his leg cut off and just...collapsed into the ground like a dying doll. The thought of the giant dying because of him, indirectly or not, it still filled him up with a sense of chilling dread.

But even if he did figure out a way to help Biclops more, even if he did survive this, there was still the thing with Mr. Cosmo. He was still out there somewhere. He would no doubt try to taint Rudy and force him to join him. No doubt Mr. Cosmo had so much planned for ChalkZone after he had acquired Rudy at his side and gotten rid of anyone else that he didn’t need or want. If he didn’t do something to help… But what could he do? Tsere was gone and there was nothing that he could do to bring him back.

His eyes then flickered in realization. He slowly turned his head to the nearby cluster of white chalk hanging above them. He blinked his eyes slowly, thoughts crawling up through him. He could hear the same question being rung throughout his head over and over again.

He believed that he couldn’t just revive Tsere, but if he took the white chalk and he just…

No, that would be sick and wrong. He couldn’t just play that sort of ‘game’, creating another Tsere. That would be disrespectful to the original Tsere and he would hate himself for drawing such a thing. He would need to think of something else.

Although Tsere could fight Draow, and this would be an emergency… He could just make an exception for this. He could, just this one time, draw a new Tsere, let him take care of Draow and Mr. Cosmo, and then he could… He wasn’t really sure and this moral dilemma caused him to feel really sick to his stomach. He rubbed his stomach to try to calm himself down, though he was unable to avoid the bitter taste on his tongue.

But regardless, he did still need to take some kind of action. The white chalk was right there. He still had some all around him that he could use. It would be easy to draw something to help the others before it was too late. The longer that he stood here, the more time that Mr. Cosmo had in getting Rudy and Penny. Shouldn’t he at least try to do something to help them out?

Narrowing his eyes into slits, he knew what the answer was. Enduring the pain as much as he could, he began to limp his way towards the nearest piece of white chalk.

sss

Penny let out a scream of pain when Rudy punched her in the stomach. She staggered back as she held her stomach tightly, rubbing it gingerly, tears dripping down her face. She curled herself inward a little as she remained there, trembling in pain. She forced herself to look up as tears dripped from her eyes. It didn’t take her long to see Rudy preparing for another attack.

Moving just in the nick of time, Penny was able to keep herself from being struck, although it was not exactly the best move that she could have made. She hissed in pain when she felt something stretch in her side and agonizing waves traveled through like someone had shot her with a taser. She realized she had aggravated an injury Rudy had recently given to her. And with her distracted, she couldn’t stop the boy from ramming his fist into her another time.

Penny moved back quickly to avoid getting hit again. She stood a couple feet from the boy and glared at him, her dark brown eyes glinting with whatever light was in this place. She breathed in and out heavily as many thoughts raced through her head.

Had this been a good idea? Should she really have charged her friend like this? She couldn’t believe how easy she had fallen into her own anger. She knew that Rudy wasn’t acting on his own. He was being controlled by the black chalk. It was the one who deserved the blame. And yet she still just charged Rudy out of nowhere as if he had a hand in all of this. She felt sick to her stomach. She should have controlled herself better.

But that didn’t really matter at this point. Rudy’s stance indicated that he wasn’t yet done fighting with her. He wasn’t going to back down as he now saw her as a threat. Penny would not be able to talk him out of this. He didn't respond to speech any longer. The only option left was to just keep trying to fight him.

Penny took a defensive stance as Rudy started to circle around her. She kept her eyes narrowed and made sure that her teeth were clear as day. She moved around slowly along with Rudy. She wasn’t going to let him get the upperhand, friend or not. The two friends kept circling each other until finally Rudy started to rush forward, Penny running to meet him, and then…

Just then, a large shadow moved over her. She felt encased in something dark and she could feel the rush of cool and warm air as something big and massive ran over her. Penny had to duck down to avoid getting hit, and even then she felt herself being swatted to the side by something large and furry.

Wait, furry..? Was this…?

Penny widened her eyes when she saw Draow ramming into Rudy and knocking him away from her. Rudy rolled across the ground painfully. But despite how much he somersaulted and twisted about, somehow he was still able to hold onto the black chalk. She wasn’t sure if she should be terrified of that or not.

Before she could take a step further, however, Draow turned to face her and growled lowly. Penny jolted in startlement and backed up quickly. She bent her body back as she looked up at Draow, whose snout was very, uncomfortably close to her. Those teal eyes drilled into her soul and she could hear his low growling echoing in her chest cavity. She couldn’t bring herself to do anything and she just...stood there in silence, watching the beast and wondering what he was going to do.

But rather than do what her first instincts told her he’d do, Draow just opened his mouth and let out a small roar at her, as though to warn her to stay out of this. Then he turned his head swiftly to where Rudy was and he charged right at him. Penny could only stand there in shocked awe as Draow raised up one of his wings and prepared to strike down.


	58. Stolen

It was hard to fully relax. Not while he was in the hospital. Not while he was in pain. Not while he knew that Rudy and Penny were in trouble. He especially couldn’t relax when he recalled what Mr. Cosmo had forced him to do to Rudy to keep him from being killed off.

But above all, he couldn’t relax knowing that she was in here with him.

Snap tried to keep himself calm for the most part. He didn’t want to further upset Rapsheeba and honestly, just being all pissy was not going to help him feel better, either. He knew that he was better off just trying to relax and give himself sometime to heal. He had to try to put faith in Rudy and Penny to try to fix this mess.

Yet his relaxation became nearly impossible knowing that Spy Fly was here. That little traitor being in the same room as him just boiled his blood. He didn’t know why she was brought in here at all. Whatever had happened to her, she deserved it. She is the one that sold the zoners out to Mr. Cosmo and helped him capture them. She was the one who helped capture Penny. She was a little shit and he honestly didn’t care if she lived or died. He was tempted to try to have her booted out of this place.

But he knew the doctors would not approve of that. He also knew that Rapsheeba would be very disappointed in his petty behavior. He sighed softly and he tried to let go of those thoughts. He wasn’t going to gain anything from continuing to have them, anyway. So he might as well get them out of his head and try to focus on something else.

Such a task was easier said than done, however. Spy Fly, though unconscious right now, or at the very least not awake, still stirred up uncomfortable feelings in his stomach. He couldn’t simply ignore the fact that she was here. She had her own miniature bed situated in front of him, for crying out loud. How could he possibly ignore that? He gritted his teeth tightly and he forced his head away. But even that wasn’t enough to get her out of his sights. It was almost tempting to ask the nurse to move him to another room, along with Rapsheeba. Spy Fly could stay in here on her own.

“I think you have more important things to worry about right now.” Came a feminine voice.

Snap had almost forgotten that the doctor had left, leaving Rapsheeba alone in the room with him. And when he looked over at her, he could tell that she was not very happy at the moment. He flinched when he saw her glaring at him like that. He forced himself to look away.

Rapsheeba didn’t appreciate this gesture and she growled at him, “Did you forget about our conditions? Healing too fast? Shouldn’t you be thinking about that and not why you’re so upset with Spy Fly?”

Snap blinked a few times. What was this about swift healing? He didn’t remember the doctor saying anything about that. He turned his head to face Penny, his mouth dropping open in confusion. He looked at her long and hard, waiting for her to answer his unspoken question.

And she did so relatively quickly.

“Weren’t you paying attention at all? The doctor, nurse, whatever, she was in here for a while and she told me that we were healing up faster than what even they were capable of.” Rapsheeba’s voice had a tinge of something in it. Fear? Worry? It was hard to tell, but it made her sound uncomfortable to listen to. “That means that something else is going on, and none of us know if this is a good thing or a bad thing.”

Snap was silent. He wasn’t sure what to think of it himself. Wasn’t healing quickly a good thing? But then again, given that they had no clue how this happened in the first place….

Rapsheeba cut him out of his thoughts. “We have enough to concern ourselves with. I wish you would stop obsessing over your hatred of Spy Fly and just…”

Snap suddenly snarled at Rapsheeba. A course of emotion had suddenly rushed through him and he wasn’t able to stop himself from speaking in a rather bitter tone. “Do you fucking know what she did…?”

The singer zoner went silent for a moment and at first, it looked like she was going to say something that indicated that she understood. But she soon shook off all thoughts of that as she glared at him more harshly, outmatching his own emotions in that moment. “Does it matter right now? Look, I understand that she did something bad otherwise you wouldn’t be this peeved at her. But for gosh sake, Snap, she was nearly killed and can’t do anything to you!” She tilted her head to one side. “Do you honestly think that you would be any better than her if you constantly obsess negatively over her instead of putting your thoughts towards figuring out our little problem?”

“I…” Snap couldn’t say anything else to that. He lowered his head and he turned it away to one side. He really couldn’t think of an answer or any sort of explanation. He could try to justify his actions all that he wanted to. But in the end, he knew that Rapsheeba was right. Was he really better than Spy Fly if he….

He sighed and he pushed those emotions at bay as much as he could. He would have plenty of time to hate on Spy Fly later. Right now, he should focus on what Rapsheeba had brought up. Right now, that was more important than him continuing to think of how angry he was at Spy Fly when she was rendered helpless and unable to do anything, like Rapsheeba had pointed out.

But even shifting his thoughts… It wasn’t exactly going to make his anger vanish. He was going to keep thinking of Spy Fly in the back of his head. He could only hope that it didn’t interfere too much with their current discussion.

Not like he could think of what they could do, anyway. After all, how were they going to think of much when they had little information and they were bed-ridden? He couldn’t really think of anything that happened earlier that would even attribute to something like this. There wasn’t anything that he could think of that would explain their quick healing. It’s not like the black chalk or red chalk or even white chalk could have played a role, and Mr. Cosmo didn’t have much of a reason to try to heal them and Rudy and Penny had no time for that. Maybe Mr. Wilter? No, even that didn’t make any sense.

Snap forced himself to exhale and he shook his head slowly. “I-I don’t really… I-I mean…. I’m confused too, you know?” Snap swallowed hard as he lifted his head up. “There’s just so much that happened. I still feel horrible for my earlier lying, even if I was forced into it. I…” He shut his eyes lightly, trying to push his frustrations out but failing to do so. “I really am sorry.”

Rapsheeba let out a small sigh herself. “I know you are, Snap. I just….” She paused for several moments. She stayed silent like this for a while, causing Snap some worry that he still managed to piss her off into silence. Thankfully, she did start speaking again, although her tone of voice hadn’t changed much. “Now I can’t stop thinking about it.” She looked over at Snap with the corner of her eye. “Your obsession with Spy Fly…. It’s given me an idea.”

Snap watched her in silence, wondering just what she could be implying.

Rapsheeba said, “Perhaps she could tell us what might be going on. Perhaps she is the key to figuring out what the hell is going on here.” Rapsheeba’s eyes narrowed just slightly. “At least… That might be worth a shot. What do you think?”

Snap looked over at Spy Fly. He could feel a surge of emotion going through him. He could feel his heart starting to pump and he licked his lip slowly. He realized that this might not fully satisfy his willingness to take revenge on Spy Fly, but it would still be more productive and it was at least something. Spy Fly might be harboring important information. If she knew what could be wrong with his friends, then of course the best course of action was to try to get that information from her. But would she be willing to comply?

The only thing that he and Rapsheeba could do was just wait until she woke up and then try as soon as she was conscious. And if she refused to comply…

Snap was aware that Rapsheeba wouldn’t enjoy it, but he had to figure out a way to force Spy Fly to give them the information that they needed. Something told him, based on his earlier interactions with her, Spy Fly wasn’t going to give that information up so easily. But that was fine, for he, too, was rather stubborn.

sss

Something big. Something dark. Something scary. Something that was trying to get at him…

Rudy tried not to shudder in fear as he looked at the bizarre scene before him. A large winged….thing stood not that far from him, the area around it twisting and turning and churning about as though he was hallucinating. Dark shadows forged around it nonstop and it almost looked like a tornado was starting to form. Dark eyes stared right at him that pierced his soul. It was much bigger and much nastier than anything he’s seen before. It caused him to fear for his very life. Unlike the others, he didn’t know what kind of chance he stood against this one.

He brought his chalk up and held it in front of himself defensively. He growled lowly and he tried to make himself look more threatening. He took a few steps back as the beast drew in closer. He could feel his legs wobbling and he could feel his breath quickening. He could fele his heart pounding in his chest and he was feeling increasingly sick. But he didn’t want this monster to realize that he was afraid. He had to stand firm so that he could survive this.

“It is coming for you…”

“Brace yourself, child….”

Rudy listened to the voices around him. They were the only source of comfort that he had. He didn’t know how he got in this dreadful, twisted world. He didn’t know where these creatures had come from, and why some didn’t attack him right away like that earlier one. But what he did know was that he had some allies, or ally, to help him through it.

But even with this benevolent ally protecting him and offering him advice, Rudy still couldn’t fully shake off the fear that surrounded him and had him encased in something rigid and tight. He couldn’t push away the dreadful feeling of fearing an attack and he always had a tense body and his heart always felt like it was going to explode. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from what was happening in front of him and he couldn’t ignore the dark, twisted shadows all around him.

He took in several quick breaths as he saw the giant shadow in front of him twisting its neck around in what looked like an impossible way, transforming it to look almost like a spring, and then the head launched out at him, the jaws opening wide and he saw just how drippy and disgusting that it looked. Almost...unreal… Rudy had to shake his head once and move out of the way as those twisted dark jaws tried to chomp down on him. He flinched when he felt something wet falling on him. Then the head turned around and snarled at him, attempting to launch at him again.

Rudy narrowed his eyes and he spread his arms outward as he jumped back. He narrowed his eyes in determination, snarling through his own gritted teeth. He wasn’t going to let this beast get the better of him. He had to hold on and fight back. He already eliminated three threats. He just needed to fight harder and this one would be taken care of as well.

The beast seemed to grin at him, the wide, white eyes piercing into his soul, the teeth becoming longer and more jagged. Rudy couldn’t help but stare at the tips as they glinted and he couldn’t help but let out a small whimper. He raised his fists up as he prepared to strike. The beast let out a sound that was almost like laughter before launching itself at him. Rudy moved to one side just barely dodging the attack. Then he pulled his fist back and struck at it.

His eyes widened as he saw how his hand seemed to sink in. The thing felt really soft, but also wet and it was like it was becoming a smog cloud trying to suck him in. He let out a cry of fear and he pulled his hand back. He looked up at the best and continued to grit his teeth. He wasn’t about to give up. He just needed to draw something.

“Draw something…”

“Protect yourself…”

“You are the master here…”

Rudy narrowed his eyes in determination. The voices were absolutely right. Whatever this thing was, it didn’t have the same powers as he did. He could create anything to protect himself. He looked down at the chalk that he held in his hand. He slowly raised it up and he brought it down. The lines of what he was creating already came into full view, spreading through the air, slowly coming to life.

And before he knew it, he was holding something long and twisted, with something glowing at the tip. He quickly turned it on and he could hear the rushing of energy pumping along and creating what could best be described as a chainsaw. He could see how the light energy was moving along in a jagged pattern, making it look like there was an ever changing array of teeth just growing out of the thing. With this in hand, Rudy glared over at the beast and raised it up, making himself look ready for a fight.

The beast seemed a little unsure. It cringed and took a step back. But then it just spread itself out, looking larger as some kind of cape spread along it. He could see the mouth open wider as it let out a loud screech. Rudy could feel his muscles tightening up as he anticipated a fight.

But then one of the other shadow demons rushed over and looked like it was trying to stop the larger one from moving forward. What looked to be drippy hands were held straight up and the beast was shaking its head and moving about, as though to try to find a way through. But no matter what it tried, it simply could not get past this one smaller demon, who kept getting in its way. Then after a while, they both stopped.

Then this smaller demon, who somehow looked less threatening than the others, turned to face him. Rudy growled and took a step back. The face still looked menacing. The face still showed obvious signs of wanting to tear into him if he dare try to do anything. It was calmer, yes, but for all he knew, that just meant that it was going to take its time in tearing him apart.

Slowly the thing started to come towards him. Rudy readied his weapon, showing it to the demon. The thing still attempted to come over, moving along slowly. It raised its hands up, which weren’t any different from when that larger beast raised its...whatever up. Rudy had to brace himself for a fight and he kept his eyes glued to the thing coming towards him. He could feel emotion rushing through his body and his heart pounded heavily in his chest.

Yet despite all the adrenaline and emotion that was tearing him apart, he still managed to hold his ground, knowing that he had to do something in order to keep himself from getting hurt. If he didn’t, then how was he going to survive through this? He was not going to let this thing get the better of him. He wasn’t going to…

Then it started to move towards him at a faster rate. Rudy moved back, crouching, his body trembling, the weapon being held straight out. The thing stopped in its tracks, staring at the weapon with wide eyes. It took in a few deep breaths before it started to move back. It seemed to understand its position here. Rudy narrowed his eyes at this and he began to move forward towards it, trying to make it back up some more. It appeared to listen, but even after realizing this, Rudy didn’t stop. He just wanted to get it as far away from him as possible. It didn’t take him long before he broke into a run.

The thing ran back and appeared to trip on something. It fell into the ground and hit its head pretty painfully. It laid there and released a low, distorted groan. It looked up at him and it let out a few cries. They almost sounded like words. But Rudy couldn’t be bothered to figure out what they were. He just raised his chainsaw weapon up to strike down, wanting to eliminate another throat.

But he was pushed back by the larger one. He let out a pained grunt as something large struck him in the side. He flew off to the side and rolled painfully across the ground. He soon landed in a heap, his mouth filled with dirt and rocks. He spat them out and wiped his mouth with his arm slowly. He glared up at the large shadowy beast before him as he slowly rose up to his feet. So this thing still wanted a fight, eh?

Well fine. He’ll give it one. It wanted to eat him alive? It would have to beat him first.

The beast opened its mouth further open, almost looking like it was trying to dislocate it from its jaws. There was some kind of steam or mist coming out and the interior of the mouth appeared to glow some kind of sickening color. Rudy could feel himself becoming lost in the swirling mess inside and he could feel his arm weakening and lowering down what he held. He remained frozen for a few moments before he shook it off and he let out a snarl, rushing forward to meet head on with the creature.

He swung forward swiftly, just barely managing to hit the thing. He could see some kind of oily black subtance dripping down where its neck was. It was a small steady stream that faded away too quickly, making Rudy realize that he hadn’t really struck hard enough. With his teeth bared, he rushed over to try again, trying once more to swing at it. The beast moved its head to the side, causing Rudy to miss. Then the head struck forward at him, hitting him against his body. Rudy cried out in pain, but he still managed to strike down, and this time he sliced off something from the dark-colored beast.

As the thing screeched in agony and swung its head from side to side, Rudy got back up to his feet. He panted heavily as he held the weapon up, the tip of it now dripping in that disgusting blackness. The beast shook its head two more times before turning to snarl at him. Rudy’s legs wobbled with emotion and he had to take a few steps back. But it wasn’t going to be enough to stop him from fighting. This thing should have prepared itself for a fight if it really wanted to get at him.

The thing became stretchier than before. Rudy watched with horrified eyes as it began to wrap around him like some sort of possessed yo-yo. He tried to run back a little but now he found himself trapped. It was as though this thing was part snake and now he was boxed into a corner of sorts. The jaws opened wider and he could see the teeth practically straggling at the bottom as they reached even greater lengths. Rudy couldn’t tear his eyes away from them no matter what he did. All he could do was just stare in horror as the beast grew every closer to him. And those hideous eyes, they looked like they were starting to rip his soul out from his body and crunching it up inside. He felt a pain in his chest and he had to clutch it with his hand to keep it from falling apart.

“Don’t give up, boy… The battle isn’t over yet…”

“Don’t let fear control you… Fight back…”

“Strike…”

Rudy took in a few heavy breaths when the voices attempted to encourage him again. He looked down at his weapon and then back up at the beast. He continued to breathe heavily as he tried to calm himself down long enough to try to land another attack. But it didn’t seem to be working this time and his heart only twisted up tighter in his chest.

Meanwhile, the elongated, windy neck of the beast only moved forward, bringing its head in closer. Rudy could feel something hitting against his face and he realized it was the warm, stinky breath of the creature. Rudy’s heart increased its beating as he looked up, seeing just how massive this thing was up close. Rudy’s body shook even harder, a sense of fear crawling through his mind and burning through his skull. He realized that he would have to do something to defend himself and the first thing he thought of was…

WIthout warning, Rudy struck forward as hard as he could. He could hear the thing slicing into something. He could hear something snapping and breaking. He could hear flesh being ground up. And he could hear some loud scream sounding off, echoing in his ear. Then he just stood there, lowering the weapon to the ground, panting heavily as he felt a sense of relief coming over him.

He had done it. It was finally over. He didn’t have to worry about being attacked any longer. He didn’t need to…

Then he could hear the sound of something whimpering, yet it didn’t sound as distorted as before. In fact, it was becoming rapidly clear in his head. And it sounded eerily familiar.

It was then that he realized that his chain saw didn’t slice into the large shadow demon, but instead the smaller, less threatening one. And this whimpering was coming from it. He looked at it in confusion, noting how its eyes looked like they were more sorrowful than before, despite still being narrowed and glowing. There was just something about it that felt...sad. And that familiar whimpering…

Rudy felt his body immediately go rigid as a sense of horror struck through his body, causing his mouth to taste toxic. He struggled to take in a breath as he took a step back and stared at the demon in front of him. He didn’t want to believe it, but his raw emotions led him to believing the worst.

There was no way that this could be true. He must be seeing things. Something else had to be going on. This had to be some kind of sick twisted joke. He just didn’t want to believe that he had possibly...

With his throat’s muscles contracting, Rudy let out an anguished, horrified, and confused cry. “..P-Penny….?!”

sss

“Wait, bring her back! I need to speak to her!” Snap called out, reaching his hand forward. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t stop the nurse from having Spy Fly wheeled away. He could only just watch, his burned feet preventing him from trying to get up.

“I’m sorry, Snap, but we need to take a look at her. You all seemed to be recovering fine, though your healing rates have slowed back down to normal. But hers…” The nurse paused to suck on her lip nervously. She swallowed hard and she had to force herself to speak, “I think something else is going on with her. I need to make sure that she’s okay. Just say right here. She’ll be back before you know it.”

Snap wanted to say something, but Rapsheeba interrupted him. “Just let it go, Snap. We’ll just have to wait.”

Snap frowned at Rapsheeba, wondering why she had given up so easily. They could have kept talking with the doctor. They could have kept trying to make her keep Spy Fly here so that they could talk to her. They didn’t have a lot of time and this would only chug away at a good portion of time.

But how could he convince the nurse to let Spy Fly stay? It wasn’t like he could just tell them that he wanted to interrogate her. As much as he would have loved to just jump up and grab Spy Fly and flee, not only would that be difficult with his still charred feet, but he would also get into big trouble. He couldn’t do anything to help his friends if he did something like that. So he had no choice but to relent, sitting himself back down and grumbling softly as the nurse proceeded to wheel Spy Fly away.

Although he knew that she would be back, that didn’t do much to cheer him up. He had no idea how long this was going to take. He didn’t know how long that his friends had. There were so many factors at play here and he didn't know what he should expect. It caused him a headache and he had to grip his head tightly to try to keep himself from going too crazy. But he doubted he could ever fully, truly calm down.

“Snap, I know what you must be feeling right now. But you should try to put some faith in them.” Rapsheeba’s voice cut through his mind. Snap turned to stare at the singer zoner, his frown still plastered on his face. Rapsheeba did cringe a little at the sight of this, but she still pressed on. “It will be fine. I’m sure Rudy and Penny are handling themselves well enough.”

“I...want to believe you. I just…” Snap looked towards the ground. A whole slew of emotion struck him as he recalled his past emotions with Mr. Cosmo. He remembered what that man had done to him and he felt his blood start to shift into coldness. “Y-You were lucky you were….not in the right mindset. You didn’t have to e-e-experience what I had…” He swallowed hard and closed his eyes. “You didn’t see what he was capable of…”

Rapsheeba looked at him with great sympathy in her eyes. “I know I can’t begin to imagine what it was like for you, Snap. But I still hope that you can find the strength to hold on. We’ll find our friends and we’ll stop this Mr. Cosmo fellow. Don’t you worry.”

Snap wanted to be more optimistic like her. He wanted to truly believe that this would all be over that easily. But he had a cold, harsh reminder tingling in the back of his head, telling him that Mr. Cosmo was not that easy to deal with and how that man always seemed to have another trick up his sleeve. Snap knew that the man wasn’t someone that could be easily defeated and that it would take a lot of effort from whoever facing him to stop him. Even then, would it even be good enough?

Snap wanted to believe that Rudy and Penny could deal with him. He wanted to think that they were capable of handling one guy and drag him down. They had taken on other threats in the past. They could handle those. Surely, they could handle Mr. Cosmo.

...but Mr. Cosmo was another human. Another creator capable of drawing things into existence. And he had that big dog thing on his side. That Draow fellow….and that didn’t exactly make things that easy. Draow was a living, breathing game breaker and that creature knew it. Snap had a strong feeling that so long as Draow was there, Rudy and Penny weren’t going anywhere near Mr. Cosmo.

But he did still have some confidence for his friends. Even if they couldn’t beat the man, they might be able to at least hold him off. Maybe slow him down long enough for Spy Fly to relent important information. It was a long shot, sure, and it still came with its own problems. But it was still better than just sitting around here and moping about it. At least it was some kind of plan, even if not a really great one.

Snap suddenly froze as something shot through his head. Something burning and intense. Something that began to grow across his eyes, creating a sort of filter. He could feel his body going tense for a moment and everything started to feel tingly. His sight went dark for several seconds, leaving him in confusion as he looked around.

“S-Snap…?”

Snap turned his head quickly in Rapsheeba’s direction. The swift movement cleared his vision up, making it look almost like a dark cloud was leaving his eyes, and the weird feeling he had just then seemed to be gone for the time being. He looked downward for a moment before shaking his head once and spluttering softly, “I-I’m fine… I think…”

Rapsheeba furrowed her eyes at this, tilting her head to one side. It was clear that she didn’t believe what he was telling her. “You mind trying that again? You really zoned out there for a moment and I don’t mean that in a punny, funny way.” She softened her expression a little. “Just tell me what happened.”

Snap tried his best to smile. He didn’t want her to worry about him. “I-It was nothing, really. I just..spaced out a little.” He put his hand to his head. “I-It might have been the medicine. Yeah, that’s what it was.”

“Snap…” Rapsheeba hissed softly. “I’m not stupid. Tell me what….” Suddenly her eyes widened and she took in a sharp gasp. “S-Snap, I…” She slowly raised her hand up and she moved it towards Snap, her finger pointing. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What are you talking about? I said I was fine!” Snap folded his arms to his chest. “You’re acting as if I…” Snap turned his gaze downward and when he did, he immediately noticed that something didn’t look right about his arm. He let his voice trail off into an airy wisp as he lifted his arm up and turned it around to inspect. What was different about his arm? He just….

Wait.. This..didn’t look right..

His arm outline, some of it had started to become shaded in….red? But how was this possible? Why would this…

His eyes widened in horror as a terrifying flashback had him in its vice grip. He swallowed hard and he whispered one thing.

“Oh no…”

Snap slowly looked over at Rapsheeba as reality started to settle in. He struggled to breathe, constantly gulping, nearly choking on his own saliva. He could see her own look of fear and he tried to say something encouraging. All he really ended up doing was just tripping over his unformed words. He looked down and he could see that the redness had started to spread.

A sense of horror immediately shot through his body. He felt goosebumps spreading and nausea spreading throughout his stomach. He gripped at his throat tightly, as though that was the only thing that kept him from releasing his stomach contents. He forced himself to look back at Rapsheeba. As he did, he could sense some kind of red vision covering his own. A few tears began to stroll down his face as he realized what this was going to mean.

“Rapsheeba, I’m so sorry, I...” Snap started to say. He was cut off in the middle of his sentence as his head suddenly jerked back and forward, straining his neck almost to the breaking point. He gritted his teeth tightly and he seethed heavily. When he managed to open his eyes up again, everything was red and only one thought echoed in his mind.

Attack.


	59. Break Free

Everything around him started to spin, a swirling vortex of a mess invading his head. He could feel his stomach trying to pull him into the ground, trying to make him collapse and throw up. He could feel his breathing increase and decrease irregularly. He could feel a bile clinging to his throat and making him want to lurch.

Rudy wasn’t sure how long he had stood there. The dark shadows around him didn’t attempt to come forward, leaving him to look at the fallen one before him. He licked his lips slowly and he forced himself to take a few steps closer. He had no idea if what he was seeing was real. He didn’t want to think that this was possible. The idea caused him to feel his chest fluttering, his heart skipping several beats. But he couldn’t deny what he was now seeing and he could feel his chest tightening up further at the realization.

The moment that he had realized that this voice sounded like Penny, everything started to melt around him, mostly the small demon’s body, which began to distort and change. Rudy kept staring at the face and he could feel himself gasping sharply upon realizing that he began to recognize it. Familiar features started to form. Even though no glasses came, that didn’t change the fact that this really was…

“Penny...I..” Rudy whispered as he dropped down onto his knees. He stared intently at the fallen body before him. He could see the blood seeping out of her from the side wound he had given her. The blood looked more and more red as the seconds passed. This caused Rudy to swallow hard and he cringed back. “I-I didn’t mean to… I..”

Rudy clutched his head tightly when he felt a sudden pain clinging to his skull. It was like someone had taken something heavy and struck him with it. He flinched as he felt himself being pushed downward. He fought against the invisible sack that he could feel on his back, sweat moving down his face. But no matter how much he fought against it, he had a feeling that he was going to collapse at any moment. It wouldn’t take long before he felt his limbs slip and he hit the ground painfully.

But against all odds, he still managed to hold himself up. He shut his eyes tightly as the feelings began to grow increasingly intense. He felt something jolting through his body and he growled through bared teeth. He forced his eyes to open and he looked forward at nothingness for a few seconds. Then he shifted his gaze from side to side as he tried to find whoever was trying to keep him down.

Everything had grown darker once more and he no longer could see or hear Penny. A part of him started to wonder if she had been there at all or if he was just seeing things. Had he just been so desperate to see his friends that his panicking mind manifested them? It was possible. But it still felt so real… He just couldn’t dismiss it so easily.

“There was nothing…”

“Just lies…”

“Don’t listen… White chalk trick…”

“Your friend is not here…”

Rudy listened to these voices, to their every word. But while before they seemed benevolent, now they had a different tone. It was a subtle shift, but not something that he overlooked. They seemed a bit...desperate. This was not something that he would have expected from something supposedly trying to help him. What if there was something more going on here?

“Why don’t you trust us anymore…?”

“Haven’t we served you well…?”

“We only wish to keep you safe…”

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly, seething as he continued to clutch his head tightly. This felt all the more awkward and painful as he was doing this while still holding the piece of chalk, which pressed uncomfortably against his finger. He swung his head from side to side, scrambling to get back from..whatever was holding him down. He could feel his feet slipping underneath him. He could feel things starting to get heavier. His vision distorted further, but even with how increasingly terrifying everything looked, he could still see some hint of Penny’s face on that recent shadow he had attacked. Soon he had moved so far that his previous weapon that he had dropped was out of range.

He could feel his body starting to tremble and he licked his lips slowly, swallowing and trying to digest what he’s seeing around him. He began to wonder what was actually here. Was he really surrounded by twisted shadows? Had they really been moving like he thought they were? It was likely that it was all just a trick to fool him into fighting back…..but it could also be a trick to keep him locked in this hell…

Narrowing his eyes into slits, Rudy let out a low growl and he started to push himself up against a nearby wall. His hand still clutched at the chalk, tighter than ever. He could feel some sharp pain in his head the moment that he started to scrape his hand along the wall. Something was trying to compel him to stop. But out of raw instinct, Rudy kept ramming himself against the wall, pulling himself back, rubbing his hand up to it and ignoring the pain as he tried to rub the chalk out of his hand.

It had to be this chalk. There was something dangerous about it. Something evil that was distorting his mind and thoughts. He had to fight against it. He had to try to regain self control. No matter what it took. He just…

But then another sharp pain and he fell into the ground. He took in several trembling breaths as he clutched his hand to himself. He could see his vision darkening around him and he could see more creatures coming. They were starting to surround him, giving him no place to go. Rudy looked left and right constantly, hoping for a way out of here. But nothing would come. He was stuck here.

“We are trying to help you….”

“Don’t make us do anything to hurt you…”

“We love you, unlike them…”

“The monsters will get you… They will tear you apart…”

“Please listen to us.. We only want to keep you safe…”

“Listen…. Listen…”

Rudy could feel himself growing weaker by the second. He laid on the ground on his side, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He looked out in one direction, seeing nothing but more creatures coming at him, their bodies twisting and turning, looking increasingly grotesque as time passed. Rudy shut his eyes tightly as he tried to push those thoughts away, swallowing hard as he imagined what they would do to him if he wasn’t careful.

“We will not let harm be brought to you…”

“The monsters will never reach you… Just trust in us…”

Yes… Perhaps he should do that. He had felt safe before. These voices had proven their word. The monsters couldn’t get to him. Maybe him seeing Penny was nothing more than an optical illusion, a trick by these things to get him to stop attacking so that they could come in and…

Rudy shook his head once. No, he wasn’t going to let them get the better of him like that. He wasn’t going to allow them to get into his head and twist his mind. He wasn’t going to let these things hurt him or his friends. He was going to keep fighting. And that thing on the ground, that wasn’t Penny. That was just some twisted monster trying to fool him. How disgusting… Rudy gripped the chalk tightly and he climbed up to his feet. The previous weight holding him down and vanished.

“That’s right…”

“Stop them…”

“Make it pay…”

Rudy gritted his teeth as he started to run towards the fallen shadow. He didn’t have a weapon with him, but it didn’t matter. He would fucking tear the thing apart with his bear hands if he had to. He just kept running over, fists closed tightly, and he released a yell as he began to launch an attack. When he got up close enough, his fists clenched tighter, anticipating a fight. Then he started to launch himself at the pitiful thing, his eyes blazing with emotion.

That is, until he felt something ramming into him like a soft battering ram, flinging him several feet away.

“Stop it, Master Tabootie! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!”

Rudy let out a small groan as he pushed himself up from the ground. He clutched the chalk tightly in his hand, not wanting to lose it. He lifted his head and he turned to see who had attacked him. While the voice sounded familiar, the shape did not. Something round yet stretchy with bright white glowing eyes, both of which stared right into his soul. Baring his teeth and giving a few hard pants, Rudy climbed up to his feet slowly.

The round shape seemed to be a little watery, like something was dripping from it. It was like it was surrounded with water despite there being no fluids around here. Rudy didn’t pay attention to those details, however, and he just glared intently at the thing, taking a few steps back from it. The thing began to get closer. Rudy felt his teeth grinding up together tightly, and he let out a low growl, hoping to warn the thing from attacking.

But why was he even bothering to try? This thing couldn’t think; it just wanted to tear into him. Rudy had to defend himself. And there was really only one way how.

With the chalk raised up, Rudy began to make a mad dash towards the beast. It might not be as big as the other one, but it was still obviously dangerous. There was no way that this giant, sharp-lined maw and those glowing eyes could mean anything but danger. If Rudy wasn’t careful, he was going to get himself hurt, or even torn apart. And he could not allow that to happen.

The thing seemed to react to him coming closer. It raised its...something up, long and twisted and drippy, and it struck forward at him. Rudy had to twist himself around to avoid getting hit. But even then, he felt something striking him in the side. He flinched and he panted, feeling blood moving down his side. He did his best to ignore the pain and he started to move towards the thing again. He began to draw something with the chalk. He didn’t know what. Just anything to try to stop this thing from hurting him.

But the creature reacted faster than he had intended. Before he knew it, the thing that sounded like Skrawl rammed into him. He could feel his feet slipping as he moved backwards rapidly, and he had to fight to keep himself standing up. He growled at this and seethed in pain. It would seem this creature was more intelligent than he thought.

Rudy wasn’t about to back down, however. Despite what this round Skrawl-sounding thing did, he wasn’t yet ready to just curl up and quit. He was going to keep fighting back. If this thing wanted him, it was not going to get him without a good fight. Just like the last one…

The roundish monster immediately rushed at him again. Rudy felt himself cringe and tense up, but he did not run. He watched as it got closer and closer to him. The shadow that it created stretched over him, feeling like a separate entity. Rudy could feel himself being weighed down by it and he was pushed back a little. He could feel a cold shudder going through his body and something icy seemed to shoot out everywhere.

Yet he still did not quit.

Rudy just need to keep on trying. He just needed to keep going. No matter what happened, no matter what obstacle came in his way, he just couldn’t quit. He attempted once more to draw. There was little else that he could do. Just draw and hope for the best. And that’s exactly what he did.

Or at least, he tried. The moment that he raised his hand up to do anything, he could feel something striking at his hand. He felt a wave of something stinging spreading throughout and he cried out in pain. He flinched and he moved back, looking at his hand. It did not take him long to realize that the chalk was gone, leaving him defenseless. Rudy could feel a jolt of fear moving through him and he could feel his body shaking, horror rising up in his stomach. He held onto his stomach and he tried not to vomit as he made his way to grab the chalk once more.

“Oh no you don’t!” The voice sounding like Skrawl called out. Rudy could feel himself being struck again and knocked away. As he hit the ground painfully, he could hear the imposter calling out, “You’re not going to get another chance to try that on me!”

Rudy seethed through clenched teeth as he forced himself up. He glared intensely at the thing standing before him as he climbed up to his feet. He moved forward and back, wobbling a little as he did so. He wiped himself off and his hands and arms as well. Then he began to make his way back over, determined to stop this thing no matter the cost.

But upon taking a few steps, something suddenly shattered all around him, the horrible sounds echoing in his head. His eyes bulged wide open and he let out a small cry of pain. He gripped his head tightly and his teeth ground together as he tried to ride out the pain. He dropped onto his knees and he leaned forward. He felt pain as his fingers dug into his scalp. His ‘vision’ burst into many dark colors before he forced his eyes to slowly open up.

And when he had, he saw something transpire before him that he wasn’t expecting, nor could he describe.

Everything was starting to peel away. The shadows were slowly being vanquished, banished somewhere else. He could see them dripping up and down and in all directions. The dark visor of his vision was slowly lifted up, causing colors to become brighter and more noticeable. The unusual pressure he had been feeling was melting away, along with his sense of terror. He could feel his heart rate returning to normal and his breathing became more eased.

That was when everything crashed down at him at once. That was when he saw that he hadn’t actually been where he thought he was. That was when he realized that the scream from before, and the other familiar voice….they weren’t tricks…

Rudy’s eyes flew open in horror when he saw just who he had been fighting. Skrawl was standing a bit further away from him, covered in wounds, many of them burn-related, fighting against the pain as he glared at him intently. Rudy couldn’t tell how much of those wounds were caused by him or not. And then he could see Draow, who stood aside and was snarling at him. Rudy was not too surprised by this, but at the same time, he was still horrified by how he had perceived the winged wolf just a little while ago.

And that small shadow from before… The one that he had attacked…

Rudy slowly turned his head towards where he knew that ‘small demon shadow’ would be and when he finally laid eyes on that spot, he gasped and his hands flew to his mouth. His heart tightened and nearly exploded in emotion. His body shuddered several times. His blood temperature dropped drastically.

It was Penny… Just as he had feared..

Rudy couldn’t stop staring at what lay before him. Penny was on her side, barely moving. Her breathing looked and sounded really shallow and she had her eyes just barely open. She was looking up at him, but it was hard to tell if she could even see him. Her vision was glassy and there had been a lot of blood that came out of her, as evidenced by the small smokey dent that she had inadvertently made with her blood.

Rudy stared at her long and hard, continuing to shake and tremble as he realized what he had done. He looked down at his hands, seeing them quake. He imagined Penny’s blood on them and he imagined the weapon that he had been holding. That horrible chainsaw that he made, it had been used to…. Rudy let out a small choked cry as he covered his face for a few moments to release a small whimper.

He didn’t stand there for much longer. Without thinking, Rudy rushed over to Penny’s side. He dropped down beside her, holding his shaky hands out towards her. He hovered them over her for a few moments before he stopped and pulled himself back, biting his lip. He couldn’t just… Not after he had…

But he couldn’t abandon Penny in her time of need. He needed to try to do something for her. He needed to… He swallowed hard as he reached down slowly towards the barely conscious Penny. He could hear her whimper, likely fearing that he was going to hurt her. He wrapped his arms around her and he gently cradled her. He stared down at her face and he stroked her hair gently.

“I’m sorry, Penny..” Rudy whispered. “I’m so very sorry.. Please forgive me…” With that, he pressed Penny firmly against himself and he started to cry softly.

sss

Mr. Cosmo seethed as he rubbed his head firmly. He couldn’t believe that rotten, cheap move that stupid jellybean pulled off. He looked down at his hand to make sure there was no blood. Despite there being nothing, he still could smell and feel blood moving down him. He growled at this before he turned his head to see what was going on.

Oh no…. It couldn’t be…. His eyes widened in horror when he saw Rudy holding his friend….while the black chalk wasn’t in his hand. Then he turned his gaze to where Skrawl was, his hand slightly raised as though to show that he was the one who did it. Why that little…

Mr. Cosmo felt further confusion when he saw that Draow wasn’t doing anything to stop it. He was just standing there, as if nothing was going on. Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes into slits. Draow better off a good explanation for all of this. He knew the consequences of….

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened as he felt something striking against him. His eyes filled with pain and he screamed as he could feel another burning bite entering his flesh, this time around his left arm. Mr. Cosmo scrambled to get back, trying his best to knock Bardot off of him. Trying to land a blow while having no depth perception wasn’t easy and he kept missing. It took a while before he could land any kind of blow and even then, it didn’t do as much damage as he would have liked.

Bardot moved away from him, giving him a twisted smile, his tail raising up straight. The tip of it began to twitch from side to side. The zoner opened his mouth as if to speak, only to start running at him again. Mr. Cosmo braced himself for the attack, but he ended up limping a little, flinching from the pain. He grabbed onto his burnt shoulder and seethed, closing his eyes. By the time his working eye reopened, he could see a flash of yellow and red and then he started to tumble backwards.

Before he could try to get up, he felt something landing on his chest. He could feel the air pushing out of his chest and he struggled to take in another breath. He glared up at Bardot, who sneered down at him with that hideous smile. Before he could try to say anything, the fuzzball covered his mouth with his paw.

“Oh no… You don’t get to speak first. I have something I want to tell you…” Bardot growled softly, though the smile remained on his face. “I think you might quite agree with what I’m about to say.”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes as he glared at the zoner before him. He wanted to struggle, but something prevented him from moving. Was it fear? Was it something else? Whatever it was, it prevented him from striking out at the zoner and getting him off. So all he could do was just force himself to listen to Bardot’s words.

Bardot chortled, “You think you’re so clever, don’t you...creator..”

Mr. Cosmo didn’t reply. What could he say to this thing? It wasn’t like he was going to listen. He could see the look in his eyes and the way that he was smiling. So twisted and disgusting… Mr. Cosmo could just feel everything oozing down his face and into the air like something was being radiated from him.

But despite that, he didn’t let himself show fear. No, that’s what this thing would want him to do. Even without the black chalk in hand, he still felt its encouragement. He could feel its energy pumping through him and he could feel adrenaline joining in, gradually giving him the strength to attempt to strike the zoner. His fist sailed through the air and he could feel it hitting against the zoner’s neck side, making him bend over and twist from the force of the blow. His green eyes widened from surprise for a moment only to return to normal. He twisted his body in the air almost like a cat and he landed not too far away. His claws scraped the ground as he got himself to stop, ending up a few feet away.

Bardot looked up at him and chuckled, as if the whole thing was just an amusement thing for him. His ears pricked forward as he gave a dark chuckle, saying, “But you and I both know the truth, right? You’re just a scared little kid, still running with your tail tucked between your legs…” Bardot started to make his way closer to the man, his eyes slowly narrowing. “Am I right, Teddy…?”

Mr. Cosmo scrambled to get away from the zoner, crawling backwards on his hands and feet. He tried to move quicker and quicker, feeling a small tinge of fear gripping his heart when the tiny zoner kept getting too close. He soon could feel himself pushing up against a wall and he pressed himself against it, breathing in and out heavily.

Bardot grinned at this. “I’m right, I see… Just a little coward who is too afraid of the ‘little monsters running around in his closet’...” Bardot let out another chuckle before his eyes started to narrow a little further and some of his anger began to rise up in the forefront. “You’re exactly why this world sucks. People like you...coming in here, creating a mess of things… The red chalk was going to change that. But you abused it too, didn’t you?”

“You know why I had to do it. I created you!” Mr. Cosmo began to push himself upwards. He slipped a few times, but he still managed to crawl up anyway, standing back up to his feet. “I-I had to do it…. I had to try… I-It was the only way to…”

“By creating me, an abomination?!” Bardot snapped at him. His voice raised several levels and Mr. Cosmo was stunned that it didn’t cause anything break off and fall down. He didn’t look to see if anyone else was watching. He could only stare at Bardot, panting heavily. “You forced two chalk types to work together in unison when they weren’t supposed to! And you created me out of that mess! Do you have any idea what that was like?! Two halves pulling away from each other?! I’m always in pain and it’s because of you!”

Mr. Cosmo stared at the zoner with increasingly widening eyes. He tried to think of what he could say or do, but nothing would come to his head. He was just panting and struggling to keep breathing. He had never seen Bardot this pissed off at him before. It was quite obvious that all the anger he had felt for him before was rising up to the surface. Nothing he did or said was going to get him out of it.

And besides, this thing could be bluffing anyway. That’s how all zoners were, right? Nothing but lying, cheating monsters who would do anything to get what they wanted. He had little reason to believe Bardot’s claims regarding pain. He didn’t back then and he didn’t now. So why should he change that?

He tried to think of what he was going to do. Despite his previous thoughts, he wasn’t about to tango with this guy. He could feel the echoes of pain still spreading throughout his body. He took a step back, or rather he would have tried to if he had any room at all to do so. His only option was to glare at this guy and hope that he would back down. But considering who this was, he knew the chances of that would be very low.

Mr. Cosmo did little to hide the fear that painted over his face when Bardot raised his paw up. The zoner struck forward, looking intent on hurting him. Mr. Cosmo had to move himself to the side to avoid getting hit. The man flinched when he could hear the sound of scraping rock, realizing that it easily could have been him. Then Bardot retracted his paw and looked at it. He leaned in and gave it a small lick. Somehow, even that seemingly benign action looked threatening.

Bardot stared up at him, tilting his head a little and just showing how smug he looked. This sharp contrast to his anger from before was rather unsettling. It was enough to make the man swallow out of fear, genuinely wondering just what Bardot wanted to do with him.

“But you know...even after all that you’ve done to me… I think I can find it in my heart to forgive you.”

Mr. Cosmo frowned at this. Like hell he was going to believe any words that a zoner told him. Why should he? After what they had tried to do to him…

His eyes widening upon realization, he started to look around frantically for a piece of black chalk. He needed some encouragement. He needed some help. The black chalk wouldn't let him down. It never had before. Mr. Cosmo sought out the nearest one and he attempted to go get it….only for a set of teeth to bite him in the leg, causing him to scream.

Screaming in agony, Mr. Cosmo felt himself falling down and he thought he could feel something twist and nearly break. He fought back the tears forming in his eyes as he collapsed into the ground. He tried to move his leg. At this point, it was burned to an almost useless state. There was no way he was going to be able to get away that easily. With his eyes shining terror, he looked over at Bardot, who was pacing in front of him, looking at him silently like he were judging him.

“You’re so stupid, trying to run away from your problems.” Bardot raised his paw up and looked at his claws. “You allow fear to control you, instead of trying to see the bigger picture. But that’s fine… You know what they say..” Bardot hunched himself down lowly, his smile broadening in an almost sickening way. “Fear before the fall…”

Mr. Cosmo could hear just how deep and growly the zoner’s voice got at that and he could feel his heart skipping several beats. He could feel himself gulping and he tried to get back up to his feet. But he only slipped and fell back down. He could feel himself hitting his head against something hard. The pain bounced through his skull and reverberated inside of it. He soon could feel a paw pressing against it and pushing his head back down. He could hear Bardot’s hot breath against his ear, making his heart rate speed up.

“You know what that means, don’t you? I’ve been wanting to use it on you for years. This is my way of ‘forgiving you’.” Hissed the hybrid zoner. “You taught me about this, how in the end, your fear will kill you. You told me this when you were using me like a weapon. And now, I get to share it with you. Aren’t you so lucky?”

The red-haired man could only grit his teeth tightly, flinching at the zoner before turning his head to look away. Whatever Bardot was about to do, he couldn’t stop it. All he could do was just accept this blow and hope that he could fight back another way.

Bardot said, “It would be a shame to have this end so suddenly, dear Teddy. But don’t worry… This won’t take long. I won’t…”

The yellow and red zoner suddenly clammed up, his whole body going tense and his head looking around frantically. Mr. Cosmo stared at him in confusion. He then realized that everyone else, even Rudy who had finally lifted his head up, was turning their gaze about in confusion. And Draow was shivering as if terrified of whatever was coming. But what could’ve frightened even Draow…

His thoughts trailed off when a loud crash rippled through the chamber.


	60. Aerial Battle

How was this possible? There was no way that he could be… He had watched him die long ago. He had seen the thing expire before his very eyes. How was it possible that he was standing here before him, looking alive and well? Just what the hell was going on here?

Mr. Cosmo hadn’t turned his gaze away from the scene before him. The massive creature hadn’t make any sort of move other than landing in here. The dust from the weight of its descent still filled the air, causing some blurred visions and difficulty breathing, as indicated by hearing the others coughing and spluttering. Mr. Cosmo, on the other hand, was hardly reacting to this. His eyes just kept staring at the large zoner that had just arrived, his mouth having dropped open in shock, unable to close.

This was… The only one that it could be was… But that was impossible. He told himself over and over again, this thing died long ago. He still had vivid memories of the thing breathing the final breath before passing out forever. He couldn’t fathom just how…

But there was no denying it. He couldn’t lie to himself forever.

This was, indeed, Tsere.

Mr. Cosmo could feel himself whispering that name under his breath. “Ts-Tsere…?” He swallowed hard as he took a few steps back. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest heavily. He could see those eyes staring back at him. Those disgusting red eyes and…

...wait, red eyes? Didn’t Tsere have green eyes? Or maybe yellow? He couldn’t remember specifically, but one color that he knew that it could not be was red. So how did this…

Mr. Cosmo felt something sharp twisting inside of him. There was a thought that rushed through his mind. There was a thought that just might explain this, but a part of him wasn’t sure if he wanted to accept it. He didn’t think that Mr. Wilter would ever try to… He had been so opposed to that. The very idea was unsettling to think about. Sure, Mr. Cosmo himself might not be bothered, but he knew how Mr. Wilter was, that disgusting zoner lover. Why would he….ever wanted to do something like this?

He turned his head up and he could see that Mr. Wilter was on the back of the large pterosaur. He was still as battered and bruised and broken as he had left him, only this time, he held a piece of white chalk and he laid prone on the back of his new creation. Or rather, a remake of his old creation. He could see the look of regret tingling in the old man’s eyes, confirming his suspicions.

“So…” Mr. Cosmo said once he gained enough courage to speak. “Y-You tell me...why I shouldn’t just create zoners like an assembly line… You know, the whole out with the old and in with the new crap. But look at you!” Mr. Cosmo motioned to the large pterosaur sitting there. “You created this thing to replace your best friend!” A sickening smile spread along his face. “Is that how you think of him? That he’s just replaceable? Congratulations on figuring that part out.”

Mr. Wilter didn’t make any sort of attempt to reply. He looked a bit weak right there. Mr. Cosmo frowned at this lack of speech, but he did get something from Tsere, or rather, the new Tsere. He got a loud hiss directed at him, the zoner’s mouth splitting wide open and the beak looking sharper than ever before. Mr. Cosmo had to jump back as he feared getting pecked at. Mr. Wilter’s skills improved since he was a child, that’s for sure.

Mr. Cosmo tensed his body up, gritting his teeth. He was still defenseless and Mr. Wilter had white chalk with him. He could sense the black chalk all around him practically hissing in disapproval, wanting it out. Mr. Cosmo knew that there was plenty of black chalk here for him to draw for a long time, even if most of it was destroyed before. But he could not easily make a break for it. He had little doubt in his mind that this Tsere 2.0 thing was told by Mr. Wilter to keep him away from the stuff.

Mr. Cosmo backed up when Tsere 2.0 started to move a little closer towards him. He spread his wings outward, making himself look big and in charge. He was so drawn in by the looks of this thing, and the way that he was looking at him, that he couldn’t tell what the others were doing. He didn’t see where Skrawl was moving to or if Rudy was even watching. He was drawn into this ‘world’ where he was just...locked in place.

Tsere 2.0 let out another hiss and he raised his wing up, the three sharp claws on his hand pointing right down at him. He tensed up at this, seeing the sharp glints indicating just how ready they were to rip him apart. Mr. Cosmo instinctively raised his hands up to protect himself, expecting the blow to come any second.

That was when he felt a shadow casting over him and a low warning growl emanating in the air. Mr. Cosmo opened his eyes and looked up to see Draow standing there, positioning himself protectively between his creator and the reborn Tsere. Draow’s ears were flattened and there seemed to be a bit of fear in his eyes, as if he remembered the last time that he took this guy one and how it went.

But despite that, Draow still stood in front of him, showing no signs of attempting to move. He kept himself in a fighting stance, and his mouth was open to show his lips curling back, exposing more of his sharp teeth. Draow’s tail switched from side to side in agitation, the fur on it starting to become more poofed up and almost pointy. If Mr. Cosmo didn’t know any better, he would have sworn that touching it would be like touching a porcupine. He would have sworn that he would have needles sticking in his skin.

There was a good sign to all of this. If Draow was acting this way, and if he was not willing to back down, that meant that he himself had an increased chance of surviving. Draow had been loyal to him always before and had saved him from many obstacles. He would be able to take care of this one. At least, long enough for him to come up with a plan, that is.

Mr. Cosmo knew that, if he wanted a chance to regroup and come up with a better plan to deal with this, he needed to leave now. He didn’t really know how long Draow would be able to hold Tsere 2.0 back. He didn’t know just how much time he truly had. With everyone distracted, now seemed like the perfect time to try to get away for a little bit. Head back into his base and find one of his old weapons or maybe even gather up some people. Just...something to help him triumph over this threat before it was too late.

Mr. Cosmo took one more look at the standoff between Draow and Tsere 2.0 before he turned and attempted to bolt away. There was a bit of a pause at first when he nearly ran into Skrawl. He felt a sharp pain in his remaining eye as he remembered how Skrawl ripped out the other. He put his hand to his face for a moment before he jerked himself away to move in another direction. He thought he could see Skrawl reaching out to attack him, but something stopped him. What was it? Oh, who cares? He just needed to get out of here. So he kept on running.

sss

Skrawl growled under his breath as the human fled off, heading towards the rope that still hung towards the ground. Skrawl could feel his stomach burning as he saw his prey starting to get away. As Mr. Cosmo quickly ascended the rope as if he had done this many times, the jellybean zoner whipped his head to glare at who had stopped him.

“What the hell did you do that for?! I thought you wanted…!”

Bardot raised his paw up to silence him. “Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” Bardot said with a smile. “He wants to go back to the Real World, right? He can’t draw anything in the Real World…” Bardot grinned at this. It seemed like his implications were clear.

Except for one thing.

“You know he can just douse you with water, right?” Skrawl cocked up an eyebrow. “How are you going to deal with that?” He raised his hand up in gesture, flexing his claws a little. “It sounds like to me that you haven’t really thought that far ahead. Sure, you could get him there, but he can get you far more easily.”

Bardot blinked a few times. He frowned a little as he turned his head to one side, raising a paw up to scratch his chin. It seemed like he was realizing the problem here. He rubbed the underside of his jaw thoughtfully a few times. Skrawl expected it to end with Bardot just shifting his plans toward something else.

But instead, Bardot just put his foot down and smiled with an almost burning confidence. “Then I will just have to be quicker than him.”

Skrawl narrowed his mismatched eyes at this, snorting softly. Bardot might have injured the man, but he was still more than capable of finding ways to defend himself. He should have just let him deal with him instead of letting him run off and escape. Just what had this little idiot been thinking? Or was he thinking at all?

But he knew that there was little that he could do to change the zoner’s mind. And this wasn’t his primary goal, anyway. He did get his revenge on Mr. Cosmo. He had made him suffer for how he had used him like a toy. There was little more reason for him to go after the man. But there was still someone else who was on his goal list. There was still someone else for whom he could take care of.

Rudy…

The jellybean zoner turned his head to glare at the young boy not far. He hadn’t reacted much to what was going on, his grief towards his friend remaining too strong, keeping him pulled in and oblivious for the most part to the danger around him. Skrawl realized that this would be the perfect chance to get rid of him. It would be so easy as well. All he had to do was sneak up on the boy and slice his throat with his claws. Then he would be rid of him for good. And as for Penny, well she was too far gone anyway. He needn’t do anything except perhaps speed things up a little.

And yet something kept him from taking a step in that direction. Something inside of his mind and chest tightened and stung him each time he thought of going that far. He wasn’t sure where such thoughts were coming from. But he was reminded of how he had still tried to save Penny from Rudy and….

But no, that wasn’t…. His intentions weren’t… He still wanted to…

Skrawl rubbed his head and growled through gritted teeth. His burn wounds stung more profusely now, feeling like they were staring to glow and become more prominent. He couldn’t ignore it nor could he just pretend that earlier moment didn’t happen. He had wanted to lie to himself, bury it all underneath. But he couldn’t deny that his previous actions didn’t make a lot of sense.

That is, unless he was…

Skrawl still tried to fight against the notion. He still wanted to act as if he still wanted to just get rid of them. Things would be a lot better off without them. He didn’t need them to be great. He didn’t need a creator to be somebody. His creator just held him back. His creator gave him no purpose. This was his way of creating his own purpose in life. He needed to move on, and the best way to do that was by getting rid of this stupid child.

...but if that had truly been what he really wanted, then why hadn’t he taken any of those chances that he had in the past? He had come close a few times, yet he never reacted quickly enough. Was it just bad luck, or was a part of him actually...hesitant to kill the two humans? The idea seemed like poppycock to him, and yet it would still explain things better than he had realized.

Skrawl managed to shake the thoughts out of his head long enough to notice that Bardot was already walking away. Skrawl blinked a few times before snarling softly at this. A part of him felt infuriated that this thing would dare ignore him like that. Didn’t he realize what…

No, he didn’t, did he? And why should that bother Skrawl? He had much bigger targets to take care of first. He might not know precisely what he was going to do. But anything was better than standing here and watching Bardot’s behind as the zoner started to walk away from him, heading in the same direction that Mr. Cosmo had gone in.

Skrawl furrowed his eyes at this for a few moments before turning his attention back to where Rudy and Penny were. He stared at them intently and began to walk towards them.

Not far behind him, he could hear the sound of fighting. Draow and whatever that new thing was were fighting against one another. He could hear the clashing, the growls and snarls, the snapping of jaws and teeth and beaks. He could hear the yelps and cries as one managed to land a blow on the other. And all the while, it seemed like that one human, the one that he had seen on the newcomer zoner’s back, managed to cling on. What a miracle that was, he thought sarcastically.

But none of that would delay him for much longer as he approached Rudy. He could feel a mixture of emotions rising up inside of him, bouncing around inside of his head. He clutched at his head a few times, pounding against it to try to get rid of these feelings. He then tried to push it off as if it were nothing and soon he found himself standing in front of Rudy. He could not remember the steps between that.

Rudy was not paying attention to him. He was just staring down at Penny, making those awful sounds that he recognized as crying. Skrawl tried to shake it out of his head and ignore this while he got ready to strike. He was very close. Rudy was not paying attention. Or if he was, he didn’t seem to care. He could just sense the guilt the boy was feeling. That would distract him long enough for him to strike in just the right spot. Then everything would work out just fine for him. He would see to that.

But when Skrawl attempted to strike, something happened that he didn’t think would.

He froze. Not because Rudy was looking up at him. Something inside of him was blocking his movements, like an invisible hand had grown out of the air, out of nowhere, and was squeezing him tightly. Skrawl couldn’t even bring himself to speak to get Rudy’s attention. He just watched and listened to the boy whimpering over Penny and pleading for her forgiveness. There was something about this disgusting scene that caused something to snap inside of Skrawl.

The jellybean zoner realized that he just...couldn’t bring himself to do anything. He felt his arm dropping down to his side and he just...released a low growl of frustration. Why couldn’t he do this? He couldn’t possibly be…

His train of thought was cut off when he saw Rudy was now looking up at him. They stared at one another for several moments. Rudy was silent and hardly reacted to him being there. It was almost as if he had expected him to be there and was accepting of whatever fate was in store for him. Skrawl could see just how much guilt was really shining in his eyes when he could see a good glimpse of it directly himself. The sight of it nearly made Skrawl cringe and he had to fight against the nausea climbing within the deepness of his throat.

It took several long moments, but eventually the silence was broken. Rudy’s voice was dulled yet somehow still ringing of emotion. “S-Skrawl….what are you…” He paused for a moment and then swallowed. The boy did start to show some fear, but it was weakened, not to the degree that Skrawl would have preferred. “What do you plan on doing?”

Skrawl tried to smile, but even that was difficult. He forced his jaws open and he did start to speak, only to have his voice break out and dissipate quickly after only a few words. “I was going to….” And to his frustration, he could not get himself to continue.

Rudy didn’t seem too bothered by this. He made no attempt to quip back or anything. He just looked back down at Penny, staring into her unmoving face. She wasn’t dead. Skrawl could still hear her breathing. But she was still as stone for the most part. There was no telling when she would wake up, or if she would.

And so long as Rudy was holding her like this….

Something clicked in Skrawl’s head. He didn’t know why it did. Without warning, he started to realize how Rudy was just leaving himself vulnerable if he did nothing but hold his friend like that. He knew just how easy it would be to attack the boy, something that he was just thinking of earlier ago. But this time, it brought about some different feelings. It wasn’t the first time that he’s thought of this, but it still was not something he was proud of. And yet here he was, allowing this feeling to rise up again.

He knew he was going to regret what he was about to do next.

“Okay, Master Tabootie…” Skrawl spoke up. Rudy hardly turned his head to look at him. Skrawl forced himself to exhale slowly. “Here is what I am going to do.”

sss

It was so hard to believe that this was really happening. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. He couldn’t figure out just how this was possible. He had seen him die and now he was... No matter how he looked at it, nothing was making sense.

But Draow couldn’t deny that he really was interacting with Tsere. No... an imposter. He recalled what his creator had said about Mr. Wilter creating a new one. His previous thoughts got booted out of his brain for the most part, but he still couldn’t help but feel like he was fighting against a ghost. This thing still looked mostly like and acted mostly like the Tsere that he knew.

Tsere 2.0 was relentlessly pecking at him, trying to go for his eyes. He rammed his body against him and the two of them began to somersault across the ground. There was a flutter of wings flapping and loud squawks and screeches sounding out. Draow could feel himself being pushed against rocks and feeling things chipping and falling apart. He felt some bruises beginning to form and some scrapes moving along his body. And of course his head got banged up a few times.

Yet despite that, he still managed to keep moving forward and fighting back. He opened his mouth and he let out a loud screech, showing Tsere 2.0 his sharp teeth. The pterosaur did seem to freeze for a moment but that didn’t stop him completely. After a few seconds, the pterosaur seemed to shrug it off and he began to rush towards him on all fours, his wing claws clapping away on the ground with each stride.

Draow tightened up his leg muscles and he jumped to the side, his wings flapping and bringing him aloft. Tsere 2.0 rushed passed him before twisting his body around and facing him. He let out another screech before diving towards him. Draow immediately turned and started to fly off away.

He couldn’t fight Tsere 2.0 in here. He needed to get out of this cave. He ignored the others as he rushed passed them, getting himself closer and closer to where the exit was. And once he got close enough, he took in a deep breath and he jumped into the air with a single push of a powerful wing flap. And within seconds, he was already up into the tunnel.

Tsere 2.0 cried out behind him. Draow barely dared and managed to look behind him. He could see enough to realize that Mr. Wilter wasn’t with him. He must have fallen off earlier. He narrowed his eyes at this and snorted. Well isn’t that a shame... He could have gotten rid of two adversaries at once. But oh well. He’ll worry about that later.

Flapping harder, he rose up faster and faster, and he could soon see the light of the Day Zone sun shining over him. He kept himself study, realizing there wasn’t too much room left now to manuever. Then, keeping his teeth clenched tightly and his breath held, he broke out of the small opening. With a sudden expansion of room, he stretched his wings out further and ascended even higher up.

Draow soon went up into the air and he thought he was nearly touching the clouds. He looked back down, spreading his legs outward and his foot talons curving downward, snarling and growling as he saw the zoner down below coming at him. Draow narrowed his eyes into slits and he braced for impact. It didn’t take long before the feet smashed up together and they gripped one another, holding on tightly.

Draow continued to bare his teeth as he and Tsere 2.0 somersaulted throughout the air. He could see the ground and the sky interchanging constantly, becoming a swirl of colors. But his eyes remained focused on Tsere 2.0. He snapped his jaws at the pterosaur’s head. The creature snapped his head back, just barely missing getting attacked. Then he pushed his head forward and struck against Draow’s face. The long sharp beak sliced into Draow’s neck, causing the winged wolf to screech in pain. He tightened his grip on Tsere 2.0’s feet and pushed back hard before turning around and flapping to get some distance between them.

Tsere 2.0 arched his body in the air a little, the small hairs on his back rising up a little as another squawk left his long beak. Draow tried his best not to be intimidated. So far, the zoner hadn’t tried to use his signature attack. That was good. That would give him some time to make sure that he gets enough attacks in to finish the job. He needed to make sure that Tsere 2.0 here did not get that chance. Huffing in a deep breath, feeling his chest widening, Draow took off towards Tsere 2.0.

The two large flying zoners clashed a second time. Their bodies hit one another and there was a reverberation spreading throughout the two of them. They could feel themselves becoming more twisted around and spinny, and they became something close to a small twister. Draow was so lost in the flury and fury of the colors and the pushes and the grunts that he didn’t realize that he was being pulled back into the ground until it was already too late.

He let out a loud scream of pain as he felt his wing bending oddly on the ground. He seethed as he scrambled back up to his feet, his claws scraping at the dirty floor beneath him. He looked at his wing and moved it carefully. He flinched at the waves of pain moving up and down rapidly throughout his wing and he gritted his teeth tightly. It at least didn’t seem all that broken. But still, for that thing to attack him like that....

Draow flattened his ears as he turned and stared back at Tsere 2.0. He raised his wings upward to make himself look bigger. He took a more defensive posture and he started to growl lowly, his throat rumbing. He stiffened his tail and he began to move rigidly around. Tsere 2.0 followed suit, though opting to stay on all fours and just being as noisy as can be.

The two zoners kept moving around each other like this for several moments, each glaring into the soul of the other. They followed each other’s footsteps and they kept spinning around slowly. Draow and Tsere 2.0 exchanged screeches and other sounds of hostility. Their mouths stayed open, showing each other just what they were going to use to tear into them again. And all the while, they were gradually getting closer to each other.

Until...

Draow launched his head forward and he snagged it on Tsere 2.0’s shoulder. The pterosaur let out a pained squawk and started to flap hard. Draow immediately started to yank the zoner forward and shake him like a rag doll. He twisted and turned his head about, doing whatever he could to stop Tsere 2.0 from moving.

But he wasn’t so lucky. Tsere managed to swipe him across the face with his wing talons. This forced Draow to open his mouth and let him go. He backed away quickly, shaking his head and tasting the blood pooling into his mouth. He spat out the blood and he turned to glare at Tsere 2.0. He was just in time to see the zoner come rushing in at him and slice his beak against his chest, causing him to fumble backwards. Tsere 2.0 attempted to pounce on him but Draow was too quick for him.

Up in the air again, Draow moved to get some distance between the two of them before he turned around and he just hovered there, watching Tsere 2.0 carefully. Draow began to dive down around the large flying zoner, turning his body around in constant circles as he tried to get into position behind the pterosaur. Doing so was more difficult than he thought. This zoner could keep up with him. Had his speed been upgraded? Draow narrowed his eyes. Okay, fine then. He supposed he would just have to be more bold.

Draow suddenly launched himself forward, splitting his jaws wide open. Such an act was not something Tsere 2.0 saw coming, made obvious by the look in his eyes. Tsere 2.0 attempted to move back to dodge, but in doing so, this move allowed Draow to bite down on the tip of Tsere 2.0’s wings. It wasn’t much, but it was more than enough to give Draow the leverage that he needed. Draow did not hesitate to yank downward and drag the pterosaur with him. He could hear loud, desperate screeches as he dragged him towards the ground. He soon let go of Tsere 2.0 only to get into position in front of him and push him down with his feet. Dust and dirt kicked up from the wait of the zoner colliding with the ground.

Draow hovered above Tsere 2.0 for a few seconds, watching him carefully. Then he lowered himself down quickly and put his body weight on the zoner. He could hear Tsere 2.0 having a hard time breathing. Draow just chortled at this before he lowered his head down to try to bite the zoner’s neck.

Tsere 2.0 opened his beak up and he released a loud screech. Draow immediately froze, the loud noise rippling through his body, the pain echoing inside of his chest. He froze there before immediately backing away. He let out several cries of agony as he pawed at his flattened ears, trying to dig the sound out of his ear canals. He shook his head from side to side before he could feel himself lowering towards the ground.

He soon just laid there, the horrible sound freezing him up in pain. He trembled and he turned his head weakly about, trying to find a way to escape it. He could feel his head filling up with the horrible memories of what had happened to him before. He remembered when the original Tsere used this on him. He couldn’t forget it and how it nearly tore him apart. And now it would seem history was happening again.

No... He wasn’t going to let it happen like that this time. Things were going to be different.

Gritting his teeth, Draow started to push himself up off the ground. The pain still rang through his body like someone was stabbing him with a knife. But despite that, he fought against it and he started to stay up onto his feet. He slowly turned his head around and he glared at Tsere 2.0. The sound was still ringing out through his open beak, but Draow began to push back against it.

Soon Draow was only a few feet in front of Tsere 2.0. The sound still held him back, but he could fight back with something of his own. He licked his lips before opening his mouth and releasing his own loud screech, directed right at Tsere 2.0.

It was like fighting with some sort of invisible weapon. The sounds collided with each other and it was almost as if they both had some kind of battering ram at their disposal. Draow could feel the sound still rippling around him but he still sent out his own roar. He could see Tsere 2.0 flinching and trying to fight back. Draow rose his voice as high as he could. He was going to beat out Tsere 2.0 this time. He was not going to lose.

Tsere 2.0 started to weaken a little. But he was still coming forward and still attempting to be as loud as ever. He didn’t look like he was going to let himself be pushed down so easily. He just kept pushing it, and it soon began to sound like he was reaching his limits.

And so was Draow.

The wolf bat zoner didn’t expect the two of them to collapse into the ground, but that’s what had happened. Neither of them coud keep this up. They just kept panting heavily, their tongues hanging out. But despite all the dizziness that he was feeling, Draow realized that this was the best time to make his move. And so, while Tsere 2.0 was still catching his breath, he made his move....

....only for Tsere 2.0 to get the memo and jump into the air. Draow hissed loudly in anger as he watched the zoner flapping up into the air, getting away from him. Draow bared his teeth and swished his tail in agitation. He then spread his wings, ignoring what pain still echoed in his body, and he jumped upwards, going right towards the pterosaur zoner.

He let out a loud shout, “You’re not getting away!”

Draow pumped his wings as hard as he could, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel the drool dripping rapidly out of his open mouth, his eyes blazing brightly, determination filling his blood. He didn’t care what it took. He was not going to let this zoner get away from him. He wasn’t going to let him escape. Not like last time.

Tsere 2.0 was already flapping to get away, going quickly in one direction. Draow started to catch up to him, only for Tsere 2.0 to bank to one side, turning himself around and causing Draow to miss entirely. Draow turned himself around and attempted to go right back for him. He attempted to snap his jaws at the zoner in front of him, snarling angrily. He soon did get close enough to bite, but the moment that he did, Tsere 2.0 just once again dove to one side, and this time Draow wasn’t quick enough to respond. He could feel himself smashing up against the rocky wall that was the Chalk Mine.

Draow spluttered, spitting out bits of rock and blood from his mouth. He then turned to face Tsere 2.0. He crouched against the walls of the mine, his claws gripping against it, before he launched himself outward and started to head right towards the zoner, hearing the sounds of rocks rolling down the side of the mine from his take off. Getting his mouth open and ready, he got into position for another attack.

The pterosaur zoner bolted once more in the same way that he had been before. This caused the two zoners to continue their constantly circling of one another. Around and around they both went, their eyes narrowing in determination as they both tried to outpace the other. Draow ignored any dizziness that rose up inside, his attention fully on the zoner trying to get away before him.

But he realized that he wasn’t going to get anywhere doing this. If he kept this up, he would only spin around like a twister the entire time, and there would be nothing that would stop that. It would just be an endless loop.

Unless he did something to change that.

With a grin on his face, Draow waited until the right moment before he took action. He had to make the turn quicker than he was used to, and Tsere 2.0 had him beat on that skill. But Draow was able to move quickly enough to startle the zoner into freezing and letting him get an attack in. Tsere 2.0 could not block what was about to come.

Draow struck as hard as he could with his foot, his talons ripping across one of Tsere 2.0’s wing members. The zoner had moved quickly enough to keep it from getting too damaging. But the damage was still dealt. With blood dripping from his wing and some tears just barely noticeable, Tsere 2.0 had some trouble flapping to get away quickly enough. There was some staggering and Draow realized that he could take full advantage of this. With a grin forming along his muzzle, he dove at Tsere 2.0 once more.

The wolf-like zoner smashed into the pterosaur zoner, causing him to stagger and flutter like crazy as he tried to avoid hitting the ground. Draow didn’t let him get a chance to recooperate. He struck down again, smashing his full weight against the back of the large flying zoner. He watched as he fell, hitting the ground in a loud thud like before. Draow grinned as he dove down to attempt a finishing move.

But Tsere 2.0 still had some fight left in him. He rolled across the ground, bending in ways that Draow didn’t think were possible, and he turned hismelf around. He launched himself at Draow and struck his beak against his throat. Draow’s eyes flew open and he had to back up quickly to avoid getting a wound too deep there. He wasn’t fast enough to avoid all damage however, and he could feel blood leaking out of the fresh wound. He let out a few strained pants as a result of that injury.

Draow shook his head once and he started to move after Tsere 2.0 again. He opened his mouth wide and he snapped his jaws shut inches away from Tsere 2.0’s face. The zoner twisted his head away and then rammed his head against him, underneath his chin. Draow’s eyes flew open and he staggered back before catching himself, shaking his head before snarling viciously at the zoner. He then spread his wings wide open and he took up into the sky.

Rapidly, Draow started to circle Tsere 2.0. He kept him within his sights and he could see him constantly whirling around in his vision. He became something like a corkscrew as he went downward, faster and faster, until he could feel himself hitting something hard.

But it wasn’t his intended target.

Draow shook his dirtied up body as he looked up and snarled at where Tsere 2.0 had taken off in. He shook off his own pain and whatever dirt clung to his fur as he jumped into the air and took off after him. He let out a series of low growls as he chased down that stupid pterosaur.

Draow wasn’t sure how it happened. He didn’t know where the extra energy came from. But he could feel his wings flapping harder than they ever did before. He thought he could feel something burning in his wing limbs. He thought he could feel them becoming set on fire. But that only fueled his speed. He became something like a jet as he soared closer and closer towards Tsere 2.0.

The flying zoner was not going to give up. He could see him behind and he began to make moves to try to dodge him. That wasn’t enough to deter Draow of course and the zoner just made movements to accomodate. Tsere 2.0 kept going in a straight line this time, likely out of panic. He only changed his direction when Draow tried to bite him, only narrowly missing. But Draow could take notice how the zoner was still not changing direction enough and still resorted to flying outward.

Then the zoner’s eyes widened in realization. Something told him that he knew exactly what this zoner was trying to pull off.

He was trying to herd him away from the others. Away, specifically, from Mr. Wilter.

So is that the little game that he wanted to play, eh? Draow felt his teeth clenching against one another at this realization. He let out some bigger chuckles. If that zoner really thought this was going to work....

Draow took this moment to bank around and start flying back to the hole. He realized that he needed to get rid of Mr. Wilter. He could just draw another Tsere. If he got rid of him now, maybe Mr. Cosmo would praise him and agree to keep him around. Then he wouldn’t need Bardot’s ‘help’. He just needed to get back and...

But it would seem that Tsere 2.0 was not going to let him get there that easily. With speed that Draow didn’t anticipate, the pterosaur had managed to race out in front of him. The pterosaur then turned around to face Draow, releasing a loud squawk of challenge. Draow had to immediately dive up higher into the air to avoid colliding with him. Then he glared down, baring his teeth in frustration.

So what was he going to do now? His best option was to fight back. But that would only make it harder for him to get to Mr. Wilter. Yet he also knew that Tsere 2.0 would make it really hard for him to reach the man. It would seem that he was still trapped in fighting this thing, a fast moving zoner that even he would have trouble keeping up with. But hey, if Tsere 2.0 did want a fight, then perhaps he should deliver on that.

Draow let his mouth curl into a twisted smile. He already had a target in mind. He already formulated the plan and now he was already taking action. He didn’t hesitate to dive down towards Tsere 2.0. He opened his mouth wide as he prepared his attack. Tsere 2.0 didn’t go anywhere this time. He flew in his direction, fully prepared to take the impact if it meant keeping Mr. Wilter safe.

Oh what a fool that he was...

It didn’t take long before Draow could feel his jaws slamming shut against one of Tsere 2.0’s legs. He crunched down hard. There was a loud snap and the pterosaur let out a loud, painful screech. Draow ignored the sound the best that he could, attempting to bypass the zoner’s means of defense to drag him towards the ground.

Tsere 2.0 didn’t give up too easily however and he managed to twist his body around. As the two of them continued to plummet downward, spinning faster and faster, Tsere 2.0 started to launch an attack. Draow had to keep moving his head to dodge the pecking attacks, but there was little room for his neck to maneuver. Meanwhile, Tsere 2.0’s neck was more flexible, allowing him to deliver quicker, more precise attacks.

Draow hissed in pain as he felt the beak striking him again, the tip of the beak creating a long gash along his shoulder that spread up his wing part way. He could feel it stinging him every time he tried to flap this wing. It caused him to stagger a little and it gave Tsere 2.0 a slight edge. Draow attempted to bite harder, but a slash across the nose was enough to force him to release his grip.

The large pterosaur before him folded his wings a little and then rammed into him like he was a bowling ball. Draow flapped frantically as he started to fall downward. Tsere 2.0 dove down after him and he pushed against him with his body, making the plummet go faster. Draow began to snap his jaws wildly in the air. Everything around him was spinning rapidly, but that didn’t stop him from turning his head to where Tsere 2.0 was. He snarled angrily before he suddenly bit the zoner on the neck. Tsere 2.0 screeched in surprise and pain and the two of them soon hit the ground. The area around them was immediately covered and distorted by dust.

Everything seemed to crack at once. Draow became aware of many colors bursting in his field of vision. He could see lights booming everywhere. He could see things spinning, a brightness descending upon him. Then all at once, it all got sucked away. An ebony darkness swallowed him up and he soon felt everything just collapse.

sss

Mrs. Sanchez had a hard time keeping up. She didn’t know where this was all going to lead or what this could mean. She had tried to follow what these people said and why it was all so urgent. But much of it flew over her head. It didn’t help that they didn’t seem willing to talk about all of the details just yet. Did they fear backlash?

Well they did kidnap her earlier and…

Mrs. Sanchez tried not to focus on that bit right now. She instead turned her attention to the people in front of her, wondering just what was going on here. She wanted to know what they thought they were doing. She wanted to know what they thought she should be doing. All they were doing right now was getting her to come with them as they went to see Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie. They had her by the arm, or at least, Mr. Tyreek did, and they were trying to hurry as quickly as possible. Mrs. Sanchez could feel her feet tripping over the ground easily, and she thought she twisted her ankle at least twice.

But this didn’t seem to slow down Mr. Tyreek or Ms. Ghadir. They kept up their pace, almost uncaring just how difficult it was for her to be forced to keep up like this. They didn’t even seem to hear her when she asked for them to slow down. It was like they were on autopilot, and all that really mattered was just keeping on moving forward. They didn’t stop for anything. Even the other doctors and patients had noticed this.

“Hey! Watch it!”

“There’s other people here, you know!’

“You almost stepped on me!”

Mrs. Sanchez flinched at these comments, with a handful directed at her. She wished she could apologize and stop what she was doing. But that would require getting these people to slow down. And from what she was seeing, that would be an impossible feat. She could only just cringe and try not to look at anyone in the eyes as they continued their way down the hallway.

At least it seemed like it was going to be over soon. She could see the door in front of her, the one that she knew that her friends were behind. It was only when the room number was clear and noticeable did Mr. Tyreek and Ms. Ghadir finally start slowing down. Mrs. Sanchez could feel Mr. Tyreek letting go of her wrist and she could finally slow down and try to walk on her own. She immediately flinched the moment that she put her foot down, nearly buckling.

“Yeowch…” The woman hissed as she clutched at her ankle. She massaged it gently, feeling the tender soreness swelling up inside of it. It would seem that she had hurt her leg more than she had meant to.

“Are you alright?” Ms. Ghadir asked, taking notice of the woman’s discomfort.

Mrs. Sanchez turned to glare at the two doctors before her. She kept her glare mostly on Mr. Tyreek. “No thanks to him.”

Mr. Tyreek flinched at the woman’s anger. He looked over at Ms. Ghadir and then back at the woman. Seeing the anger in her eyes, Mr. Tyreek lowered his head slightly, his gaze becoming downcast. “I do apologize about that. It’s just that, if we didn’t get here soon enough, we….”

Mrs. Sanchez waved her hand dismissively. “Whatever. We’re already here. You wanted to see my friends. Well they are right in there.” She moved her hand towards the door slowly. “Just go on in and see for yourselves.” She gave a pause before she turned to glare at them. “Don’t even think about trying to drag them anywhere.”

Mr. Tyreek raised his hands up in the air. “I assure you, Mrs. Sanchez. We only want to check them out and see if anything is really wrong with them. We want to know if they are exhibiting the symptoms before we do anything.” He only lowered his hands once he saw that Mrs. Sanchez appeared to be starting to calm down a little. “We promise that we aren’t trying to do anything questionable with your friends.”

“Yes, we just want to see if they are infected.” Said Ms. Ghadir. “It might seem strange to do based on the evidence that we already know. But we…” She paused for a moment, biting her lip. “It’s best for us to be sure before we try anything. I hope you understand that.”

Mrs. Sanchez still glared at them, but she couldn’t keep it up for much longer. She had more important things to worry about, anyway. She let out a forced sigh and got herself to nod her head once. “Okay, fine…” She started to walk towards the door. “Let’s just get this over with.”

Mrs. Sanchez felt the doctors’ stares on her as she made her way towards the door. She ignored any lingering feelings she had regarding them and their urgent behavior and the fact that they did hold her hostage essentially just to get some information. It was a very unorthodox way of doing things and she is still considering informing the authorities of what happened. The only thing holding her back from doing so was the fact that she still feared for her friends and a part of her did think that they might be able to do something. She wasn’t sure what, but here was to some hoping.

Mrs. Sanchez gripped the door handle and she pushed it down. She could hear it squeaking a little and she began to push against the door. As it opened up, she had to shield her eyes a little from the bright lights. She had forgotten what time it was and realized she must have been down in that place longer than she realized. Pain shot through her eyes for only a brief second before she quickly adjusted to it. Then she began to wonder why the lights were so bright in here.

She got her answer relatively quickly. Her eyes widened when she saw both Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie curled up on the beds. They had broken out of their bonds that kept them from leaving. But for some reason, they hadn’t actually tried to leave. They were just laying there, shivering in fear. She looked around the room, but she found nothing that they should be frightened about. There wasn’t even any other doctors in here and from the looks of things, Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie had started to act like this before she and Mr. Tyreek and Ms. Ghadir had even come into the room. She had no idea what could possibly be going on.

Mr. Tyreek walked next to her. He stared out at the two frightened adults, his eyes furrowing deeply. “...it’s worse than I thought…”

Mrs. Sanchez turned and stared at the man in shock, her eyes widening. “Wh-What do you mean by that…?”

Mr. Tyreek didn’t look at her as he answered, “I’ve seen this behavior before. I’m pretty sure the infection is truly there, like we suspected. But…” He raised his finger up slowly. “...we are still going to need another sample. We should do this quickly. Ms. Ghadir!”

The female doctor immediately rushed over to where Mr. Tyreek was. She reached into her pocket and she pulled out a small needle. “Here you go, sir.”

Mrs. Sanchez bit her lip as she watched the doctors getting closer and closer to her friends. She could feel her heart racing, her mind struggling to think of what she should do about this situation. Should she attempt to stop them? Should she let them proceed? Was this even legal? She didn’t think that they had permission from the higher ups to do something like this. What if they all got into some serious trouble for this?

But a part of her just wanted to see if they could help her friends. She was determined to see them get some kind of help. And these two doctors were the only ones who seemed to have any sort of idea on what was going on. Even if she herself was still confused, she felt it was best to still take the chance. Something good might come of this, after all. She just had to try to trust them.

It was all that she could do.

sss

Mr. Cosmo stopped for a second to look around behind him to see if anyone had followed him over here. He thought he saw a flash and heard a snapping sound, but he quickly shrugged it off. He was just being paranoid, he was certain. It was likely nothing to be concerned about. So he let it melt off of his shoulders as he turned his attention back to where he was headed.

A part of him did wonder for a moment if the others had realized sooner just where this place was. He wondered if they realized there was a reason he set up base here. Had they made the connection? It was obvious and yet he didn’t know for certain if something had clicked in their heads or not.

This had been such a perfect place to pick to set up things. The perfect place to put in the portal, hidden from view. And with easy access to the black chalk at that. It was behind the Chalk Mine so Biclops would not have noticed too easily. He would only ever guard the front of the Chalk Mine; he wouldn’t notice the things going on behind it. And Draow can be really stealthy. Oh yes, this had been the perfect place to start picking off some zoners.

But for now, he was going to go this way for another reason. He didn’t plan on staying in the Real World for long. He just needed some assistance with dealing with those zoners. He needed something that would ensure an easier victory. He had not been as prepared as he thought he would be. So he was going to correct that as soon as possible.

In the meantime, he did trust that Draow would be able to handle things. He could hear him fighting with Tsere 2.0 and he did watch them fighting a little. Draow was doing a good job with holding him off. Although he did comment to himself that Draow should be doing better than this. Oh well. He shrugged and he kept on going, moving as quickly as he could. If the others were attempting to follow him, he would need to head back into the Real World and come back as soon as possible.

It hadn’t taken him too long to find the tunnel that led underground. He stood in front of it for a moment, drawing in a deep breath and smiling broadly. He looked behind him once more. He didn’t see anything this time. Just more fighting between the two flying giants. Nothing that didn’t concern him right then and there. So he went into the tunnel, descending below the ground once more, although not as deep as the Black Chalk Chamber.

The portal wasn’t visible right away. Mr. Cosmo had to head in deeper into the winding tunnel. It went around in a curve, which helped to block the portal’s light so that zoners wouldn’t get suspicious of it. As soon as he went around the bend, he could see the large portal that he had constructed.

The sight of the portal made him smile. It had taken him quite sometime to get this ready. He had needed something to allow something as big as Draow through. It had been working like a charm. But soon he might not need it any longer. He might create a better form of transportation.

He did have some regret, however. He didn’t think he focused enough on making those zoners useful. He had them doing some things for him, but he had been too focused on Rudy and that fell by the wayside. That had impacted his work ability and he wondered if the reason things started to snag was because of that. Had he really been letting his fear control him more than he had realized? He tried not to think about it too much.

Mr. Cosmo began to head towards the portal. But he had only taken a few steps before he could hear some garbled sound from nearby. He realized it was coming straight from the portal itself. His eyes widened and he took a defensive stance. His initial instinct was that it was one of the loose zoners coming on through. So he got himself ready for a fight, or at least, to run back into the Real World to arm himself with water.

Wait…

Water….

That was it.

Upon thinking that, Mr. Cosmo’s thoughts were interrupted when he saw two beings coming through the portal. He tensed up and he nearly tripped over something getting ready to fight. But then he froze when he realized just who it actually was. He let out an exasperated sigh as he rubbed his head.

“Geeze, give me a warning next time, will you two?” Mr. Cosmo grumbled to the two employees that came through. At this point, he didn’t care if they were authorized to be here or not. They were still a better sight to see than certain other people.

“We are sorry, sir, but we do need to speak with you. It’s important.” Mr. Malcolm said as he walked towards him slowly. Beside him, he was holding onto a shivering, frightened woman. Mr. Cosmo had to resist rolling his eyes when he saw it was Ms. Teelar. “She’s witnessed something dreadful and I think that…”

“And what exactly did she see?” Mr. Cosmo cut him off. He wondered just what other ridiculous thing Ms. Teelar got upset about this time. He wondered briefly if he should have gotten rid of her instead of Ms. Saffron.

Ms. Teelar stuttered as she struggled to speak. “I-I saw… Blood and claws and….” She couldn’t speak any longer. She sniffled softly as she shut her eyes. Tears moved down her cheeks slowly.

Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow at this. “You what?”

Mr. Malcolm had to speak up for her. “She saw another employee getting killed by one of those foul zoners. We were hoping that you could help with exterminating whatever remains. We managed to get most of them but some still roam in the hallways.” He looked down at Ms. Teelar sadly. “She was lucky to have gotten away alive.”

“That’s because she…” Mr. Cosmo stopped himself from finishing that sentence. Calling Ms. Teelar a coward wasn’t going to help his case right now. He wanted some aid and he doubted that these two would be too swift to help him if he criticized the woman’s actions. Well he could force them to help, but it would be easier to get what he wanted if they were willing to help. “Actually…. I do think I know of a way that this whole situation can be sorted out.”

Ms. Teelar looked at the man hopefully, huddling closer and clinging tighter to Mr. Malcolm. The man himself looked at Mr. Cosmo, waiting eagerly for a response. “What idea do you have, sir?”

Mr. Cosmo smiled as he responded, “Well you see, there’s this thing that can help you with conquering these creatures, and it’s right close by. Why don’t you...come with me and I will show you..?”


	61. Such A Hypocrite

Bardot narrowed his eyes as he watched Mr. Cosmo speaking with the other two humans. He pricked his ears forward so that he could better listen to what they were saying to each other. He furrowed his eyes deeply. He realized that he could just head in and interfere right now and cause some bit of chaos. But a part of him felt it was better to just hold still here and wait and see what would happen.

One of the humans, a female one, looked particularly frightened. This caught Bardot’s attention. He wondered if he could use this to his advantage. Surely the woman could play an integral role in all of this. He just needed to make the right move.

But what specifically should he do? He couldn’t just do whatever. He needed something that would help him keep holding his ground. He needed something that would have less of a chance to backfire on him. He needed to…

Hmm…. That could work. He could just simply fall back to what he knew. Using his powers to try to put his will on the humans’ minds could give him an upperhand. He would be more in control, ensuring that things would go the way he wanted them to. It would be tricky and would require needing to get in close. But it would be worth it, he thought. He just needed to figure out exactly how he was going to pull this off.

In the meantime, he focused on listening to them speak and trying to figure out just what kind of plan that this man had in store for them. So far, it was just predictable stuff. He was telling them about the ‘oh so dangerous zoners’ and what they had done. Hearing it while coupled with the sound of loud screeches from Draow and some other zoner did make Mr. Cosmo’s claim seem legit. Bardot noticed how the humans reacted to this, especially that frightened female one. It was clear that they were willing to buy into what Mr. Cosmo was saying, allowing the man to use them like his own personal tool kit.

Bardot couldn’t help but almost admire this trait. He had to admit that Mr. Cosmo could be really resourceful at times. But that was also going to get in his way. He would need to make sure that he didn’t cause him too much grief. So perhaps he should make his move now and…

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud crash and a loud screech of agony. He wasn’t the only one to have heard this. The humans had jolted at this, tensing up and looking around frantically as they tried to see just from which direction it was coming from. Well two of them at least. Mr. Cosmo just stood there, remaining calm as he stared towards the opening. It was like he knew exactly what had happened and the smile on his face indicated just how happy that he was.

Bardot had to keep himself further pressed against the wall. It had been hard finding the right posture to be in for this. Something told him that he was better off backing up. He wasn’t in any position to be able to fight right now. He still needed to work out a plan more thoroughly. However, that was going to be easier said than done. That is, unless he worked something out with….

Bardot could hear something big and heavy landing and hearing that low grunt, he realized that it was Draow. Mr. Cosmo wasn’t moving, likely expecting Draow to smell his creator and come looking for him. Bardot had a chance to make his move right here and right now. He looked over at where the humans were, who hadn’t noticed him yet, and he began to slink away, going towards the exit as quickly and as quickly as possible.

Once he got to the outside, he moved out further, raising his head up and looking around for any sign of Draow. He could soon see a shadow moving along the ground and he spotted Draow coming towards him. The beast didn’t look entirely well kempt, suggesting such an intense battle. He even sported a few new injuries, and the exhausted look in his eyes made Bardot wonder if he had been knocked out for a while.

Either way, he still approached the large zoner to greet him, his tail raising up slowly. He gave a small smile, keeping his head level. He didn’t need to accidentally provoke the large zoner. If he had just gotten out of a fight, he might be a little jumpy and unpredictable, making it hard for him to figure out what he should do.

Thankfully, Draow still seemed to be sound of mind. The large zoner was a little slow at recognizing him, but otherwise seemed fine. Well that and the few sounds of pain that he emitted, but that was par for the course with being hurt like that.

Draow seemed to want to cut to the chase right away. “I’m going to guess that Mr. Cosmo is in there, right?”

Bardot nodded his head. “Yes indeed.” He turned his head to look at where the cave was, letting out a small snort. “Along with two other humans.”

Draow blinked once. “Do you know whom?”

Bardot raised himself onto his hind legs and shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t pay much attention to this sort of stuff, I admit. There’s a lot of humans in that place I don’t recall the name of. But enough of that.” Bardot took a few steps towards the large beast. “I need you to do me a favor.”

“What kind? Does it involve my creator?” Draow asked. His voice was slightly growly and a bit deeper than usual. The reason for this can only be guessed, but Bardot still pushed on.

“I had intended on just getting rid of him myself. I feel like I wasted enough time playing around and missing all these opportunities.” Bardot raised a paw up and looked down at his paw, flexing his claws. He smiled and said, “Sometimes the best strategy is just the straightforward stuff. Go on, get the kill, and leave.” He straightened himself up and gave Draow a sideways glance. “I’m sure you can agree with that.”

Draow narrowed his teal eyes slightly. “I’ve been having second thoughts.”

Bardot stared at Draow in shock, his mouth dropping open. He shook his head and attempted to smile again, though there was some noticeable shakiness to it. “Wh-What did you say…?” He leaned in, pricking up his ears as high as they could go. “I might have misheard you. I thought you said that you were changing your mind on me.”

Draow nodded his head curtly. “That’s because I am.” He raised his wings up. “I’m not following through with your plan anymore.” He took a step forward, the ground shaking beneath his feet. “I’m through with this! I have found my own way to secure my future here and I don’t need you for that! If anything, you’ll just get in the way!”

“Hey do you hear that?”

“Something’s going on out there.”

“Someone should take a look.”

Bardot looked over at the cave and flinched at this. He then looked back at Draow, his eyes widening slightly in desperation. “Please, you can’t do this! After all I’ve helped you through…”

“You’ve helped me with nothing! You just care about yourself!” Draow lowered his head and hunched his body up. The fur on him raised up on end and his sharp teeth were exposed in the light. With how his face was contorting, it was clear that Draow was meaning business. Bardot could feel himself backing away slowly. “Once Mr. Cosmo sees what I have accomplished, he will praise me and he will not try to destroy me! I no longer need your ‘services’, Bardot! So get lost!”

“B-But… I….” Bardot felt his ears lowering when Draow put his face close to his, growling deeply.

Draow’s snarling voice formed the words, “If you dare hurt Mr. Cosmo, I will personally tear you apart…”

Bardot tensed up at this. He held onto his breath, his whole body going rigid. He could feel many thoughts zipping through his head as he tried to think of how to respond to that. He tried to think of how he could get Draow to think more on his terms again, but he quickly realized that he might not have time for that. And with the humans starting to come through the tunnel, his options were limited.

His mind felt like a rock that was starting to sink. He couldn’t get it to form new thoughts that could help him. He wound up just staring at Draow as he continued to try to rationalize things in his mind. He could sense how things were growing increasingly tense and he felt his teeth baring in self defense. He knew that, from Draow’s position, he could easily grab him and crunch him in his jaws if he really wanted to. There was no way that he would be able to escape those jaws if he got caught in them. Doing anything to provoke an attack while he was unprepared would have been a suicidal act.

But Bardot was not going to give up. He just needed to think of another tactic to get Draow on his side. There was one idea that crossed his mind, but it would be difficult from this angle and this distance and with his little time to spare. And plus, they still weren’t in the Red Chalk Chamber, which would have made things far easier. That was his brethren there.

He needed to make them come to the Red Chalk Chamber. He had a feeling he knew how he would pull that off. It would require some careful planning and careful action, but he knew that it would pay off in the end.

But for now, his best move was to retreat. He would have to wait until his time to make his move. But it shouldn’t be too hard and soon the pieces will fall into place. He smiled inwardly at this before he took off and ran, going into temporary hiding until he could figure out a way to do something that he should have done in the first place.

Gain control of Draow without running the risk of Mr. Cosmo or the black chalk seizing him back.

sss

He didn’t know how long he had been holding his friend like this. He didn’t know how much time had passed or anything that was going on around him. He kept struggling to breathe, his throat tightening as he continued to let out low whimpers. He didn’t get any sort of response from the body that he held. But he deserved this. It was all his fault that this had happened. If only he had tried to control himself better…

He just couldn’t believe that he really thought that she was… His eyes, they had been lying to him. He thought he could see a monster coming at him, but all there was...just his friend...and he had still… He bit his lip as he felt a sharp dryness in it. He swallowed hard, shuddering at the bitterness that clung to his throat. He didn’t know what else he could do except hold onto her and hope and pray that she would be okay.

But Rudy knew the truth. He had seen the wound on Penny. He could see how deep and bloody it was. He could see the pool of blood emerging from her side. Penny was…. No, she wasn’t dead. Not yet anyway. He could see that she was still breathing.

But who knows how long that will last? At any moment, she could…

Rudy shut his eyes tightly. He sniffled and he hiccuped as emotions wracked through his body. It hadn’t just been Penny that worried him. It wasn’t just her that he had harmed. This realization served to cling to his throat and make him feel like he was going to throw up. He couldn’t help but wonder just what kind of monster he was turning into. Was he really becoming like Mr. Cosmo? He shook his head at the thought. No, that couldn’t be possible. He’d never…

And yet he couldn’t deny what he was seeing all around him. He ignored Skrawl, who was still waiting for him to hand her over, and he focused on not just Penny’s limp body, but the dead zoners that laid nearby. Three dead, very familiar zoners. He’d recognize them anywhere.

Buttered Toast Man, Bathtub Granny, and Howdy.

And the last two were his own creations…

Seeing their dead corpses laying around, blood decorating the floor, Rudy could feel himself lurching a little and he had to fight against releasing his stomach contents. He couldn’t deny what he had done here. He couldn’t pretend that this hadn’t happened. Their blood stained his body. The evidence pointed right at him.

He really was a monster.

“Master Tabootie… I can see that you are upset. Normally this would make me feel happy. But you aren’t going to help your little friend like that.” Skrawl’s voice cut through the air, somewhat interrupting Rudy’s thoughts. But the boy still didn’t look away from Penny. He didn’t attempt to look at Skrawl, which seemed to annoy the jellybean a little. “You’re really starting to push things, aren’t you boy? And here I thought you knew what would need to be done. You’re just delaying your friend getting help. You’re such a hypocrite.”

Rudy looked over at Skrawl when he said this. His eyes widened a little as his mouth opened up. He tried to say something, though he could only shut his mouth and turn away from him a little. He couldn’t really say anything against that. What could he say?

He could hear Skrawl growling beside him. “Whatever happened to the Rudy I used to know? The Rudy I knew would not have stopped at something like this. He could have kept going and do what he could to stop the menace going on. You didn’t give up during that red bat epidemic, now did he?” Rudy looked over at Skrawl once more, his expression still largely dulled. But there was a small twinkle in his eyes. “Are you going to give up this time? Are you going to let your friend down?”

Rudy growled softly at this. But he couldn’t really disagree with Skrawl. He was making a really good point. He had made a point in the past to do what he felt was right and to help his friends. He was being a hypocrite if he wasn’t even trying to get Penny to safety. He was onl prolonging her pain.

He glanced down at her, doing a quick overlook to make sure she was still alive. And so far, she was still breathing, still looking very much alive, but he knew that wouldn’t last forever. She had lost so much blood and he would need for a way to get her back into the Real World to get her help. He did flinch for a moment as he knew that Mrs. Sanchez would not be happy to see what had happened to her daughter. Would she blame him? But still, getting her help was more important than his own feelings.

He knew what had to be done. He still hesitated and he still felt himself dragging his feet. This was not an easy thing for him to do and he didn’t know if Skrawl meant his words or not.

But Skrawl still made a good point. He himself was the only one left that could fight against Mr. Cosmo. He was the only one who could try to end his attempts at taking over this world. He was still able bodied enough to do something. Mr. Wilter was….too hurt to do anything. The man could hardly stand up, especially worsened after he fell from whatever that thing was before. And Penny was unconscious in his arms. That left only him.

Rudy had a feeling he was going to regret this later. But he did need to get Penny to safety and he didn’t have many options outside of trusting Skrawl. He had no magic chalk that he could use. The black chalk would just force him to kill her. No other zoner was around and they would probably not help a murderer like him. He had to take the risk and hope that Skrawl was honest with his word.

“Oh...all right. I suppose there really is no other option.” Rudy said. He was still shaky from emotion, but he managed to fight against them as he forced himself up to his feet. He reluctantly held Penny out towards the jellybean zoner, being as gentle as he could. “Just...be careful with her, okay?”

Skrawl rolled his eyes. “You act like you don’t trust me.”

Rudy let his eyes narrow very slightly. “You haven’t given me much of a reason to trust you usually, Skrawl.” He lifted his head up. “Remember how you broke your promise?”

Pulling Penny into one of his arms, Skrawl used his other to gesture to Rudy. “What promise?”

Rudy bared his teeth. “When we first met, you said that you would let the other zoners go if I drew you something that you liked. You did, but you still tried to kill them.”

“And you broke your promise as you said you wouldn’t use the chalk against me. Don’t be such a hypocrite, Rudy.”

“Isn’t that what you’re being right now?!”

Skrawl snarled at this. Surprisingly, he didn’t do anything to Penny. He just kept his focus on Rudy himself. He held out his hand, curling his claws upward, nearly forming a tight fist. Rudy could hear his growling rumbling in his throat, which felt strange and unsettling. With his yellow teeth grinding against each other, Skrawl said, “Don’t try to turn me into the bad guy here, chalk boy! You could have stopped me from being erased so I wouldn’t live in this miserable dump! But instead you just….!”

Rudy interrupted the jellybean, leaning in towards him and practically meeting him eye to eye. “I know I messed up! But I have wanted to make it up to you, if you would only let me! Instead, you try to make my life miserable at every turn! All this, just to get back at me, instead of trying to make something of yourself!” Rudy panted a little before he added in, “You could have created your own purpose. Something that would have benefited ChalkZone. Snap surely did.”

“I found my purpose...for myself…” Skrawl hissed lowly. He reached over and he pointed at Rudy, his claw tip pressing against the boy’s shoulder, causing him to flinch. “I have never needed your help figuring out my life. Why the fuck should I start now..?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes at this, but he couldn’t think of what he could say. He knew how Skrawl could be and he knew that he wasn’t going to easily listen to him. Perhaps now was the time to just back out of this conversation. He was only delaying Penny potentially getting help, anyway. He looked away from Skrawl and he muttered something under his breath.

“Just get my friend to safety. I hope you can do a better job than you think I did.”

Skrawl spluttered at this and he growled, stretching out his hand as if he was going to grab onto Rudy. But then he seemed to think better of it. He let out a low snort, sharing a glare with Rudy for what felt like hours, before he turned and began to walk away from the boy. Rudy just glared after him, but said nothing.

As Skrawl started to leave, Rudy wondered just where Mr. Cosmo had gone. He had taken notice that he had left, but he didn’t see where he could have gone off to. This realization caused him to feel a sting in his chest and he clutched at his heart. What if Mr. Cosmo had….?

His thoughts were cut off when he could hear something above him, near where the tunnel opening was. He noticed Skrawl had stopped himself to look, his body looking slightly tense. The two of them looked around, trying to figure out just what was going on. Then Skrawl started to take off, as though he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. But that led him right to where the sound was coming from and….

There was a sudden, loud boom that caused the ground above to break apart. Skrawl rushed to get away, narrowly dodging getting stepped on by something large and furry. Rudy moved over quickly, crying out Penny’s name, but had to stop when a large, teal eye was pushed up against him, studying him crudely.

Rudy gulped and he raised his hands up to back away from Draow. He attempted to grin a little, trying to make himself look like he wasn’t too much of a threat. But something told him that it wasn’t working. He could see the look of anger and determination in Draow’s eyes.

Rudy backed away some more and he looked up. He had expected to see Mr. Cosmo glaring at him as well, but he was stunned to see that he brought two people with him. None of them looked like anyone he could recognize himself. But he could tell, from their uniforms, that they worked for this guy. One of them looked sort of pissed off, though it was hard to explain. The other looked scared to be here, but it did also look like she felt that she had no choice.

The man with her was looking around. Rudy noticed how his eyes seemed to furrow in confusion. Something didn’t seem to be what he had expected. Then the man turned this attention to Mr. Cosmo, his eyes blinking slowly. “I thought you said there were a lot of zoners here.”

“Did I say that? Well there were a few others.” Mr. Cosmo motioned to where Rudy was. “But you have him to thank for ridding most of them.”

Rudy growled at this. He could feel the other two humans staring at him, perhaps shocked at what he was able to do. But they didn’t care about the zoners. Mr. Cosmo would have seen to that. Of course that man would put him on the spot like that. It certainly seemed like his style. It was probably to guilt trip him into trying to join with him. Or to try to use the black chalk again. He was not going to fall for his tricks a second time.

Mr. Cosmo just chuckled when he looked at him. He didn’t care if he was upset with him or not. The man looked rather smug, as though eager to shift things back into his favor. He had two humans with him and he knew that the man was going to use them like they were nothing more than tools. He could see it in his eyes and he could see how these two humans were desperate to take care of what they saw as threats.

Rudy’s eyes widened when he realized what this was going to lead into. He turned his head to where Skrawl was. The large zoner hadn’t put in enough distance. And one of the humans had already spotted him.

“There’s a zoner!” The man cried.

The woman let out a small screech, “And it’s got that poor little girl!”

Rudy watched as Skrawl started to back away more quickly, glaring intently at the humans, baring his teeth. He didn’t try to speak. It was likely because he understood that he had very little options right now. He likely had the feeling that if he tried anything stupid, he was going to get himself into trouble. Rudy was glad that he wasn’t speaking up to make things worse, but he still feared what would happen.

And that fear became to turn into a reality.

He could see Mr. Cosmo raising his hand up, motioning towards Skrawl. But his voice was directed at the humans that he was with. “And are you going to let it get away with this? What about you, woman? Going to let another failure slip through your fingers? You don’t want to end up like Ms. Saffron, do you?”

Rudy blinked at this. What did he mean by that? What happened to Ms. Saffron?

He wasn’t able to try to ask anything about that. Before he knew it, the woman’s eyes had glinted and there was a new, raw emotion there that he didn’t see before. He realized that she wasn’t going to take this sitting down any longer. He could see a sense of determination that was boiling up and overflowing. And he realized what was going to happen next.

It didn’t take long for it to happen. Rudy could see the woman pulling away from the startled man. He could see her landing on the ground. The fear was glowing brightly in her eyes, but so was her determination. He noticed the way that her fingers curled in, her lip curling into a snarl. She took in a few deep breaths and then she tensed herself up before she broke into a run. It all happened so fast, Rudy found himself jolting in surprise when she was already halfway to Skrawl.

“I won’t let another one die on my watch!” The woman shouted.

Another one? Who died? Who had… Rudy shook his thought as he reached his hand out towards the woman, his eyes wide in shock. “H-Hey! Wait! Don’t do that!”

But the woman did not listen.

sss

What was happening to her friend? Why was he behaving like this? Why was he suddenly just... 

Many thoughts swirled through her head. She tried so hard to think of what could be wrong. But there was nothing that she could think of that would calm him down. She gritted her teeth tightly and she watched carefully as her friend struggled against the binds that held him down. The doctors around him were trying to get him to relax, but nothing they said or did was working.

Rapsheeba watched in horror as her friend managed to break free from them. He kicked at one of the doctors and punched the other before jumping away and landing a few feet from them. The doctors recovered pretty quickly from the attacks and they went over to try to apprehend the zoner. But Snap merely arched his back like a cat and snarled, taking a swipe at them as if his hands had claws. It was such a distressing sight to witness. Rapsheeba had no idea what she was going to do.

Rapsheeba remained silent as the doctors tried again to surround Snap. They held with them some ropes, a last resort in trying to get Snap to calm down. They were trying not to hurt him. But a part of Rapsheeba became aware that this might be necessary. Snap just wasn’t willing to cooperate. She didn’t think that he even could do that. It was like his mind had been locked up elsewhere.

And then there was the fact that…

“I got him!”

“Keep him down! We can’t let him escape!”

“I’m trying, but he’s….”

“Someone grab on!”

The singer zoner watched as the doctors, all four of them, hopped onto Snap and tried to use their weight to hold him down. Snap let out several shouts and screeches to make them let go, twisting from side to side. But nothing he did would get himself free. It was apparent that Snap was getting increasingly frustrated. As such, his actions started to become increasingly violent and desperate. Not a good combination.

Snap started to bite the doctors. Or rather, trying, his jaws snapping shut near them. The doctors had to lean back, even let go, just to dodge these attacks. One unlucky doctor, however, still managed to get bit. Snap sank his teeth into his wrist, starting to draw blood from it. The sight made Rapsheeba gasp and the other doctors looked horrified as well. A part of Rapsheeba wondered if Snap’s...condition was going to spread to the doctor.

But right now, she tried to focus on her friend. Something had to be done about him. He was becoming a menace to everyone around him, including himself. He shouldn’t be on his feet like this. He should be laying down and resting like she was. His feet were never going to heal right if he…

Her thoughts were cut off when she heard the door swinging open, hitting the wall loudly. She flinched a little at this, and soon she could see what appeared to be a nurse rushing in to see what is going on. Penny saw just how worried and frantic the nurse was as she brought some supplies over. It appeared to be some kind of small needle or something. Some kind of tranquilizer, she would bet.

“Here, sir! I brought this! Do you think it’ll be enough?” The nurse said, her voice tinged with worry.

One of the doctors reached over to grab it. “I think it’ll be fine.” The doctor took the needle from her and he looked over at Snap. “Hold him down. This should calm him.” The other doctors attempted to hold Snap down while he leaned in to give Snap the needle.

But it didn’t turn out like they had hoped. Rapsheeba had already seen it coming. The doctors didn’t hold him down securely enough. This allowed Snap to launch his fist at them. He struck against the doctor holding the needle. This caused the doctor to be pushed back and the other doctors to flinch just enough to let Snap break his other limb free. He grabbed the needle and he twisted around and jabbed one of the other doctors in the eye with it. Blood splattered everywhere and the doctor screamed in agony.

The doctor that had been holding the needle moved in to try to stop him, but Snap just threw the needle into the doctor’s open mouth. The doctor gagged as he staggered back, the tip of the needle embedded deep in the back of his throat. There was a gurgle and the doctor slumped to the ground.

The nurse let out a scream as she turned and fled the room, screaming about an emergency over and over again. The other doctors were too stunned to do anything. They watched in horror as two of their own fell and now it was just two of them left. Snap stood not far from them, on all fours and snarling viciously. He wasn’t armed anymore, but the horrific actions that they had witnessed was more than enough to keep them from doing anything.

Rapsheeba took notice of how Snap started to look as if his outline was becoming even more red than before. Even Snap’s body color had started to change, beginning to become increasingly reddish in coloration. It was like he was becoming more and more of a red chalk zoner, a thought that terrified her. It made her fear what Snap might do with these doctors if he was becoming increasingly like one of those feral creatures.

Thankfully, Snap didn’t seem interested in keeping this up. He just gave a small roar at the doctors before he took advantage of the opening given to him. He bolted, running as fast as he could, leaving the doctors, and Rapsheeba, in the room in absolute shock.

SIlence fell upon the room. Rapsheeba couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Neither could the doctors. They all panted heavily, their pounding hearts echoing in the room. Rapsheeba watched as the doctors exchanged horrified looks, and then they looked down at their fallen comrades. The first thing they did was rush over to them to see if they were all right.

“H-Hey….are you okay..?”

“Come on now… G-Get up…”

Rapsheeba could hear the absolute anguish and horror that strewn across their voices. She could feel a small pang in her chest, feeling their emotions intermingling with hers. But while she did feel sorry for them, she held more fear for Snap. She realized that with him loose, he was not only running the risk of hurting himself more, but what would happen if he attacked other zoners like this? He needed to be stopped.

She wanted to do something, but what could she accomplish sitting here in this bed? She was in no condition to go after him. Someone else would have to do it. But if another hospital staff member went after him, would they know what to do? What if someone else tried to get him? Would they understand that Snap isn’t truly responsible? That something else was going on? Rapsheeba feared greatly for her friend. She knew how zoners could get when frightened. She knew that they might do something...regrettable if they saw Snap as a threat.

And the fact that he was starting to look like a red chalk zoner didn’t help things, either. Rapsheeba swallowed hard as she imagined all the things that might be done to Snap if he were to become mistaken for a red chalk zoner. This was enough to make her stir restlessly in her bed. She just had to do something...but what could she do? Whatever she came up with, it needed to be fast.

sss

“You’re not going to get away with this! I-I-I’m going to make you pay!”

“Ms. Teelar! Come back!”

“I’m not g-g-going to s-screw up this time!”

“Wait!”

Rudy had to move as quickly as possible. Skrawl was frozen in surprise, clearly not expecting this woman to be charging at him like that. Rudy had his doubts that the woman would do any real damage. But he also knew that if he didn’t do something, things could get a lot worse. This woman would be delaying the help that his friend needed so badly. He had to stop her.

Rudy’s surroundings became nothing but a blur as he rushed over as quickly as possible, his mouth hanging open, his chest inflating and deflating rapidly. He could feel his throat getting dry and his world spun slightly. He could feel his vision blurring slightly before it resharpened itself. And all the while, he was getting closer and closer to the woman.

Ms. Teelar, as they had called her, was almost within jumping distance of Skrawl. It was only at this point that Skrawl had finally turned to try to run away. He held Penny close against him, as if to protect her from being dropped or hit. This wasn’t enough to make Rudy fully relax, but it did make him think that maybe Skrawl did have some truth to his words after all.

Rudy didn’t watch Skrawl for long. His eyes soon returned to the woman before him and, narrowing his eyes in determination, he launched himself at Ms. Teelar. He wrapped his arms around her and, hearing her scream once, the two of them toppled into the ground. They rolled across the ground painfully, flipping in the air a little and then scraping across the ground. They soon landed in a heap not too far away.

The boy coughed as he pushed himself up. He shook his head once and he looked down. He realized in that moment that he had pinned the woman on the ground and he had... with the way that he was positioned... The two of them stared wide-eyed at each other before they immediately scrambled back, putting distance between them.

Ms. Teelar held herself up by her hands and panted heavily while looking at Rudy with wide eyes. Then slowly they narrowed as something appeared to have dawned on her. She growled softly as she said, “Just what do you think you’re doing? I-I-I was trying to help your friend!”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yes I know, but...”

“Then why did you knock me over?” Ms. Teelar demanded. Though despite her best efforts, Rudy couldn’t feel too intimidated by her. She was too soft-spoken.

Rudy replied, “That zoner is just trying to get my friend to safety.” He motioned to where Skrawl had disappeared in. “He isn’t going to hurt her. I have....trust in him.” Rudy flinched at this. He realized that he didn’t sound very convincing right there.

And the others took notice.

“You don’t sound one hundred percent sure on that, boy.” Mr. Cosmo said softly. Rudy turned his head to see the man, along with the other male human, coming towards him, his hands on his hips with a look of disappointment on his face. “Tsk, tsk... You’d think you know who you can trust. But with zoners.... They always backstab you, am I right?”

Rudy could only glare at the man. Any attempt to say anything regarding Skrawl and defending him would not work. He couldn’t deny the man’s words when it came to the jellybean; he knew that it was a huge risk and Skrawl had backstabbed him before. It was too late to take it back now and it’s not like the trusted these people any more than he did with Skrawl. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

The boy kept a firm stance where he stood. He wasn’t going to let them have any sort of victory. Mostly Mr. Cosmo. He had no idea what to expect at this point. And as he heard Draow growling deeply, he felt his heart skipping a beat. He paused and looked around him slowly. And then he looked back at the others as a horrific realization dawned on him.

He had no magic chalk to work with.

The thought caused his mind to freeze. The only thing around here was more black chalk. He needed to get back in the Chalk Mine. He needed to figure out how he was going to get up that rope quickly enough but... No, that won’t work. Draow would be too fast. He could grab the rope and tug and then....

But there had to be another way in here. Perhaps this was once connected to the Chalk Mine itself. Perhaps there was a blocked area somewhere. He did recall seeing a pile of rocks near that corpse. Maybe that could be another way out?

But how was he even going to get through there? He doubted that he could just dig his way out. The fastest way was with Real World water, but that would be a horrible idea in this case. Even if he did somehow obtain it without trouble, it was way too dangerous of an item to bring in here. Everything here could be erased with that stuff. He didn’t want to risk hurting anyone. In Draow’s case, it was mostly that he was worried about backlash, which was still a good enough reason not to risk it.

“What should we do about the boy...?” The one man said. He glared intently at Rudy. Not so much out of anger, but curiosity and confusion. It was clear that he had no idea how they should handle him, and this caused Rudy to lick his lips slowly in nervousness. “He seems to want to protect these creatures.”

“Indeed. I know, strange, isn’t it, Mr. Malcolm?” Mr. Cosmo commented. He shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into him. I mean, he was going to help me, but he’s changed his mind.”

Mr. Malcolm turned his head to the side to look at Rudy with one eye. “Oh really now....?”

Rudy wasn’t sure what it was about the man, but he felt himself shrinking a little, moving back.

Ms. Teelar moved over closer to where Mr. Malcolm was. She leaned against him, holding onto his arm, looking for support. The man slunk his arm around her and held onto her protectively. It sort of mirrored how Rudy would act for his friends. But something about this just made him feel rather unsettled. He tried not to let it show.

Ms. Teelar spoke softly, “Sh-Should we lock him up? I wouldn’t want him to get hurt...”

Mr. Cosmo was silent for a few moments. He stared at Rudy intently, his blue-grey eyes judging him almost harshly. Rudy got the strong feeling that he was not going to get off scott free so easily this time. He had been given many chances by Mr. Cosmo and he had failed each time. The man was likely going to be stricter this time. Exactly what he’d do, Rudy didn’t know, but he dreaded what the answer was.

Mr. Cosmo exhaled slowly, releasing a soft growl. He turned his eyes to one side, staring at where the remaining black chalk resided. He let out a small huff before looking back at Rudy. He made a quick gesture to the two humans and said, “Grab a hold of him. Keep him in place.”

Rudy immediately began to back away quickly, raising his hands up as Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm started to move towards him. He attempted to turn and run, but he wasn’t quick enough. He could feel the adults grabbing him by his wrists. Rudy struggled to free himself, but it was no use. He couldn’t exert enough force to get free.

Mr. Cosmo had walked over towards the bunch of black chalk. Rudy felt his heart skipping a beat as he picked up some pieces and started to walk back towards him. Rudy thought for sure that Mr. Cosmo was going to try to force him to hold the piece again. He didn’t expect to see the man putting them into his pocket and then he picked up the remaining one. Rudy immediately flinched, shutting his eyes and looking away.

When nothing happened, he reopened his eyes and turned his head, blinking in confusion. He could see the man starting to draw something in the air. He moved quickly, as though in a hurry. Soon he was holding up what looked like long, rough-looking rope. The man held the rope up firmly in his hands and tugged at them hard, causing Rudy to flinch as he hard a loud snapping sound.

“Let’s make sure he doesn’t try to interfere with us again.” Mr. Cosmo said as he started to move closer to Rudy. The boy struggled once more, looking up at Mr. Cosmo in terror.


	62. Denying A Gift

Rudy struggled against his binds as much as he could. He twisted and he turned and he yanked. But he just wasn’t able to get himself free. There was nothing that he could do. He eventually stopped and turned to glare at Mr. Cosmo. He bared his teeth and seethed through them, trying to make himself look as determined and unafraid as possible.

But he had his doubts that Mr. Cosmo was really paying attention. That man was too busy pacing from side to side, his arms folded behind his back. He would occassionally look over at him, but he wasn’t really listening to anything he’d try to say. He merely acted as if he wasn’t there, like he was seeing right through him. Rudy licked his lips dryly and he could feel his body shaking. He had no idea what this man wanted to do with him.

And it would seem neither did Mr. Cosmo himself.

The man had dismissed the other two for the time being. Or rather, he told them to keep a certain distance away. Draow remained there to make sure that they didn’t disobey. Mr. Cosmo clearly wanted them for something, but for now, his attention was on Rudy.

He had remianed silent for most of the time. He made little sound other than a few grunts and other displeasured sounds. Mr. Cosmo looked as though he were struggling to think of what a suitable punishment for him would be. Rudy could only cringe back against the rock that he had been tied to. He couldn’t rely on Mr. Wilter to help. The main was still laying on the ground and Mr. Cosmo didn’t even bother to acknowledge him. Rudy was entirely on his own right now.

Mr. Cosmo stopped his pacing. He stood there for several long moments before he turned his head and stared at Rudy out of the corner of his eye. The way that he looked at him was enough to make Rudy’s skin crawl, his hair raising on end. Mr. Cosmo’s eyes seemed to pierce right through him, like a hot knife through butter. He could even feel the sharp jabs despite there being no physical contact.

Mr. Cosmo then started to walk a little closer to Rudy. He didn’t get that far, and he stopped within a couple of feet of the boy. He remained like this for several long moments, raising his lip up slowly to show disappointment and contempt for him, almost disgust. After a long, almost unbearable silence, the man said, “I just don’t get it... You had the black chalk in your possession. You could have been free... How did you... How could you have let that go?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes into slits. He growled softly. He might not fully remember all of his actions directly, but he could still see the after effects of it, and he could still recall a few things that stood out that he could recall. He was still aware of the corpses laying nearby. It was chilling how their presence didn’t seem to bother anyone else here. “That jellybean that your friend there tried to stop, he’s the one who stopped me from making a terrible mistake.”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flashed a little at this. “So I see.... So you were ripped away from the black chalk. Fair enough. I could always rectify that.”

“Don’t even think about it.” Rudy turned his head to the side, growling through clenched teeth. “I don’t want any of that near me.”

“You don’t really mean that. Stop trying to lie, boy.” Mr. Cosmo took another step closer. He held up the black chalk towards Rudy, a smile cracking along his face. “No one can resist it for long. It’s just that strong of an appeal. You felt its power, its liberation. You know what it is like seeing things through more cleared eyes.” He leaned in slightly more. “Why would you deny the gift?”

“Because it was making me something that I wasn’t.” Rudy declared. He snarled, his lip curling up firmly. “It was turning me into a monster. That isn’t something that I want to become. I don’t want to be someone, something that hurts people.”

Mr. Cosmo blinked once. “But you’re only harming those creatures that have been trying to invade the Real World.”

Rudy tried to jerk forward, wanting so much to strike the man for trying to spew more lies. But once he found that he couldn’t go that much further, he just stopped himself and then panted heavily, glaring intently at him. Then he raised his head up slightly and he snarled, “Zoner or human, they’re both people. And I will not harm a person.”

Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy, as though half expecting him to say something else. But when Rudy did not, Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh before taking a step back. “I see then... That’s a shame.” He furrowed his eyes as he glared at Rudy, looking as though he were gravely disappointed in him, which Rudy knew that he was. “I can’t believe that you’re still brainwashed. There’s no other reason that you’d deny this gift. The black chalk just wants to help you, and you dare push it away.”

“It’s nothing more than a trickster wanting to do whatever it pleases. It’s using you like a toy. You just refuse to see it.” Rudy stated, uncaring if he pissed the man off or not. He did still need to hear this. “You might even know yourself that something is wrong. But you refuse to see. You’ve become just an errand boy for the black chalk. You’re its personal slave.”

Mr. Cosmo seemed to jerk at this, as if he were trying to keep himself from doing anything that he’d regret. And the way that he held his hand out, the fingers arched and flexing, Rudy had to turn his head to the side and shut his eyes as he imagined that the man was going to grab him and do something to him. But Mr. Cosmo did manage to hold himself back. His eyes and teeth were still contorted, however, the anger plain as day on his face.

Mr. Cosmo seemed to relax a little when he forced himself to inhale and exhale slowly a few times. Only after he seemed to fully relax did he attempt to say anything else. “Spoken like someone who really doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I can’t blame you, though. That white chalk infestation has a stronger hold on you and I should have done something more to help you. I am sorry that I couldn’t do that.”

Rudy snarled at him. He would have said something, but there was really nothing that would get through this man’s twisted mind. It didn’t matter what he said to this man. He wasn’t going to listen to him. He was better off just staying quiet. So he did, releasing a few low snarls at the man to show his displeasure at him.

“Heh, stubborn to see the truth, I see. Well then...” Mr. Cosmo started to come in even closer. He reached towards the boy, grabbing his chin with his hand. He held on tightly, pressing his fingernails into the skin. Rudy yelped and flinched at this, but he otherwise held still, gritting his teeth and his eyes remaining narrowed. “I think I’ll have to try a little harder to show you what I mean. Something that’ll pierce right through that shield that the white chalk is trapping you in.”

Rudy jerked his head away. He flinched and hissed when he felt the man’s fingernails slicing against his skin a little. But despite that, he still managed to turn his head to glare at him, ignoring the stinging pain.

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him and shook his head, as though he was starting to think of Rudy as a troubled cause or something. He glanced over at the others, as if contemplating telling them something. Whatever it was, he seemed to have changed his mind, immediately shutting his mouth and then looking back at Rudy.

“You know, I think I know what’ll snap you out of this trance. You just need to show how vicious zoners can be...” Mr. Cosmo looked over at where Draow and the two humans were standing. A small, sly smile spread along his face. Rudy sensed something from it and he cringed. The man wasn’t thinking of....was he? “All you need...is a live....demonstration!”

The man blew on his whistle, something that Rudy swore he had seen before. He couldn’t hear the sound, but Draow’s ears twitched. Then they flattened and the zoner bared his teeth and growled, lowering his head and jerking his body a little as if trying to escape the sound. The sight of Draow exhibiting pain like this caused a swirl of mixed emotions to surge through Rudy’s body. On the one hand, he didn’t want the zoner to suffer like this. But on the other, he knew what Draow had done and this was nothing compared to that.

However, Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar had very different reactions to this. They were looking up at the zoner with some discomfort and even some fear, mostly from the woman. They backed up, raising their hands in self defense. Draow’s actions grew increasingly volatile, raising his foot up to claw at his ear as if to tear out something stuck in it. He raised his head up and swung it from side to side, releasing a loud roar before he finally turned his attention to the humans before him.

All of a sudden, his demeanor had changed. Whatever message Mr. Cosmo was sending to him, the zoner was now processing it and acting to it. His teal eyes seemed to glow and his body straightened and stiffened, his wings pressing close against him, his large, sickle wing claws suddenly looking as if they had been sharpened up. He snapped at the air once before slumping forward, going into a horizontal stance and he began to move in closer to the humans in front of him.

“M-Mr. Cosmo sir.... He’s...getting c-closer...” Ms. Teelar whimpered. She moved back a little, but she still found herself clinging to Mr. Malcolm. “M-Make him stop...”

But Mr. Cosmo said nothing. He remained silent as Draow continued to advance on the two humans. His teeth were bared even more, ready to strike.

Mr. Malcolm swallowed and stared up at Draow in terror. He leaned away as the beast’s shadow spread over his body, casting him in darkness. Mr. Malcolm casted a glance to where Mr. Cosmo was, his eyes wide with confusion and worry. “Aren’t you going to do something? He’s n-not stopping.”

Mr. Cosmo stared over at the man. His face was expressionless at first. Then slowly, a smile spread across it, indicating something else going on underneath the surface. He even started to grin a little, something that didn’t seem like the appropriate response for this. “It’s all right... I just need a demonstration. Nothing more than that.”

Mr. Malcolm bit his lip. “What kind of...”

“Let me show you.”

With a swift motion of his hand up and down, Mr. Cosmo gave the signal to Draow. And Draow responded within moments.

“Aaaahhh! Wait, stop! P-P-Please, I-I-I...!” Ms. Teelar tumbled across the ground, rolling around painfully as Draow struck against her, tearing her away from Mr. Malcolm. She let out a few shaky cries as she looked up at the beast, her eyes wide in desperation. “Please d-d-don’t hurt me... Aaaahh!”

Draow bit down on her arm and lifted her up into the air. He shook his head from side to side, her body like a rag doll in his jaws. He then threw her across the ground, his ears twitching as she hit the ground with a thud. Then he rushed over towards her, his wings spreading upwards to make himself go faster. The woman let out another scream as Draow stomped on her with his foot.

Mr. Malcolm gripped his head tightly, his face aglow in horror. He turned to Mr. Cosmo. His voice and gaze were tinged in anger, his breathing rate increasing, chest pumping rapidly. “What the fuck are you doing?! S-Stop it! Leave her alone!” When Mr. Cosmo didn’t reply, Mr. Malcolm went over closer and grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him forward. “Didn’t you hear me? I said let g...”

Mr. Cosmo pushed the man into the ground, staring down at him with a somewhat calloused expression. “She’s going to remain alive. All Draow is doing is demonstrating. Just relax.”

Mr. Malcolm held himself up by his arm, his wide eyes staring at the man and he struggled to speak. “Y-You...” He managed to say before his voice faded into the air, turning into nothingness.

Mr. Cosmo just smirked at this, letting out a small ‘hmph’ sound before he returned his attention to Draow, watching with eerily calm eyes and posture as Draow continued to play with Ms. Teelar like she was a toy. Even though it wasn’t particularly bloody or gruesome, it was still an unsettling sight to watch. Rudy couldn’t believe how calm this man was acting about this. Didn’t he have any shame?

Evidentally not, made clare by how the man started to chuckle at the sight before him. Was this some kind of sick, twisted joke to him? Did he really find this hilarious? This was disgusting, vile... Rudy just couldn’t believe how callous he was acting right now. These were his own fucking employees. They were human... What did he think he was going to accomplish from doing this?

Rudy could feel a sense of pity and horror watching over him as he saw Draow continuously swinging Ms. Teelar in the air, bouncing her up with his head and wing, keeping her aloft. The woman sailed and flipped through the air. Her arms and legs flailed around in desperation as she tried to grab onto something. But she continuously failed and she wound up suffering another blow from Draow.

This seemed to go on forever, despite cries of protest from both Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm. That is, until Draow seemed to have finally stopped. He held onto Ms. Teelar’s shirt collar, the back of it, for a few seconds before he just dropped her to the ground. Then he stood over her, staring at her intently, as though to make sure that she didn’t try to run off. Then, after giving Mr. Cosmo a stare, Draow started to back away.

Mr. Malcolm immediately rushed towards Ms. Teelar. He grabbed onto the frightened woman and pulled her into his arms. He held onto her tightly, rubbing her back and trying to soothe her. He looked over at Mr. Cosmo with wide, horrified eyes. Ms. Teelar pushed herself further against Mr. Malcolm, her head pressing underneath his chin.

Mr. Cosmo just smiled, raising his hand up slowly, his voice directed at Rudy. “Now there you see? Notice how dangerous and unpredictable he was?”

Rudy snarled, “You ordered him to do that.”

“Eh, details.” Mr. Cosmo shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not like she was seriously hurt. It was a demonstration.” He lowered his arms before motioning towards Rudy. “But imagine what would have happened if I didn’t have control. Imagine the damage that he would have done.”

Ms. Teelar let out a small whimper. Mr. Malcolm rubbed her back and looked at her sympathetically. Mr. Cosmo soon got those eyes glaring at him with a mixture of emotion.

Rudy bestowed upon Mr. Cosmo his own glare. “Do you think that it’s automatically okay just because it was a ‘demonstration’? You’re only painting up your own results. If you wanted to prove anything to me, you’d use a zoner who is already feral, like you said, and not under your control.” Rudy struggled for a bit. He had hoped that he’d have some chance of breaking free. Oh well. He stopped struggling in a huff as he gave a bitter chuckle. “I don’t think you’d have much chance of that. You....”

The boy’s voice trailed off, hissing under his breath. There wasn’t anything that he could say to make this man see the truth, now was there?

sss

He had no idea what was going on. He couldn’t tell where he was. Everything was just a blurry mess. He could see nothing but red all around him. Bright and dark red colors mixing together in some kind of vortex, it created an unsettling world that seemed almost impossible for him to navigate.

And yet somehow, he could run through just fine. Somehow, the disturbing imagery around him still formed some cohesive world that he could traverse through. And so he did, moving across the ground constantly, struggling to get through as quickly as possible. He couldn’t stop for anything. This place was just too dangerous for something like that. He was only going to make things worse if he tried to stand around too long.

Up ahead, he could see what appeared to be some twisted tunnel kind of things. They warped and stretched and dispersed about, looking like something out of hell. But they also seemed to look like the safest places to go. Despite how they appeared, they seemed to be the safest. Such irony…

And that’s why Snap still went there. He pumped his arms forward and back, his tongue hanging out and panting. He had no idea just how he got here. But he wasn’t about to let himself become a victim. He felt his feet heating up from all the running, any sense of pain numbed as adrenaline pumped through his body. He cringed when he could see shadows looming all around him, mouths opening up and showing twisted, distorted teeth. He could feel his heart rate speeding up and he felt like he was going to throw up.

Just where was Rapsheeba? He kept asking himself that over and over again. But no answer could come to mind. He couldn’t begin to think to know what might have happened to her. He feared the worst for his friend. He hoped that she didn’t end up trapped somewhere in this wretched world. Or was she never sucked in? She might still be on the other side of...wherever the fuck this is, waiting for him to come over. And if she was, he had to make sure he met her there as soon as possible. So he pumped his arms harder and he got himself to run faster and faster.

He silently hoped that, wherever Rapsheeba was, she didn’t have to endure those creatures he had to before. He hoped that she didn’t need to fight against the distorted monsters that were trying to experiment on him. Snap managed to fight back and get them to back off. He had even caused them to scream, which he hoped meant that they weren’t going to take him on anytime soon. He hoped that they realized that he meant business.

But he didn’t know about Rapsheeba. Would she be as lucky as him? Would they be more relentless with her? He had no idea and he couldn’t even do anything to help her. He could only run and hope that...

Suddenly, after going through one of those tunnel things, it seemed like everything opened up. Snap noticed the shadows and dark colors weren’t as close to him any more. He could feel himself slowing down. He could not longer feel or hear any of those gurgling, bubbling things coming at him. This gave him a bit of time to rest and look around.

In the distance, he could see more of those shadows, stretching up and tall, in the distance. They were more stationary. They still wriggled about, but they seemed content with staying straight up for the most part. But on the ground near them, near him, that was an entirely different story.

Lots of smaller twisty shadows moving about. Some of them were liquidy and dripped almost like moving blood. That thought caused Snap to gasp as he realized that some of the stuff he could see around him looked grotesque and detailed, like he was moving through someone’s anatomy class. Was he inside some kind of blood system? Putting his head to his mouth and resisting vomiting, tasting his own bile, he started to make a run for it.

He didn’t know where he was going to go or where he was going to end up. He could already tell that some of these things were going to try to grab him and drag him back into that hell. But he wasn’t going to go back. They couldn’t make him. He was going to get out of this place, regardless of what these things felt about that.

No matter what.

sss

The man had to struggle to control himself. He drew in several deep breaths as he tried to get himself to calm down. A hurricane of emotions was sweeping through his body right now, showing no signs of slowing down. He curled his lip up into a snarl and he seethed through his clenched teeth. He could feel his world spinning and a headache spreading throughout his skull, showing no signs of stopping.

He glared at the man that he had once admired. He glared at him with a level of contempt that he never thought that he would feel for him. Up against him, he could feel the reminder of what happened shivering against him. The poor woman who had been toyed with cried against him. He tried his best to comfort her and soothe her, but nothing he did would calm her down. It didn’t help that the creature responsible for what happened was standing not that far away, and the man responsible for giving the order didn’t seem to care about her mental condition.

Mr. Malcolm snarled at this, unable to believe what he had just witnessed. He never thought that Mr. Cosmo would act this way. He had already acted strangely before, sure. And he was not always the most compassionate boss. But in the past, he never did anything quite like this. To see him acting this way now, it left Mr. Malcolm in a state of confusion and rage.

Just what had he been thinking? Why did he think that this was a good idea? How could he think that ‘demonstrating’ like that was the only way to go? There were other ways of making the boy realize the truth about these creatures. He didn’t need to go this far.

But what could he say? Mr. Malcolm knew that Mr. Cosmo would never listen to him. There was no point in him trying to argue or yell at him. The man would just ignore him, or worse yet, he’d punish him for trying something like that. He swallowed hard, feeling a bitterness rising up in his stomach, thoughts sweeping through his head. He held on Ms. Teelar more firmly. She was slow to calm down, and he continuously rubbed her back, whispering soft words of comfort to her. He glared back at Mr. Cosmo. He didn’t know how, but he was going to make sure that the man didn’t try to scare her like that again.

He had a feeling that he won’t get very far… But he knew that he still had to try.

Rudy was struggling against his binds. He was twisting himself left and right, snarling angrily, glaring at the man intensely. He was showing no signs of slowing down. He was utterly determined. It was as if nothing was going to stop him. Mr. Cosmo had been making an attempt to put him under control, but he seemed to be changing his mind. Mr. Malcolm doubted it was because of his struggling, however. No, something else was going on.

Mr. Malcolm wasn’t really sure what to think. On the one hand, he couldn’t really imagine why Rudy was acting this way. He didn’t think that there’d be any reason to protect these zoners. What was the point of it? The little boy must have lost his mind, or else was hypnotized by the white chalk as indicated by Mr. Cosmo.

Or was that even the case? Mr. Malcolm began to wonder just who lied to who. Was he right in what he thought? Was Mr. Cosmo right? Or had this all been a lie?

Gah, it was all foolish thinking anyway. Rudy was just a stupid little kid who didn’t know any better. And Mr. Cosmo was too strict and stupid to know what he was doing. He couldn’t begin to understand why what he was doing was wrong. He doubted the man even cared right now. He couldn’t bring himself to care enough about either of them to take any sort of action. So he just hung back and watched the scene playing out before him.

“I can’t believe you brought that here!” Rudy shouted. His voice was tinged in fear and horror. “Do you have any idea what that’s going to do?!”

“I know fully well, boy. And that’s precisely why I brought it with me. It’ll make this process so much easier.” Mr. Cosmo cooed to the teenager. The boy’s struggles didn’t seem to bother him that much. He was acting as if Rudy was acting like a sweet little angel or something. “I know you might think it’s an extreme solution. But think about it carefully.” He cocked his head to one side. “Do you think that the zoners would dare try to invade our world or intervene if there was the threat of a watery death on their shoulders?”

Rudy launched himself forward and tried to bite Mr. Cosmo. This movement was so quick that it startled the man and caused him to stagger back. Mr. Malcolm was surprised as well, but also a bit humored by it and he let out a few small chuckles. Well the boy had spunk. He would give him that.

Mr. Cosmo glared over at Mr. Malcolm, staring at him silently. Mr. Malcolm turned his head away, refusing to do or say anything. Mr. Cosmo scoffed at this before he stared at Rudy out of the corner of his remaining eye. “Still was protective as ever over these little cretins, are you? I suppose I should have expected that from a white chalk user like yourself. I thought of not doing this and hoped that you would see things my way. But it seems that you’re more stronger willed than I thought.”

Rudy just narrowed his eyes and growled.

Mr. Cosmo made a similar expression. “Or perhaps you’re still just too locked up in that little fantasy of yours to see what is really going on.” He straightened himself up, letting out a small snort through his flared up nostrils. “If you are going to deny this gift, then I will just have to make you accept it.”

“Think that’s going to work?! I was able to escape it before!” Rudy shouted at him. He struggled once more, trying to tug at his limbs hard and attempt to tear himself free. Of course it was useless, but the teen was tenacious.

“...then I will have to make sure I try harder this time.” Came Mr. Cosmo’s cooled reply. His remaining eye just stared right through Rudy, as if it had transformed into a knife. Rudy appeared to freeze a little, his body going stiff, as Mr. Cosmo continued to speak in this low, darkened voice. “I don’t care how ‘smart’ you think you are, Rudy. You know nothing about ChalkZone and how it really works. You are wrong about the zoners. They aren’t what you think they are. Don’t pretend like you know more than I do. I have known about this world since before you were born!”

Rudy didn’t say anything. His glare was gone, replaced with a wide-eyed expression. He took in several shaky breaths, his eyes seeming to go into a trance-like state. He wasn’t able to look away from Mr. Cosmo’s face, like some sort of hand was keeping him there.

“You are wrong….about everything!”

Mr. Cosmo’s voice raised in volume, his eye almost glowing with anger, his pupil shrinking into a dot. Those recent words he said almost seemed to echo in the room, shaking everything in its path. Rudy himself was cringing back away, turning his head to one side. It was like he was hoping to avoid some kind of laser from being struck at him, like the man really had that power. But then Mr. Cosmo just exhaled, the emotions seemingly going with the breath.

“You know, this is really quite sad. I have only wished to help you and humanity. I only ever wanted to keep everybody safe. I had seen true horror here. I had seen the truth being unmasked before me.” Mr. Cosmo moved around Rudy slowly, partially pacing around him. Rudy watched him carefully, as though worried the man might pull a fast one if he wasn’t careful. The man continued, “I would have thought that you’d understand that. You know what it’s like having to protect something.” Mr. Cosmo looked away, his expression softening up. “You have no clue what it’s like to be burdened like me, needing to protect both worlds.”

Rudy, despite his fear, managed to snarl at this. “How is this protecting ChalkZone or anyone? You’re just targeting zoners who haven’t done anything!”

“....yet.” Mr. Cosmo glared at Rudy. He leaned in towards Rudy, his arms folding behind his back. He looked almost as if he was going to fall over. It was some miracle that he didn’t collapse into the ground. “You want to play a little guessing game? You want to take the chance? Well fine… But I’m not going to do that.” He narrowed his eyes into slits. “You are a foolish little boy. You could never keep this world or our world safe. You don’t have what it takes.”

Mr. Malcolm wanted to say something, but he still kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to do anything to cause Ms. Teelar to worry further. He feared what might happen if he did anything to upset her. She already had been through enough already. Besides, he was interested in seeing where this went.

Rudy didn’t seem like he was going to back down. It was as if, no matter what the man said, Rudy would just shoot it back at him. Rudy was utterly determined not to fall into any sort of trap. Rudy didn’t want this man to dictate how he should view ChalkZone. As incorrect as Rudy’s views were, Mr. Malcolm still felt this to be admirable, the boy still standing up for what he believed in despite what evidence laid before him.

But respect or not, he couldn’t really stand against Mr. Cosmo. As angry as he was for what he had done, he knew that, deep down, Mr. Cosmo was just desperate to get Rudy to see the truth. He wasn’t going to allow it to happen again of course, but he did still think that Mr. Cosmo had some kind of point to make. He just hoped that he didn’t try anything that stupid again. He was right. They were lucky that it wasn’t an actual feral zoner attacking. That would have been a lot worse. How would they have….

That was when a low growl rumbled through the air. It caused everyone, including Mr. Cosmo, to stiffen up and look around. Mr. Malcolm had a sharp pang feeling in his stomach when he realized that this growl wasn’t coming from Draow. Even Draow himself was looking around, looking confused, his ears twitching a little. He shifted his head from side to side as he tried to look for whatever was going on.

That’s when Mr. Malcolm saw it. Some kind of creature emerging from the corner. Something that felt like it shook the ground every time that it took a step. Something that growled deeply, the teeth showing, the eyes blazing and practically bloodshot.

It was that polar bear zoner. Covered in ragged fur, blood stains, and dirt, looking like it had been through countless fights, it just stood there, panting heavily. No one dared to move, stunned by its sudden presence. Then it raised its head up and let out a loud roar. Ms. Teelar screamed and huddled against Mr. Malcolm as the beast headed right for her.

sss

“I said let me go! You can’t keep me right here, you idiots! Let me go right now or I’ll… I’ll….” Spy Fly’s voice faded into nothingness. There was nothing that she could say or do that would make them let her go.

In fact, she couldn’t say anything at all.

She was silent.

Spy Fly growled softly as she watched the zoners around her. She had been put under some sort of glass and there was a mask covering her face, hindering her ability to talk. She tried to push it away from her mouth, but there was nothing that she could do about it. Her whole body was still, as if frozen solid by something. Her whole body tingled and felt like it was not there. Some kind of numbing medication? She snarled at the thought.

The zoners around her appeared to be talking about something. She couldn’t quite make out their words. She could see their mouths moving, forming words. But she could not tell just what they were saying, causing her to grit her teeth in frustration.

The only thing that she could tell for a fact was that they seemed a little worried about her. They kept looking at her like she was dying from some kind of cancer or what not. Looks of uncertainty, guilt, and worry were visible on their faces. She couldn’t tell if this was because they had no idea what she was involved in or if they just didn’t care about that and were only concerned about losing a patient. She chuckled mentally at this. Even when presented with the facts, zoners were so stupid.

She couldn’t remain that bitter for too long. She would have felt her facial muscles relaxing and returning to normal had she been able to move them at all. She would have let out a sigh if she were able to. There was really nothing that she could do to get herself out of this, was there? And in the end, she was likely the only one that she could blame for it.

No, that idea was stupid. She was only doing what she was told. Her creator wanted her to do this. Was it wrong to follow her creator’s wishes? What about that idiot boy, Rudy and his creation, Snap? No one seems to care that Snap lives up to Rudy’s expectations for the most part, from what she had seen. So why would anyone care if she was only doing what Mr. Cosmo wanted her to? So what if she spied on the zoners in this putrid city and helped a handful of them disappear? Who cared about that, really? And why blame her? It was Mr. Cosmo who gave the orders. She just obeyed them.

She suddenly flinched at the thought of Mr. Cosmo. She felt a strong bitterness surging in her stomach. That man was responsible for her being in this situation. He had her attacked and nearly ripped apart. She had done so much work or him, and yet he still turned on her. The zoners at least acted like how she would expect someone that dumb to act. But Mr. Cosmo…. Why would he turn on her like that? After all she had done for him, he still betrayed her.

Perhaps she should have seen it coming. Perhaps she should have listened to the warning signs and done something sooner. Perhaps it was her own fault that this happened. Well regardless, there was little that she could do about it. The only thing that she could do was just….

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She turned her head and she could see the doctors coming over. She could see what they held in their hands. Her eyes widened for a moment, as much as her state would allow. Then she smiled mentally.

So this was to be her fate? Of course it would be.

sss

Oh shit... How did this thing get in here? How could it have found the portal to come back here? Or was it already in ChalkZone before? He knew that the zoners had escaped and he realized too late that he should have done something sooner about it. He had let himself get too distracted to do what needed to be done.

And now because of that, he was forced to watch as the large polar bear zoner barrelled down towards Ms. Teelar. The woman had gotten too stupid as she had wriggled herself free of Mr. Malcolm and was now running away, screaming loudly. And the polar bear zoner was not far behind her. It wouldn’t take long before the thing would catch up to her and she would have nowhere to run or escape.

Mr. Cosmo snarled at this, gritting his teeth. The woman was such an idiot. Why did he even bother hiring her? She was just getting in the way. Nothing more than mere fodder for the zoner. The only reason why he was considering doing anything to help her was because he knew that if he didn’t, Mr. Malcolm might be inclined to report him.

Of course, he could also get rid of him to and....

No, he would rather not lose his only real help here. He didn’t know how well or how long Draow can hold out. He needed some more black chalk users. He lost all of his years ago and Rudy was being a stubborn little brat. But these two, they might be more willing. In fact, this zoner just might convince them even more of the black chalk’s importance. The thought caused him to smile.

Mr. Cosmo looked over at Rudy for a moment. He continued to smile, letting it broaden as he saw Rudy’s horrified look. He could tell just how nervous and scared the boy was, how he seemed to know exactly what was in store for the zoner. He knew just from the boy’s eyes that he still felt something for the monster. He might not understand why, but this could serve as another lesson to the boy. Did he think it would make him crack? No, but it would be enough to convince the other two to become extra help for him.

“I promise you, Rudy, you will regret rejecting the gift of the black chalk. You will regret turning your back when it extended its hand out to you. All it wanted was to help you, Rudy. But if you are just going to push it away, then fine. Watch what will happen because of that.”

Rudy stared at the man wide-eyed as he said that. Rudy didn’t try to say anything. He just began to struggle against his binds, as if realizing the full impact of what he had been told. His struggling was frantic and his eyes bulged wide open. He panted heavily and he even let out a small whimper or to. Man, that boy really didn’t want to lose another zoner, did he? Well then...

Mr. Cosmo turned to face the beast. The polar bear had already knocked Ms. Teelar into the ground. It managed to keep her down, its wounds doing little to slow it down. Mr. Cosmo wondered momentarily what could have caused this, but the sight of the particular wounds were more than enough to make him nod his head in realization. Draow had done some quick work on it, he saw.

Yet despite that, the beast just kept going for it. The thing was determined to tear into Ms. Teelar. If it weren’t for Mr. Malcolm hanging on and trying to pull it back, it might have succeeded. The polar bear zoner let out a series of loud screeches and roars as it reared up and jerked itself from side to side. It opened its mouth wide and bared its sharp teeth at the man, snapping them shut. When Mr. Malcolm wouldn’t back down, the white bear zoner just twisted himself around and then rammed itself against him.

Mr. Malcolm fell to the ground, letting out a scream of pain. The polar bear zoner’s weight crushed against him, the sheer strength of the blow almost enough to break his back. Mr. Malcolm looked up and he had to react quickly before the zoner could bite him. He grabbed his mouth and he started to push back against him, his arms wobbling and shaking. But no matter how hard that he pushed, it was clear that he wasn’t going to last long.

Ms. Teelar was watching in horror. True to her cowardice ways, she wasn’t trying to do anything. She was just holding back, trembling and crying at the sight of the zoner trying to tear into her friend. All that eagerness to fight before was gone. Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this. He wasn’t very surprised. It was not much to go against a teenager. But as soon as she saw a zoner trying to attack, all that courage, whatever had remained anyway, had faded. Maybe Draow had something to do with it as well, but still...

Mr. Cosmo decided not to keep them waiting forever. He raised up the piece of black chalk and he began to walk over towards the polar bear zoner.

“Wait! Don’t hurt him, please!” Rudy wailed behind him. “H-He’s my friend!”

Mr. Cosmo immediately stopped at this. He slowly looked over his shoulder, his eye flickering with emotion. “You have a strange idea in friends, boy.”

Rudy just stared at him long and hard, his mouth hanging open in desperation, struggling to breathe. There were hints of tears in his eyes. “J-Just please...don’t do anything drastic. H-He can’t help it... It’s that device you put in his head. It’s making him act feral. Th-That’s why the other zoners went nuts, too. Y-You made them...”

Mr. Cosmo turned his head away. “Just keep quiet. I’ll come back for you later. Just let me deal with the threat first.”

“Wait, stop! Please!”

Mr. Cosmo ignored the boy’s cries as he continued his way forward, moving slowly. He held up the black chalk further, gripping it tightly. Many thoughts raced through his head as he thought of the different ways that he could deal with the creature. There were so many to choose from, and while he could go to the extreme if he wanted to, he decided that dealing with the zoner another way was best.

It shouldn’t be too hard. He just needed to draw one small thing. He flicked his wrist around. This way and that, he could see the lines forming in the air. It didn’t take long for the tazer to fall into his hand. He gripped it tightly and he pointed it at where the polar bear zoner was still struggling with Mr. Malcolm. Aiming with just one eye was difficult and he had to hope that he lined this up fine. He took the chance and he pulled the trigger.

A loud zapping sound could be heard as the small ball of electricity sailed through the air. It struck against the white zoner’s side, opening up and forming something like a net around it. The zoner turned its head before the thing activated. Its whole body lit up as electricy coiled through its body, causing its head to raise up as it let out a pained roar.

Mr. Malcolm managed to squeeze out from underneath the staggering zoner, scrambling up to his feet. The man trembled, likely from a mixture of emotion, as he stared with wide eyes at the beast. He took in several deep breaths as he took another step back. It didn’t take long before Ms. Teelar was already beside him, asking him if he was all right. The man didn’t answer, though whether that was because of his own anger at her if he had any, or because of what happened to him just now was unknown.

Mr. Cosmo watched for a few moments as the polar bear zoner continued to writhe on the ground. It seemed to becoming steady on its feet once more. That wasn’t something that could be allowed. Narrowing his eyes, Mr. Cosmo fired again. This second jolt caused another pained roar before the bear finally caved in, collapsing to the ground in a heap. He began to walk over slowly.

As he did, he could hear Rudy shouting at him.

“D-Don’t you dare touch him!”

Mr. Cosmo just shrugged as he reached the zoner’s side. He stared at its unconscious form, the thing’s mouth hanging partially open, the tongue rollling out. He knelt down and he grabbed the scruff of the zoner’s neck. He lifted it upwards and he turned to face where his employees were.

“You see this? Things like this are why the black chalk is our only true ally in this world. The black chalk will keep you safe. All you need to do is hold onto it and it will help you, guide you. This thing can’t hurt you if you accept the black chalk’s help.” Mr. Cosmo told them. He had already told them before about the benefits of using the black chalk, but he never actually got them to pick up a piece before. That was about to chance. “What do you say?” He dropped the zoner’s head. “Are you ready to take that step?”

He could hear Rudy struggling behind him, but there was nothing the boy could do to stop what was about to happen. He smiled as the two employees looked at one another before looking back. He could see the look in their eyes, how lost and determined that they were. Whatever ill feelings they had for him regarding his ‘trick’ with Draow were overshadowed by a strong, inate desire to protect themselves.

And they knew the best way of how to accomplish that.

With a single nod of his head, Mr. Malcolm said, “Yes, sir.”


	63. Conflicts Of Interest

All the boy could do was just watch in horror as the two adults accepted Mr. Cosmo’s offer. He wanted to scream at them to back away, that they have no clue what they were getting themselves into. But there was nothing that he could do to stop them. They weren’t going to listen to him, anyway. He was just a ‘stupid little boy’ in their eyes. They were also just attacked by a zoner. Emotions were fresh on their minds and he could tell that all they would care about right now was finding some sort of protection.

Even if that protection came from the black chalk.

Rudy swallowed hard, feeling sweat moving down his face as horror continued to cling to his face. His eyes widened further, fear glowing from them, wafering off like some sort of trail of whiteness, or so it seemed like to him. Rudy tried to tug on the ropes, his body feeling slick enough now to attempt it. No luck. His arms were as stuck as ever.

The two humans that Mr. Cosmo was with, Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm if he remembered right, were already approaching the man slowly. They were still cautious of him. He could see it in their eyes. They still weren’t really happy about what stunt that he had pulled earlier. But at the same time, they still saw him as some kind of symbol of hope and freedom. They saw him as their leader regardless of what they did. And above all, they saw zoners as the bigger threat, even if Mr. Cosmo had ordered one of them to attack.

He could feel his mind spinning and chilling as the two were already reaching out for a piece of black chalk. He wanted to yell at them. He could feel his voice starting to come out of his mouth. But it quickly stopped and held inside of his throat. There was no way that he could just do anything right now. Not while they were…. He gritted his teeth. Despite the fact that they clearly wouldn’t believe him, shouldn’t he at least try to keep them from making a huge mistake?

Rudy knew that he had to give it a shot. Otherwise, he would have another problem going on that was just going to hinder solving this situation. And he didn’t even have a plan to start off with, other than defeating Mr. Cosmo. But how was he going to do that if the man managed to obtain some followers?

Rudy gritted his teeth together and he made his effort to try. “H-Hey….! You don’t want to do that!” He called out, raising his voice loudly enough so that they could hear him. Even though they didn’t respond or react, he still continued his speech. “That’s not a good idea! You have no idea what the black chalk will do to you!”

Still they didn’t say anything. They didn’t seem to even acknowledge his words. Even Mr. Cosmo was giving him the silent treatment. The man was holding out two pieces of black chalk already. Rudy could see how it glowed brightly as the hands began to approach it. As this happened, he could feel his chest tightening up, his heart rate picking up a little.

“Please, you’re making a big mistake! You can’t trust the b-black chalk! Trust me, I know! It just uses you! It won’t protect you!” Rudy began to struggle a little more against his ropes. But even after some twisting and turning and yanking, there was not anything he could do to fully break free. He seemed to have even made the ropes tighter on him, forfeiting any chance that he had to become free.

But this time, he actually did get a response.

“Stay out of this.” The voice belonged to Mr. Cosmo. Rudy lifted his head up and he glared at where Mr. Cosmo was, snarling softly. Mr. Cosmo remained where he was, but despite that, Rudy could almost feel his presence looming over him, pushing him into the ground. “You’re not going to ruin this for them.”

Rudy gritted his teeth. “You’re going to do much worse to them if you….!”

“Oh be quiet! This isn’t any of your business, you little brat!” Mr. Malcolm snapped, whipping his head to glare at Rudy. The teenager cringed away from the sheer volume of that voice, ringing inside of his head. Mr. Malcolm continued, “You don’t need to be involved with this. If you love these zoners so much, fine. But we don’t, and we can make decisions for ourselves. So why don’t you just shut your trap and let us make our own choices. We don’t care if you don’t approve. We are not here to please you.”

“I know, but, if you would just listen….” Rudy tried to say.

Mr. Malcolm snarled, “We don’t have any reason to listen to the likes if you.” Rudy widened his eyes at this statement. Mr. Malcolm snorted before he turned his head away. “Now if you’ll excuse me…”

Rudy couldn’t do anything to stop the man from grabbing onto the black chalk. He could only just watch as the man’s body jerked a little, stiffening up and arching in ways he didn’t think were possible. Ms. Teelar looked pretty worried for him. She backed away but she didn’t go too far. She watched with wide, horrified eyes as the man trembled hard, as though pain and agony were sweeping his body. Tears appeared to be clawing their way out of his eyes, and the sight of it caused Rudy to gasp internally.

Then after what seemed to take several long minutes, time dragging on slowly, dreadfully, Mr. Malcolm seemed to finally straighten himself out, the shivering gone. He stood there for a little while longer, panting slowly, his eyes remaining shut for several moments. Then he snapped his eyes open, a black glow wafering from them, and there was a deep darkness that seemed to radiate everywhere.

“Mr. Malcolm…?” Ms. Teelar asked softly. She reached her hand over towards the man. “Are you all right? I…” She stopped when she saw the man staring at her intently, his eyes, for a moment, nothing more than black holes, the light from them growing intense before settling down. “Mr. Malcolm, y-you...you’re….”

Mr. Malcolm smiled softly, giving a soft chuckle. “I feel...really good right now.” He motioned towards Mr. Cosmo, who still held another piece of black chalk. “Go on. It won’t hurt you. Touch it and you will feel safe. I promise…”

Ms. Teelar swallowed hard, licking her lips a little. She looked uncertain and it seemed like Rudy might be able to reason with her. Maybe he could try to say something to keep her from touching it and save her from being pulled into the darkness like he had been. And maybe he could save her from suffering whatever fate Ms. Saffron did. Though he had no clue, he still felt a sharp pang in his stomach at the thought.

But if there was any hope for him keeping her from doing something stupid, it was already too late. To Rudy’s horror, Ms. Teelar’s own fears prevented her from holding still for long. She might have been a little hesitant at first, but she managed to shake it off as she reached over and grabbed the piece of black chalk.

And all Rudy could do was watch.

sss

Bardot growled lowly as he moved along the ground, his tail twitching from side to side as he made his way over towards the Chalk Mine. He had little reason to believe that Mr. Cosmo would leave that dreadful hole anytime soon. This left him some time for himself to visit the Red Chalk Chamber. He needed to device a way to get them to come into this place. Perhaps the red chalk might have a plan.

It did feel strange going back there. He had already promised the red chalk long ago that he was going to help them. Why wouldn’t he? They were his family. His kin. The only ones that he could truly rely on for help and advice. At least, they had been in the short time that he’s known them. He spoke to them mostly through the red chalk piece that Mr. Cosmo had been foolish enough to leave behind.

He chuckled to himself. He had to wonder if any of them figured out how the red chalk was connected to one another, speak to one another without being near each other. The black chalk and white chalk work the same way. He imagined Mr. Cosmo might have some knowledge of this. But if he knew this to be the same with red chalk, he never would have left that piece in there for him to speak into, to use, to help him hone in his plan and abilities for this very moment. Where did Mr. Cosmo think that he had learned how to use his abilities?

Bardot didn’t always feel like he fit in with the red chalk, however. He was only a halfer. He was a hybrid of two chalk types. He was technically as much of a white chalk zoner as he was a red chalk zoner. He had always felt more at home with the red chalk, but he was fully aware and conscience of his other half. Sometimes he wondered if the red chalk really did accept him or not.

Well he shouldn’t try to worry about that too much. If the red chalk didn’t want him around, it would have done away with him when he was in the cave the last time. It must still need his help. It must still see him as part of its brethren. The thought of it caused him to smile. He had made a promise that he was going to help the red chalk succeed in its plans. He had meant it, too.

His body soon slunk into the cave entrance. His nostrils flared as he took in the scent of blood that still reigned in the air. He continued on in, ignoring this smell as he traversed deeper into the mine. He didn’t bother stopping to see how Biclops was doing. That stupid zoner was likely already dead anyway. Or if not that, then almost dead. He had little reason to believe that he was going to be alive for much longer. The thought caused him to smirk. It would seem that Biclops was finally getting karma for wrongfully imprisoning the red chalk zoners all those years ago.

And that reminded him… Weren’t some of those zoners still around? Perhaps he could use some of them to his advantage. He might be able to free them and let them have some fun with Mr. Cosmo. That would create enough chaos for him to take control of…

Yes, that’s exactly what he would do. But first…

After some more time walking down this tunnel, he could soon see the entrance to the chamber. He stopped in front of it, craning his head up and grinning broadly as he saw the words written on it. He laughed at them. Such disturbing words written to keep creators from touching them… A clever idea, but it only got in the way of freeing ChalkZone for good. He had thought about destroying the sign, but that might not be necessary.

Bardot immediately felt energy bathing through his body as he entered the red chalk chamber. A smile crept along his face and he drew in a deep breath, feeling as though a breeze was moving around his body. He looked up and he could see the red chalk that hung from the ceiling, forming aerial clusters not unlike the white chalk. He shuddered once when he made this comparison, but he soon let it roll off his back. He walked into the room a little further, towards the center of it all. Then he sat down in a dog-like fashion and he curved his tail in towards himself.

He stared up intently at the lowest and nearest set of red chalk clusters. He watched as the sharp sparks of red shined in the air, rippling through the chalk and giving it that extra pazzazz that the white chalk lacked. And as he stared at it, it seemed to increase in frequency and he could soon see some kind of red aura rising up out of the nearest cluster. It didn’t form anything in particular, but he could almost sense a kind of face there, staring at him.

Then he heard the words. Not from echoing inside of his mind, but instead all around him, creating a sort of choir that he was the sole witness of.

“See you there… Why come…? Important…?”

Bardot lowered his head a little, showing respect to his brethren. “It is I, Bardot. I’ve come with some news.”

The aura seemed to grow a little more tense after a few seconds. There was some silence that reigned through the air, causing Bardot to freeze a little. A part of him wondered if he had upset the red chalk somehow. He licked his lips slowly and he waited in silence. He didn’t want to do anything to screw this up.

Eventually, the red chalk did reply. “Found way out…? You promised…”

Bardot nodded his head slowly. “I did find a way out, yes. I was trying to bring a human to you. But he’s derailed the plans by going into the….” Bardot paused for a moment. He licked his lips and he swallowed hard. He didn’t want to tell the red chalk this. But he knew there was no other choice. Pricking his ears forward, he lifted his head up straight once more and he said, “...Black Chalk Chamber.”

There was an immediate hiss from the red chalk. Bardot cringed, curling his body into himself. He gritted his teeth as he stared at the red chalk above him, his green eyes widening in fear. A part of him almost thought that the red chalk was going to last out against him.

But despite that fear growing inside of him, he still didn’t leave. He couldn’t back down from this. He was already here. He might as well see this through. He drew in a deep breath and forced himself to remain rigid and still, taking a determined stance to let the red chalk know that he wasn’t going to abandon it.

The red chalk did seem to finally calm down at least. But the red aura still seemed a little bright. The colors almost bled right into his eyes and he had to fight to keep himself from being blinded. He waited calmly to see exactly how the red chalk was going to respond to this dreadful news. Finding out that the black chalk was involved at all….was not exactly something that the red chalk wanted to hear. And there was a good reason for that.

“Black chalk...foolish...ruin everything….” The red chalk’s voices echoed. Bardot could only just nod his head in agreement. There was little reason to think that the red chalk was wrong on this. “Get human out… Black chalk cannot be allowed… Disaster years ago… Red chalk intervention saved them…”

Bardot tilted his head slowly to one side. He narrowed one eye while the other raised up. Now this was something that he hadn’t heard of before. “Pardon?”

The red chalk seemed to understand what he was asking and immediately responded. “Red chalk...kept black chalk users...lose sanity… It us red chalk….that hindered damage… Red chalk did more...than white chalk…”

Bardot felt his eyes widen at this. He had no idea that this had happened. Just because he was part red chalk didn’t mean that he knew everything. He turned his head towards the ground, his wide eyes looking into nothingness. He let his information sink in and his eyes slowly narrowed, gritting his teeth. Now he had a new reason to try to succeed in this mission.

Lifting his head up, he stared over at the red chalk and he spoke, trying to sound as serious and as hopeful as possible. “I promise I will not let you down. I will grab that human by the throat and I will drag him over here…” He looked at his claws, watching them as they flexed, the sharp tips looking ready to do some serious business. Then he slammed his foot into the ground, hearing the sound echo throughout the chamber. “...and I will have him kneeling before you. I promise.”

The red chalk flickered for a moment. Then it gave a cool reply, making Bardot narrow his eyes in acceptance. “Do not fail… Remember… zoners not listen… ChalkZone balance….must fulfill… The creators...must be tamed…”

sss

The red-haired man smiled broadly as he watched the woman finally allowing the black chalk to soothe her and give her a sense of control that she never had before. It took a little longer than he would have liked, but it did eventually become apparent. The sight of her smiling with confidence did make his heart flutter. He had been worried that, due to her skittish nature, she might not handle the truth that the black chalk would bestow upon her. But thankfully, she did a lot better than he could have hoped for.

And now, he had a couple of allies to help him out. He might not need them for long. But they were here to help him, and they were going to make things a little easier for him to accomplish. He just needed to be careful in how he handled this.

Turning his head, he grinned over in Rudy’s direction. “Looks like you won’t be able to interfere with the black chalk this time, child. These two weren’t tainted by the white chalk like you have been. Maybe there is still hope for you yet, however.” He tilted his head upwards a little. “We just need to find a way to free you of the white chalk’s taint.”

Rudy growled at this, but said nothing.

Mr. Cosmo stared at him for several moments before just shrugging his shoulders and turning his attention back to the two humans with him. He didn’t have much time to focus on that boy right now. He first needed to make sure that these two were doing well enough. They did seem to bLarse okay, but he also wanted to make sure, just in case. He didn’t want to slip up, like he had with Rudy.

Mr. Cosmo took a few steps closer to them, staring at them intently. The man and the woman looked at him, waiting for him to say something. He could see how their eyes seemed to now glow a little with black, their minds getting used to the truth that was laid out before him. They didn’t look frightened any longer. He could see the sense of confidence that radiated in their eyes. He doubted that they were fear-free. But they did look like they felt safer than they ever had been before.

“How do you both feel? Does the black chalk make you feel strong? Do you feel its energy surging through your body?” Mr. Cosmo asked. He kept his voice firm and quiet, but still loud enough for them to hear. He watched them carefully to see how they would react. “Do you feel like you can take on those evil zoners who had been pushing you around, threatening you, trying to kill you? They can’t hurt you anymore so long as you hold the black chalk.”

Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar both smiled at this. That was the only response that he needed to see. This was good enough to make him smile back in reassurance that they understood. They had been easier to convince than Rudy. The white chalk taint was fighting back. Rudy was going to need a boost if they were going to succeed in bringing him over to their side.

And he knew exactly how this was going to be accomplished.

He used his head to gesture to Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar. He didn’t want to be verbal about this. He had a feeling that Rudy would be far less receptive if he made too much noise and he knew what was going to happen. It might prompt the white chalk, which was already stubborn to begin with, to tighten its hold on him, making it harder to break that wretched spell of it. But though he himself couldn’t destroy this ‘bond’ before, it would have a much better chance of success with the help of Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar.

The red-haired man began to walk over towards Rudy slowly. The other two followed close behind. Rudy remained still and glaring. No attempting to wriggle free this time. It was hard to tell if it was because he knew that he could not escape, or if it was because he feared on what would happen if he tried. Either way, there was no attempt on his part to escape as they got gradually closer to him, soon forming a small circle around him and keeping him closed in.

Mr. Cosmo stood the closest to him. He smiled at the teenager as his hands and arms folded behind his back. He took a moment to look at his two helpers behind him before he addressed Rudy more directly.

“This shouldn’t take too long, dear Rudy. You just have to hold still. Look at us. Don’t look away. You might miss the opportunity that now lies before you.” Mr. Cosmo reached out towards Rudy, grabbing a hold of his face and tilting it upwards. Rudy tried to jerk his head away, but to no avail. Mr. Cosmo stared directly into his eyes, his smile stretching along his lips. “Stare into our eyes. Don’t try to blink or look away. We are here to help you. We all are. Just relax…”Lars

Rudy jerked a little, but he didn’t try to look away. His eyes were glued to them and slowly his body started to relax, caving into the demands given to him. Mr. Malcolm’s and Ms. Teelar’s gaze also joined in. A glow of black consumed them and Rudy’s body started to go a little limp. His eyes began to take on a black shade of glow and his head leaned forward, his jaw slacking.

Mr. Cosmo smiled at this. “That’s right. We will rid you of this white chalk taint…” His black glowing eyes joined in with the other two pairs, creating a total of six dark-colored orbs that were pumping wavering energy into Rudy’s own glowing eyes. “And then you will be free.”

Mr. Cosmo then just held there, keeping himself steady. He didn’t know how long this was going to take. But he wasn’t going to give up. There was still hope for this teenager. He believed in him.

sss

So what should he do in this situation? Should he move in and try to take action? Should he permit this to happen? It’s not like he was obligated to do anything. Heck, he didn’t even have a job at this point; the people he was guarding had left and were now under full control. So what was the purpose of standing around here for?

Draow realized that the best thing he could do was just sit down and watch this happen. He didn’t really need to do anything. Mr. Cosmo had things under control. He would make sure that Rudy didn’t get away this time. He would make sure that the teenager didn’t betray him again. Then they would have nothing to worry about.

Well except for that jellybean zoner, who had made off with the other human teenager. Hmm….but was that really of any worry? After all, it’s not like she will feel better quickly enough to stop them before things were situated. And that was if she recovered at all.

Sure she didn’t have to worry about his bite wounds any longer. The black chalk had taken care of that. But she still had that wound that Rudy gave her. A deep, bloody gash that was surely draining away her energy and her life force. Draow was certain that this was a fatal wound and any chance of her surviving would be nothing short of a miracle.

But perhaps it would be best if he got away from here and tried to follow him. He could hunt down Skrawl before he got into the Real World, preventing him from rescuing the remaining creator left. If Penny got out there, she might fight back via chalkboard drawings. They would be unpredictable and if she were as smart as she seemed… The thought made Draow’s eyes narrow slowly. He started to realize how much of a risk it really would be if they just let her walk scott free away from here. She might be able to tell other humans what was going on and…

And yet, he couldn’t just leave his post. He couldn’t just get up and walk away. Mr. Cosmo never gave the orders, and he no longer worked for Bardot. He had been created to be loyal, a follower, and if he had no orders, he was to hold still and do nothing until he did receive something. He felt his legs bending as he started to sit down, looking almost like a bird beginning to settle down. He still felt the urgency to leave rising up inside of him, but..that wasn’t really going to be useful for him right now, was it? Especially since Mr. Cosmo could….

Had it been a good idea to be loyal to him again? Sure he had done the impressive job of taking down Tsere 2.0, but he could not tell if that was good enough for Mr. Cosmo. That old fear began to twist inside of his guts. He snorted softly as he realized the irony of the situation. Despite it all, he still could not get Bardot’s words out of his head.

But Mr. Cosmo did still have something that Bardot did not, and that was experience and certainty. Draow was more familiar with Mr. Cosmo, his creator, than he was some little hybrid zoner that Mr. Cosmo had kept locked away. He was less sure of Bardot and he honestly didn’t know how true some of his words were. Bardot just seemed like he was trying to find ways to control him, like he was nothing more than a tool. Mr. Cosmo seemed to view him like that as well, but he did at least know what Mr. Cosmo honestly wanted.

Was Bardot telling the truth? Or was there something else going on?

He shook his head. He tried not to think about that too much. He lifted his head slightly as he stared out ahead, furrowing his eyes softly as he watched Rudy continuing to be bombarded by the energy of the black chalk. He was still trying to resist a little, but he was gradually accepting his fate. The sight of this caused him to smile, but then a small frown formed. Questions began to flood inside of his head.

Was the black chalk really any better than the red chalk? Were any of them that great to work for? Was the white chalk as bad as they said? Draow never witnessed the white chalk doing anything like this. So what made the red or black chalk better? Would it be more appropriate if there were less black chalk creators and not more? What if…

Feeling a headache coming on, Draow shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of his mind. Bardot had a bigger hold on him than he thought. He shouldn’t let that zoner get control of him. That’s exactly what he would have wanted. With his eyes narrowing slowly, he straightened himself up and released a low snarl as he glared out ahead. He watched what was happening to Rudy with a calm expression. This was for the best, he told himself.

It was around then that he suddenly felt some kind of chilly feeling. It crawled up through his body, making his fur rising up on end. He jerked a little before settling down. That was really strange, he thought. But it was probably nothing. Maybe just the wind or…

But the wind can’t reach down here. So how was…

Draow’s eyes opened wide open when he could hear the sound of a familiar voice easing its way around behind him.

“You know, I thought this would have been much harder to pull off. But since you’re just standing there…”

Draow turned his head around to see Bardot sneering at him. He didn’t have any chance of reacting as Bardot had already rushed forward. The tiny zoner was amazingly fast. Draow couldn’t even see him as anything but a yellow blur before he felt himself being struck in the leg, and then there was a sharp prick and pressure. His eyes immediately widened and his whole body went stiff.

Bardot’s smile spread and twisted along his face, his fangs showing more profusely. “..I think I’ll just get this done and over with. Thank you for making this easy for me, Draow.”

The wolf bat zoner felt something warm spreading along his body, mostly his outline. Then it started to sting and burn, and yet he could not scream. It was like his voice had been locked away. He couldn’t even get himself to move. His body quaked as this sensation spread upwards, from his leg to his waist to his chest and wings and up his neck and towards his head. As this happened, he forced himself to look down at Bardot, his teeth clenching tightly.

What was he going to do now? How was he going to get out of this? How did he not see this coming? How could he have let down his creator? He was really just a piece of shit, wasn’t he? He tried to struggle for a moment, but it wasn’t working. Fear dawned on his mind and he could only watch in horror as Bardot grinned and he felt his own mind setting on fire.

And then the redness came.

sss

Ugh… why was he doing this in the first place? Why had he agreed to help this girl out? This was going against what he normally would have done. He licked his lips slowly as the thoughts rained down upon him. He took in a few slow, deep breaths, his eyes beginning to ache from what conflicting emotions were surging in his head.

The large jellybean zoner still held Penny in his arm, his legs moving along towards the portal. He could feel his whole body aching, his old wounds still stinging, not having healed much. And carrying this girl around wasn’t making things any easier, either. He could just drop her here and leave and no one would be the wiser. Rudy would just think that something happened to him that prevented him from succeeding in what he told him that he’d do. It would be that easy, and he could go and rethink his plans and….

No, he had to see this through. He wasn’t sure what drove him to do this. He couldn’t fully understand himself right now. But ever since what happened earlier...he just… There was just no way that he could just leave her. After all… she might be of some use to him later, right?

Skrawl took a moment to look around, getting a good idea of what his surroundings were. He needed concentrate so he could see those bits of light indicating the presence of a portal. It was not the easiest thing to pull off, honestly. But portals were always recognizable as being part of an unnatural light, something that didn’t make sense with what was around it. Something like that small speckle of light that was trailing along the ground not far from him.

With his eyes glinting at this, Skrawl made his way towards the curving tunnel. Other zoners, those who weren’t smart enough to use their brains, might pass this by constantly. But he could see the small traces of light and with it, he guided himself into the tunnel. He followed the winding path, such a genius move to try to hide the portal on Mr. Cosmo’s end, he would admit. And then as soon as he turned the corner around, there it was.

Skrawl smiled at the sight of the portal. This would take him back to the Real World and then he could…

He stopped himself for a moment. He furrowed his eyes as he tried to think of how he was going to do this. He couldn’t just wander around in the Real World. He would stand out like a sore thumb. His other option would be just throw Penny in and maybe one of the humans there would take care of her. He did tell Rudy he’d get her back to the Real World. He didn’t recall being specific about what location. If he just tossed her in, he could tell that chalk boy he fulfilled what he said he was going to do.

Skrawl needed to figure out precisely what he was going to do. Right now, he was standing right in front of the portal. It practically stared back at him, waiting for him to make his move. Skrawl took one moment to look at Penny. He let out a small sigh and he turned back to the portal. He guessed that the best thing to do was…

He was suddenly stopped when he saw something wobbling and wavering in the portal itself. Something caught his eyes, making them narrow. He tensed up and he took a few steps back. He watched and waited, and soon he could see someone starting to come through.

A human holding a weapon.

A water weapon.

Skrawl scrambled to get back immediately realizing that taking the long way around to deter anyone from following had been a bad idea. As he saw the three humans jumping out, immediately surrounding him with their water rifles pointing right at him, he realized that in the time that he took to walk around in a big circle gave Mr. Cosmo enough time to get something set up. What had that man done that he did not see?

“Freeze, you monster!”

“Don’t you even think about moving!”

Skrawl growled softly, but he dared not make a move. He knew that doing such a thing would have been foolish. So he just remained frozen there as he watched the humans keeping their weapons pointed at him, their glaring eyes boring right through him, preventing him from doing anything.

Then one of the humans began to approach him more closely. The human had a stern look in his eyes and it seemed as though something about Skrawl had caught his eye. The zoner just glared back and gritted his teeth, waiting to see just what this guy had in store for him.

Then after a long stare down, the man turned to the other two with him and he nodded his head. “This looks to be one of the chalk creatures that escaped. Let’s recapture him.”

At this, the other humans began to approach more closely, raising their weapons up in a more deliberate attempt to threaten to shoot. Skrawl looked all around him, swallowing bitterly hard. He realized that there was little way for him to escape. And as he held onto Penny tighter, he started to growl as he realized that if he had just turned his back on Rudy, he wouldn’t have gotten himself into this situation in the first place. This had been his fault.

He was such a fool.

sss

“This should do it…. We hope so, anyway.” Ms. Ghadir commented as she stirred some kind of concoction in the bottle slowly. She hadn’t looked at anyone as she stirred this, as though she wanted to concentrate, as if it had to be perfect. She soon pulled the spoon out and she tapped it against the glass a little bit. Then she looked over at the others and held the cup up. “This should help your friends start to recover.”

Mrs. Sanchez furrowed her eyes slowly. “Are you sure about that? Most of what you put in was crumpled up bits of chalk.” She titled her head to one side. “How is this going to help? Does it have anything to do with what you..”

“Yes, it does.” Mr. Tyreek interrupted her. He walked towards her with his hands folded behind his back. “We told you that what we said was true. I know you would rather not believe it. We suppose it’s fine if you don’t want to trust that bit. But know this.” He motioned his hand to where Ms. Ghadir was. “This is what is going to help your friends recover. It’ll just...take some time.”

Mrs. Sanchez wanted to believe them. She wanted to think that this was all that it was going to take to save her friends. She wanted to believe this crazy story about some kind of alternate dimension and chalk creatures. She wanted to believe it because, somehow, it all made sense.

And yet she still found herself feeling unsure. She hadn’t seen any of this, and these people did kidnap her earlier. She couldn’t just let go of that, no matter how hard that she tried. How did she not know that this was just another ploy to lower her guard? There might be something else going on here that they weren’t telling her. Sure, they did agree that Mr. Cosmo was out of whack. But that did not mean they shared the same goals.

The woman nonetheless chose to remain silent as Ms. Ghadir approached her friends’ beds. She watched as she saw how sickly they still looked. Both Mr. Tabootie and Mrs. Tabootie looked as if they had been through some hell. As the time passed by, they only seemed to be getting worse. They were showing clear signs of having been poisoned. She gritted her teeth tightly as she thought of the people responsible for this. But she managed to keep some control of herself, her brain giving reminders that it was all over now.

Ms. Ghadir carefully lifted up Mrs. Tabootie’s head first. With one arm cradling her head, the other used its hand to grip the cup and bring it over. Ms. Ghadir carefully tipped the drink against the woman’s lips and slowly, the liquid poured into her mouth. It took a few seconds before Mrs. Tabootie responded and she started to instinctively drink the stuff. With this same process repeated with Mr. Tabootie, all that remained left to do now was to just wait and see what would happen next.

And that was the most painful part.

The silence that reigned seemed to go on forever. Mrs. Sanchez could feel the heaviness all around him and she shuddered. It seemed to only get stronger as time passed, making her lick her lips as she waited for the potion or whatever Ms. Ghadir had whipped up to work. She wanted to believe that this would help free her friends, but at the same time, what if it failed? There was still that worry and she had little reason to think that nothing would happen. She just licked her lips dryly as she waited and watched. It was all that she could do.

Then, after a few moments, she started to see some kind of change. She could see Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie start to relax. Their bodies stopped looking so tense and wired up. Their facial features began to relax slowly, and she could see their eye lids slowly blinking. They never opened them all the way, but the fact that they were responding at all made Mrs. Sanchez smile. Perhaps that potion that Ms. Ghadir had made really was working after all.

Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie shifted themselves on the bed, their eyes remaining shut though fluttering as they groaned, turning themselves to one side. They did look as if they were about to wake up, but then they just collapsed, still unable to bring themselves to get up. They were likely still drained of their energy, or whatever the heck this….this black chalk stuff had done to them.

But despite her hopes that her friends would be getting up at this point, they still just laid there. They only looked a little better than they had before. But none of them looked like they were going to bounce up any time soon. She couldn’t help but wonder if something had gone wrong or if this was how it was supposed to be.

Turning her head, she stared at Ms. Ghadir and Mr. Tyreek. She studied their faces to try to figure out if she was missing something. But neither of them looked really worried. They weren’t smiling in relief but they also were not showing signs that something had gone wrong. Mrs. Sanchez wanted to take this as a good sign. But a part of her just could not. Especially not after what had all happened before. She had to find out for sure.

“Well…?” Mrs. Sanchez asked. Her voice clung to a desperate tone. Not something she was proud of, but she pushed that aside for now. She needed to keep focus. “Did it work…?”

Mr. Tyreek turned to stare over at her. Soon Ms. Ghadir did as well. They glanced at each other, and at first, they had more serious expressions on their faces. The meaning of this could go either way. Mrs. Sanchez prepared herself for the worst possible news. She cringed slightly as she saw them opening up their mouths to speak. She had to keep herself braced just in case she hated what they were going to….

“They should be fine.”

sss

He struggled and he grunted as he could feel everything around him weighing down upon him. He gritted his teeth tightly, grinding them together and his head spun faster and faster. He could feel himself have a nauseous feeling growing inside of him as he attempted to resist the energy that was starting to flow through his body.

But no matter what Rudy tried, it didn’t seem like he could do anything to stop this sensation. He could barely even move. It was like he was glued down here, shackled against his will until he… No, he couldn’t let himself fall apart like that. He needed to keep trying to resist.

But fear already began to erode in his mind. He could easily tell how everything around him was falling into blackness. He wasn’t an idiot. He knew what his eyes were glowing black and he could tell how this was affecting his vision. He began to feel very similar to how he had before, just a little while ago. He could feel that previous, welcoming energy begin to grip at him and refuse to let him go.

And this terrified him. He didn’t want to go back to how he had been before. He didn’t want to run the risk of allowing this all to fall apart. He didn’t want to believe that this could be happening to him again. He didn’t want to become like that again. He wasn’t going to allow himself to fall back into that so easily. No matter what these people want to try to do to him, he was going to make sure that they never succeed.

Rudy continued to resist the powers as much as he could. He tried to push back, tried to struggle, anything that he could do to delay it. He could feel the energy crawling through his body, starting at his feet and working its way up, and he felt himself shuddering, unable to fully fight off whatever it is that these people were pumping into him. Despite that, he still managed to hold on strong. Somehow, he was able to prevent himself from completely falling apart. But just how long would he be able to hold on before his mentality would shatter? He doubted that his willpower could hold out for ever.

Rudy then could hear those voices again. Those hideous voices that just wouldn’t leave him alone. He would have tightened his grip if he could just grab onto something. When he opened his eyes to look around for the voices’ source, there was nothing. He could see Mr. Cosmo, Mr. Malcolm, and Ms. Teelar standing all around him, their hands on him and their black eyes staring at him as they grinned. He could feel their energy growing inside of him, and this happened all the while the voices continued to echo around him.

“Why did you leave us…?”

“Aren’t we good enough for you….?”

“All we ever wanted to do was help you…”

“You should be more grateful than this…”

Rudy snarled at this. He wanted to glare at those voices, but he knew that it was useless. There was no way that he would be able to. The voices were coming from something shapeless. The only ones that he could glare at where these people who were trying to corrupt him again. And so he did, glaring at them intently, trying not to show any signs of him wavering away into their will.

But he didn’t know how long that he could keep this up for. He could feel himself growing really shaky. Everything around him was getting increasingly heavy and he could feel his guts churning up inside of him. He was just...not up to this task. The energy, it was growing too strong for him. Perhaps he should just…

“That’s right… Come back to us….”

“We will properly guide you..”

“If you let us….”

Rudy shut his eyes tightly and he could start to see visual representations of these voices. They all looked like dragons. Twisted, reptilian, with glowing eyes, black in color, though some were oddly colored white. Likely just the result of his imagination, but that didn’t make it any less terrifying or confusing. He could feel his mind’s eyes staring at these shapes and he could feel himself struggling to fight against them, striking out while his body remained stationary. He was in a field of blackness and these things were all around him, ready to strike.

When one of the dragon heads felt like it was launching an attack against him, he rolled out of the way, at least in his head. But it still felt real. He still felt as though something scraped along his skin. He still felt a burning sensation from where he had been bitten. And he could almost see the lines that were cut into his arm.

Rudy flinched and he could feel his eyes open up, taking him out of that weird arena kind of place and allowing him to see the dark field of vision around him. The three black chalk users were still attempting to push their energy into his body and he could tell that they were not going to stop any time soon. He felt a sharp pain inside of him and he let out a small yelp. He shut his eyes once more, and he suddenly found himself tackled by one of the heads.

Rudy let out a pained grunt as he hit the ground, or whatever had happened since his body was still stationary. This whole thing was confusing really and he couldn’t tell how he should explain it. But regardless of that, he still forced his mind’s eyes to stare at the dragonic-like thing, those eyes looking like it was trying to tear right into his body and soul.

“Do you think you will escape again….?”

“You are not going anywhere…”

“Succumb to us…. Or you will regret it….”

Rudy flinched and shuddered as the heads began to speak to him. These things really were the manifestations of those voices, regardless if this was his imagination or not. Rudy could feel his mind’s body crawling up onto his mental feet and as he straightened himself up, he realized that if he failed this fight in his head….

...he would be taken over.

No, he couldn’t allow that to happen. Rudy clenched his teeth tightly as he prepared for the fight of his life, even if it didn’t really involve physically fighting and… He tried not to let himself get too confused. He shook his head before he rushed over, bringing his fist back and striking at one of the dragon heads.

But when he did so, it moved around, avoiding his swings. Rudy twisted himself left and right, trying to keep up with the thing. But it seemed like no matter what he tried, he just couldn’t keep up. He could feel himself getting tired, his muscles aching despite his real ones not actually moving. And all the while, he could feel that dark energy continuing to grow. As it did so, the dragon heads seemed to move faster, twisting about and becoming near impossible to keep up with. The sight of it left Rudy in a horrified state of mind. He couldn’t help but wonder just what he was supposed to do.

Then when he looked behind him, his mouth dropped open when he could see a pair of dragon heads coming at him, one black and one white. Rudy tried to move out of the way. But the things grabbed onto his wrists and carried him upwards. He could feel his mental feet dangling and then he was slammed into the ground. Rudy could feel pain spreading throughout his back and he couldn’t help but flinch. He tried to fight against the pain to get up. The dragon heads bit down harder however, and Rudy let out a small cry of pain as he felt the teeth sinking into his skin. Even though no blood was drawn, he still felt like something warm was oozing out of his body.

More heads came over, surrounding him completely. Rudy tried to struggle and fight back. His efforts were in vain. The heads just grabbed onto him and held him down. Rudy could feel horror rising up, the impact of this warping the world around him, tinting it a light crimson color. Rudy couldn’t tear his eyes away from the twisted dark-colored head that rested above him, its black, soulless eyes looking right into him.

“Funny how you keep on fighting… Yet you know nothing… If you did, this wouldn’t be happening…”

Rudy struggled against their grip. He ignored the pain that he was feeling, attempting to strike out against them. But their grip was too strong. He could feel himself weakening already. He took in several deep breaths as he glared at the thing floating above him, showing his clenched teeth. The head only looked amused.

“You think the white chalk is any better….? It’s using you as well…”

The head moved in closer. Rudy could almost feel its breath hitting him in the face.

“You just don’t want to see it…”

Rudy didn’t attempt to respond. He knew that nothing that he could say would convince this floating head of anything. It was too convinced of its own little world. It was too far up its ass in what it believed in that it wouldn’t even try to see things a little differently. The thought of it caused his teeth to grit. He didn’t want to succumb to the feelings of helplessness, but in the end, what else could he do? Not like this thing would ever listen to him anyway.

The head backed up a little. It almost seemed to smile as it turned its head to one side. Rudy felt himself shudder at the sight of this. There was something about how it looked at him that just felt so… Rudy tried to fight off the bitter sensation as the head nearly pushed up against him this time, the teeth exposed more thoroughly.

“And how is it that you didn’t yet figure out what happened to Ms. Saffron….? With our help, you should have made the connection….”

Rudy’s eyes widened slightly at this. He could feel his voice weakly squeak out, “Y-You know what happened to her…?” He swallowed hard. “Wh-What did….?”

“You would think we’d tell you….? Such a delight… If you want to know… Mr. Cosmo would know… He would tell you it was….such a killer meeting…”

It all snapped into place immediately. Rudy felt his body jerk to one side, horror dawning on his face. He struggled to keep breathing as his lungs tightened up and refused to give in. “Sh-Sh-She’s…?”

The head looked at him with wide empty eyes. It then shook its head and it spoke again.

“We have spoken too much… Let’s just finish this…”

Rudy tried to say something else, but everything around him suddenly felt tight. It was like a large snake had wrapped itself around him and squeezed him hard. He opened his mouth wider to breathe, but the previous scare had left him weakened and now that air he needed so badly… And if this kept up long enough, he was going to…

Suddenly everything around him faded suddenly. He could feel something striking him though nothing was there. He could see the dragon heads around him disappearing, their horrifying appearances no longer haunting his mind. He could feel himself starting to breathe again and he felt a strong sense of relief washing over him. He slowly forced his eyes to open up so he could take a look around to see what had happened.

He was surprised and confused to see Mr. Cosmo, Mr. Malcolm, and Ms. Teelar laying on the ground, groaning in pain. He could then feel a shadow a shadow casting over him and he craned his head up to see just what or who stood there.

Then he could hear a low growl and there was a glowing red coloration that he could just barely detect. Rudy turned his head further up and he could see his eyes meeting something that caused him to freeze in horror.

There was Bardot, and standing behind him was Draow. The beast’s outline was glowing red, just like how Snap’s was before. Rudy tried to get out of the way, tried to break free of his confines, as Draow raised his claw up at him. Then as it was brought down, Rudy could only just turn his head away, bracing for the impact.


	64. Trap Backfire

“Wait, don’t cut the ropes just yet. I want to talk to this guy...”

Was that the polar bear zoner? No, the man realized. That was impossible. The polar bear zoner was still unconscious, weakened. There’s no way that it could have been responsible.

And those voices reminded him of someone else....

Mr. Cosmo let out a few coughs, the dust getting caught up in his throat. He wheezed a few times, feeling the dust tingling in the back of his throat. He could feel his body aching, his legs feeling as though they had been twisted into an uncomfortable position. He could hear the groans of his employees by him and he felt his teeth grinding against one another. When he turned his head to see just what had arrived, he could feel his eyes widening at the sight of Draow and Bardot.

The smaller yellow zoner stood a few feet in front, his tail raised up and his fur rising up in end. His intense green eyes, the pupils shrunk into a set of tiny dots, was a disturbing enough sight to see. He didn’t want to imagine just what would happen if this zoner decided to bite him again. Mr. Cosmo flinched at the thought and he found himself grabbing onto his shoulder in response.

But it wasn’t that zoner that had startled him the most. Oh no, Draow was the real reason that his heart had frozen solid. There was something immediately different about Draow that told him that something had happened to him. And it didn’t take a genius to figure that out.

Draow had been turned into a red chalk zoner.

Mr. Cosmo slowly pushed himself up to his feet, his eyes unable to leave Draow’s. He couldn’t detect much intelligence left in the beast. He couldn’t see or feel anything familiar about him. It was like something had been drained out of him, leaving behind almost nothing. Just an empty shell that moved based on limited brain functionality. The outline of the creature glowed red while his body now had a reddish hue to it. It was immediately obvious that trying to give Draow orders was not going to work this time.

Mr. Cosmo turned his attention to Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm. They were just getting up to their feet now. They were rubbing their heads and groaning. He could see some scrapes on them, but they weren’t any worse for wear. Mr. Cosmo then turned his attention to Bardot and he growled softly. Did this zoner think that he was going to get away with this?

Evidently, it seemed to be the case. Bardot didn’t look worried that something was going to go wrong. He looked really confident, his mouth twisted upward into a grin. It wasn’t a happy smile and he could detect the anger inside. But it was still enough to give Mr. Cosmo an idea on what he was feeling and what the zoner intended to do. He had to keep himself vigilant. He wasn’t going to succeed in protecting anyone if he let Bardot get the better of him.

Was this zoner going to do anything with Rudy? That seemed to be the case, given how the yellow and red zoner took position in front of the boy. He could see that look of intent in his eyes. Bardot was going to drag Rudy into the Red Chalk Chamber, wasn’t he? He was going to use Rudy as a tool for his own ends. The thought of it made Mr. Cosmo shudder and….

Wait, wasn’t he doing the same thing with Rudy? Wasn’t he trying to use him for something? He wanted to justify it as him needing more help and needing someone to take his place if something were to happen to him. That wasn’t such a bad thing right? He had only wanted to ensure the safety of humans. Surely this should be seen as a good thing.

The man tried to shift his attention away from attempting to justify his actions for now. He needed to figure out how he was going to get Bardot and Draow away from Rudy. He needed to figure out a way to return Draow back to normal. And he needed to get rid of Bardot once and for all. He should have just destroyed him long ago. Why the fuck did he even keep that thing around? Why the hell did he ever think that one day Bardot would have some kind of use to him? He had been such a fool.

“Sir… What are we going to do?” Ms. Teelar asked. Even with the black chalk, she still sounded pretty soft-spoken. Mr. Cosmo turned to look over at her. “Are we going to try to capture them?”

Mr. Cosmo opened his mouth to speak, but then he froze and he looked down at their hands and he recalled that they had black chalk clinging to their curved fingers. And he had a piece as well. He blinked a little at this realization. He began to feel a little stupid for forgetting that this was an option. He wanted to slap himself in the face, but he chose that time to turn to sneer at Bardot.

“I’m not sure what you had planned, Bardot…” Mr. Cosmo raised his black chalk up. “...but you certainly picked a bad time to try anything…”

Bardot’s body tensed up and he released a low growl. He then started to chuckle softly, his tail swishing almost excitedly, like he wanted this to happen. Mr. Cosmo couldn’t fathom why and he felt himself moving back a little instinctively.

Bardot raised his paw up in gesture, his teeth still bared in a twisted, sick humor. “Did you forget whom I have with me, dear Teddy?” He motioned at where Draow stood. The beast took a horizontal posture, his mouth opening up slowly and showing his sharp teeth as he gave a small roar. Mr. Cosmo and his employees immediately moved back quickly. Bardot chuckled at this and said, “See? You don’t even try to fight because you know what he’s capable of.”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes. He realized that Bardot had a good point. Draow was created to be a quick zoner, able to zip along past creator defenses and outpacing them. Even a group of creators isn’t enough. The only one who had ever been able to beat Draow in a fight was Mr. Wilter’s own creation from years ago. But Tsere is gone and he had no idea if Tsere 2.0 was still alive or not. Draow’s bloody injuries suggested a fight and strongly hinted at Tsere 2.0 being dead. He gritted his teeth tightly. He never thought that he would wish for this to not be the case.

Draow took a step forward, his head lowering as he released a low, guttural growl. Mr. Cosmo gritted his teeth and growled right back. He was trying to make himself look tough and unwilling to cave into their attempt to intimidate him. But the truth was… he really had no idea what he’s going to do. He could try drawing something, but in the end, Draow was going to be faster than him.

The thought of having to fight his own creation did unsettle him. He could feel his gut burning and he felt a foul taste in his mouth. The worst feeling was his heart pumping hard in his chest, forcing him to draw in deep breaths. He clutched at his chest as he tried to calm himself down. He had to remain strong and focused. There were lives on the line. He couldn’t back down. Not when he was getting closer to making everything safe for everyone.

But there was little time to make a decision. There just was not any time to sit around and do nothing. He had to make a move and fast. There was only one thing that he thought that he could do. It might buy them a little bit of time. It might allow him a way to get to Rudy and getting him away from Bardot. Perhaps if he just cut him free, Rudy could run and… But how would he make sure that Rudy didn’t try to run from the black chalk?

Bah, there was no time to think of that now. Narrowing his eyes slowly, he turned his head to stare at where the others were. He immediately cleared his throat, getting their attention. They turned their heads in his direction and they waited for his orders. He merely gestured to one side, signalling for them to head on forward. Another gesture with his hand told them to go separately. Draow would not be able to go after both at once.

Draow growled loudly as he saw the humans approaching him from either side. He turned his head left and right, trying to make out a target. He raised his wings upward, showing a sense of frustration. He bared his teeth and he could feel his body quaking. Mr. Cosmo didn’t know how long this was going to last and he could only hope that Draow was a bit slower than he thought. Although given his stroke of luck lately, this was likely not going to be the case.

Either way, Mr. Cosmo couldn’t just stand here and watch this happen. He let Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar deal with Draow for however long that they could distract him. He used whatever chance that he had to try to rush over at Rudy.

The young teenager was glaring at him as he tried to approach. The man could feel his intense hatred for him, striking against his soul. He tried to hide it, but he did feel a bit of a pang in his stomach, like someone had just pushed a needle straight through the abdominal wall. Mr. Cosmo tried not to glare back at Rudy. The teen was just confused. He still didn’t get what was going on. He was still clouded by the white chalk. He just didn’t know any better. He casted aside his frustration regarding Rudy’s stubbornness as he went to free him.

Was this a good choice? Should he just let Rudy go? Perhaps he should just drag him along with, finding a place where Draow, if still controlled, and Bardot can’t find them. Maybe back into the Real World? But the black chalk can’t use its powers in there. Maybe a more secluded place in this building? There might be something that would fit.

Or...he could just not worry about that for now. There might be a way to ensure that Rudy isn’t able to go back to the Real World just yet. He could draw something for him to be trapped in. There were easier ways of detaining him rather than dragging him by arm and…

He wasn’t able to finish his train of thought. He could hear footsteps coming his way. He turned himself around and, using his fist, he immediately struck out at the blur of yellow. Bardot let out a squeak-like sound as he tumbled across the ground painfully. His body twisted and contorted with each roll before he finally landed on his side, his paws crossing over one another. Mr. Cosmo realized that he should have trapped Bardot right then and there, but his mind had already shifted to Rudy.

Mr. Cosmo soon reached the boy’s side and he immediately began work at undoing the ropes. As he did so, he said, “Now don’t try anything funny.”

Rudy just glared at him, snarling softly. “What the hell do you think you’re trying to do..?”

Mr. Cosmo lifted his head up, his narrowed eyes looking right back at Rudy. “What do you think? Saving you from the red chalk.”

Rudy scoffed at this. “The only reason you’re doing this is because you still see me as a tool. You’re selfish and you want me all to yourself.” Mr. Cosmo ignored this as he continued to work on the ropes. Rudy chuckled bitterly. “I don’t see the red chalk as being any worse than the black chalk. I mean…” Rudy gestured his head to one side. “The red chalk did save me from being poisoned by the black chalk.”

At this, the red-haired man growled lowly. He was doing his best not to let himself get drawn into his emotional anger. He still found himself saying, “You don’t know anything…”

“And you do?” Rudy retorted.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t bother to reply to that. He realized that it was just a ploy by the boy to get him to talk and try to get him to tie himself in a knot. He wasn’t going to fall for that. It was just another lame trick by the white chalk and nothing more. Rudy might not understand now, but he’ll eventually see the truth. He just needed to be more properly encouraged.

After a few seconds, he did almost have the final knot taken care of. He just needed to work a little faster and soon it should… Ah, there it goes. The ropes already started to fall down Rudy’s body, allowing the male teenager to start moving about a little. Mr. Cosmo was about to grab onto him when he felt something sharp sinking into his sides. A scream immediately sounded out from his open mouth.

“Aaargh!” Mr. Cosmo turned his head around and he could see that little scoundrel Bardot gripping into him, tearing into his flesh. Although Bardot couldn’t do much, what he was capable of doing still hurt him. “Let go, you stupid rag doll!”

Bardot just smirked at him, letting his teeth shine in the light. “Like hell you can stop me. Do you think that you’re going to get away with this so easily? The foolish black chalk is going to ruin everything.” His eyes narrowed into slits. “And I would rather die than letting you be the cause of ChalkZone’s downfall!”

Mr. Cosmo drew in some heavy breathing. Something flashed in the back of his head. He began to smile, a sight that seemed to make Bardot weaken his grip a little bit. “If that’s what you say… then so be it.” He immediately grabbed Bardot by the back of his neck and lifted him up, throwing him to the side.

Then, using whatever time that he had left, he immediately began to bolt away from Bardot. He needed some space to get out what he needed. He had grabbed something earlier that he had forgotten about until now. This was the perfect chance to use it. And Bardot would have no defense against it.

The yellow and red zoner seemed to stop in his tracks upon seeing that Mr. Cosmo had gotten out a small water pistol. Any sign of cockiness had left his face and he started to back away slowly. Mr. Cosmo grinned broadly and he chuckled under his breath.

“Who’s laughing now? You little piece of shit…” Mr. Cosmo growled as he started to move forward towards Bardot. With each step, he could feel the tension and excitement rising up and he felt all pumped up to get ready to attack. He never thought he’d get this close to finally getting rid of Bardot and it was going to be so easy.

However, before he could even get a blow in, he could hear the sound of rushing feet. He tried to see who was approaching. He was met with a fist to his face. Mr. Cosmo let out a yelp of pain as he was knocked away, his feet scrambling as he tried to stop himself. He fell into the ground, unable to do anything to stop himself from falling. He pushed himself up by his hands and he looked up at where Rudy stood.

The young teenager stood near him, his fist held out, his teeth bared and gritted. His eyes were narrowed, showing just how pissed off he really was. Mr. Cosmo could only look up at him in shock, his own mouth hanging open from just how surprised he was. He didn’t think Rudy was going to do something like that. And as he slowly realized what happened, his eyes began to narrow slowly.

“Y-You piece of sh-shit…” He coughed a little before attempting to stand up. “H-How d-d-dare you…. I was trying to help you…!”

Rudy just hissed at him. “I don’t need your kind of help, you asshole.” Rudy’s voice was dark and growly. The boy showed no signs of really caring that he was pissing the man off. If anything, it seemed like something that was making him happy. “You’re not going to hurt another zoner. Not on my watch.”

Mr. Cosmo snapped his head back and growled at him. “You’d dare try to help this thing when it was trying to capture you? What about all that it had done to you?”

Rudy lowered his head a little. His eyes remained glared. He still didn’t look like he was going to willingly back down anytime soon. This realization dawned on Mr. Cosmo and the man took a small step back. He instinctively pointed the water pistol at the boy, even though it was utterly useless against a human being. Rudy even realized this and laughed. “You dare try to point that thing at me? Do you think that is going to help you? I guess you are really an idiot after all.”

Mr. Cosmo could feel his skin crawl at this comment, but he did manage to push it aside, letting it roll off his back like it was nothing. He then straightened himself up, his feet balancing him as he leaned forward, coming in closer towards Rudy. He still stood taller than him, but somehow in that moment, he and Rudy felt like they were the same height.

“You’re making a huge mistake, boy.” Mr. Cosmo tried to warn him. “You really have no idea what this zoner might do to you.”

Rudy just hissed, “The biggest mistake I made is wasting any of my valuable time on you…”

Mr. Cosmo widened his eyes and then narrowed them. “Don’t imply that I’m the bad guy…”

“And why shouldn’t I? You’re the one who hurt my friends! You’ve tortured zoners for your own sick pleasure! You’ve corrupted people and made them turn against a world that didn’t do anything to them! And on top of all that, you murdered Ms. Saffron!” Rudy shouted, his voice sounding scratchy by this point.

Mr. Cosmo froze at this statement. He stared at the boy long and hard as he panted slowly, drawing in some deep breaths. Then he narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. “So...you’ve figured it out…” He lowered his hands at this point. Some of the ropes still held onto Rudy, though they did nothing about holding him back. They were just trailing behind him. Rudy remained just to speak with him, and speak he shall. “How did you find out?”

Rudy took a few moments to growl at him before he attempted to say anything. He drew in a deep breath and he hissed lowly, “The black chalk told me.”

Mr. Cosmo could see the look in Rudy’s eyes as he said those words. He didn’t detect any ounce of dishonesty in those eyes. The boy must really believe those words. It’s not that the black chalk was wrong of course. But Mr. Cosmo realized that Rudy must believe that this was going to leave him in a state of shock, that he would somehow start believing the boy’s words about the black chalk being dangerous. But if he did really think that, such a sad, sad moment for him….

Mr. Cosmo curled his lips up into a small snarl. That slowly transformed itself into a smile. Rudy’s body was already shuddering. It was as though he realized just what was going on, that he realized that Mr. Cosmo smiling like this was not good for him. Rudy moved back, or at least he tried to. The ropes that still clung to him became a bit of an issue for him, however, and Rudy wound up falling into the ground, tripping over the thick pieces of string.

Mr. Cosmo stared directly into Rudy’s eyes as he said, “I thought you said that the black chalk couldn’t be trusted.”

Rudy shook his head, shakingly responding with, “I-It can’t!”

“Oh really now?” Mr. Cosmo chortled softly. He tilted his head to one side. “Then how come you believe its words about what I did to Ms. Saffron?” Rudy looked like he was struggling to speak, but nothing would escape his lips. Mr. Cosmo pressed on. “If you trust its words on what I did to someone you don’t know nor cared about, then why wouldn’t you believe its words on how dangerous ChalkZone is with all these zoners running about?”

“B-Because.. I’ve been here before… I know what these zoners are like.. A-And I know that they would never hurt a fly.” Rudy tried to tell the man. His voice was shaky and gaspy, and there wasn’t as strong of a detection of determination. Either the boy was getting tired of repeating himself or he wasn’t as sure of his own statements as he claimed. “You can’t just go around and hurt them!”

Mr. Cosmo furrowed his eyes slowly. It was pathetic how the white chalk was still clinging to this boy’s mind, even when being cornered like this. He felt it rather sad that Rudy was still trying to hold onto his own beliefs, no matter what. The teenager was being biased, allowing himself to believe only what he wanted to, not what was actually the truth.

This was….a rather unhealthy mindset. Rudy shouldn’t selectively believe things. If he doesn’t think the black chalk ever tells the truth, then why believe it about him having Ms. Saffron killed? The very idea was confusing to the man and he wanted to shake his head at the mere thought of it. But he managed to keep himself from getting a headache from these thoughts as he continued to speak with the little boy.

“It’s really a shame, as I’ve told you many times, that you won’t let yourself see the truth. You believe that I killed Ms. Saffron but you won’t believe that the bear over there….” He pointed a finger at the fallen zoner. Whether or not it was still alive didn’t matter. He then pointed at Bardot. “...or that little creature….” He turned himself around to face Rudy completely. “...is dangerous?”

Rudy shook his head. “I know Bardot can be dangerous as well. And Lars’s current state is unstable.”

Ignoring the fact that the teenager appeared to have actually named that bear creature, Mr. Cosmo said, “And if that’s the case, then why aren’t you trying to get rid of them? Wouldn’t things be safer without them?”

“In your eyes, I’m sure. But I don’t see monsters. I see citizens. I see people who are civilized in their own way and if they are to be dealt with, you need to think more appropriately. Lars would need to be taken to a doctor to treat his mind and Bardot would just need to be locked up for a while.” Said Rudy. He took a step forward. “But neither of them deserve to be killed. You may say the only way to get rid of danger is by killing it. But if you keep killing everyone whom you think is a threat…” Rudy tilted his head. “How would that make you any better? Wouldn’t that just create a lonely little world with you to have no one but the walls to speak to?”

Mr. Cosmo snarled at this and he said, “Y-You don’t… I mean, I-I….” He felt his voice fading out into nothingness as he tried to keep speaking. To his horror, he just couldn’t figure out just what he was going to say to the boy. He went silent.

Rudy gave him a small, wry smile. “You have no idea what you’re going to say, do you? Heh, of course not. You spend all this time demonizing zoners, that you no longer even know why.”

Mr. Cosmo clenched his fists tightly. “Sh-Shut up!”

Rudy gave a few small chuckles at this. It was as though Mr. Cosmo was playing right into Rudy’s little trap, his little game. Mr. Cosmo tried to fight back against it, but despite knowing what Rudy was doing, he couldn’t bring himself to stop. The emotions just kept swirling around inside of his head and it didn’t seem like it was going to stop anytime soon.

“You know precisely what I’m talking about, don’t you?” Rudy asked him, his voice gaining a darker, more accusatory tone of voice. “You claim that you believe everything that the black chalk tells you. You claim that you know all about zoners. But in the end, even you aren’t so sure.” Rudy took yet another step forward. Somehow, he started to feel a little taller than he actually was. His voice still spilled out of his mouth. “You are nothing more than a frightened child who wants to believe things because it makes him feel better. You know that you did wrong, but you refuse to see it because if you suddenly accept that you’re the villain…” Rudy leaned back and let out a bitter chuckle. “Heheheh...then everything that you’ve worked for would have been all for nothing, right….?”

Mr. Cosmo could feel his body quaking at this, unable to stop. He could feel his eyes burning and his head hurting and everything just seemed rather unsteady. He was surprised that he was still standing after all of this. Why hadn’t he just collapsed into the ground?

He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head as he growled and struggled to control himself. He could hear voices clamoring inside of his head. He recognized the black chalk’s voices. But something seemed different about them. They were all sounding more desperate than usual. They wouldn’t normally be like this.

….unless they really thought that something was about to go down.

“Don’t listen to him..”

“He only wants to confuse you….”

“Remember that this has all been a trap…. Done by him and Bardot..”

“They’re working together… Make them pay for trying to pull you in…”

Mr. Cosmo let those words sink in and his eyes widened in realization. Had those two really been….? The black chalk hadn’t lied to him before. So why would it suddenly start to lie to him now? This had to be the truth. This had to be exactly what Rudy was attempting to do. The realization caused Mr. Cosmo to narrow his eyes into slits.

It all made sense, too. It would explain why Bardot came to try to help Rudy. It would explain why Rudy tried to save Bardot. Those two must be working together. It wasn’t just the white chalk that was controlling Rudy. Oh no, the red chalk was getting in on it as well. That was the real reason why Rudy wasn’t being pulled into the black chalk’s safety and comfort. The red chalk and the white chalk were holding him back.

Well, Mr. Cosmo would just have to see about that. If he could find a way to break their connections to him, then perhaps he could try to…

He was suddenly interrupted by a loud scream.

“Aaaahhhh!”

The man’s hairs raised on end as he heard those voices piercing right through his chest. His eyes widened, his pupils shrinking. He stared at nothingness for several long moments, his mouth open and panting heavily. He licked his lips and he swallowed hard before he forced himself to turn his head to see what was going on.

Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar weren’t able to hold back Draow for that long. Not nearly as long as he had hoped. The large beast zoner had already knocked them back. He hadn’t really hurt them that badly, it would seem. But this provided little comfort to the man, especially when those now reddened eyes were staring right at him. Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened in horror and he immediately began to scramble to get back as Draow came rushing towards him.

There was no time to react. Even Rudy couldn’t think to do anything as Draow pushed up against him, forcing him into the ground. Mr. Cosmo let out a pained grunt as he hit against the ground, feeling something almost crack in his back. He laid there for several moments as his body tried to recover from the unexpected blow.

It was useless. He couldn’t get up like this. He could push on Draow’s foot all that he wanted to. He was going nowhere. Mr. Cosmo eventually stopped trying to struggle and he just loosened himself up, his body going limp. He looked up at Draow, staring into his glowing eyes. He thought he could feel a set of knives slicing into his eyes when he stared long enough. He managed to tear his eyes away, feeling Draow’s hot, humid breath hitting him in the face.

He could soon hear the small pitter patter of feet coming towards him. He could detect movement coming into his field of vision. Mr. Cosmo slowly turned his head to glare at Bardot, who sat down on his haunches just barely in his line of sight.

“Interesting how none of our traps appeared to have worked today, but it doesn’t matter. The sun is starting to set in the Real World. Much has been accomplished. And as for you…” Bardot got up and took a step towards the man. He bared his teeth as he growled lowly. “I suppose you will have some fun just thinking about how it all fell apart and how you could have done something about it.” He softened his expression up a little. “And don’t worry, we’ll take care of the boy for you.”

Mr. Cosmo felt his eyes widen at this. “D-Don’t….”

Bardot sneered at him. “It’s not like you care about him. He’s just a tool for you to use.” He tilted his head to one side. “So why the fuck should it matter to you if I take the boy myself? Or if anyone else does?” He stretched himself out, his body lowering to the ground, reaching out with his paw and stomping down once. “Give me one good reason why I should leave the boy with you? When all you’re going to do is corrupt him like you do with everyone else…?”

Mr. Cosmo tried to think of something to say. He could feel a headache forming in his temples and he felt like everything was being squeezed around him. He could feel his body squirming about, fighting hoping to figure out a way out of this. But as nothing came to mind, his headaches got worse and he seemed to almost get lost in these eyes staring at him.

In the end, he could only just stare as the time ticked by. He had his mouth open, but no words came out. Just some heavy breathing as he glared at the two zoners before him. As he looked at them, there was something that slowly came to mind that he could say. But was he actually ready to say it? He clenched his teeth tightly, a part of him realizing that if he caused a big enough shock, maybe he could fight back. Yes, that could be…

He grunted as he felt Draow’s foot pushing down upon him. Any effort to speak was pushed out of his mouth in a gasp. Mr. Cosmo let out a small wheeze and cough of pain as Bardot loomed over him. Mr. Cosmo glared up at him, baring his teeth.

Bardot gave him a stern expression before he raised his paw up. “You know what to do, Draow.”

“D-Draow..please don’t….I didn’t…” But Mr. Cosmo knew there was no reasoning with Draow in this state. A mixture of emotions surged in his stomach as he stared at Draow, those red eyes with small pupils staring down at him. Mr. Cosmo felt his blood turning into ice and he turned his head away.

Then he could feel hot breath hitting him even more heavily now. He could hear foot steps. He could feel a shadow moving over him and then something hitting him to make him roll about. He could then hear a gasp of pain and something crunching. And then after a few moments of silence, he could hear someone screaming out a name.

“Mr. Wilter…?! N-No…!”

Mr. Cosmo forced his eyes to open up and he turned his head to find a sight that he didn’t expect, something that left him with a mixture of confusing emotions.

Mr. Wilter in Draow’s jaws.


	65. Sacrifice

Everything around him seemed to be locked in a solid state. Something solid spread all around him, seeping down into the ground and gluing his feet there. His mind raced, not wanting to believe what had just happened before him. He couldn’t even begin to imagine why this guy would….and for what…? What did he think he was going to accomplish?

He clutched at his head tightly, pressing his fingers against his scalp. He struggled to keep breathing, his chest inflating and deflating rapidly. He could feel a sense of sickness settling down in the bitterness of his stomach. He tried to write this off as something not to worry about, that he was only overreacting. There were ways of just pretending that this didn’t happen. But how long could he go on acting like that?

Mr. Cosmo could feel many thoughts racing through his head, and flashes of memories began to appear in the back of his mind. He stared over at where Mr. Wilter laid, seeing him dangling in Draow’s jaws. He watched as the blood trickled down his body. The sight of this made him feel even more confused and he found it hard to do anything other than just stand there.

Why would Mr. Wilter save him like that? Why would he push him out of the way? Wouldn’t he have thought that he deserved such a fate? How could he have been so stupid?

These thoughts weighed down on the man’s mind and he could feel his eyes narrowing softly. He tried to make himself look as if he didn’t care. He wasn’t sure how successful he was or not. Mr. Wilter wasn’t looking at him. It was hard to tell if he could even move at this point. Mr. Cosmo continued to watch Draow slowly crushing Mr. Wilter in his jaws before he tried to say anything.

“You’re such a fool, don’t you know that…?” Mr. Cosmo said softly. His voice was low and soft as he drew in a few slow breaths. “You could have just let me here to die. What was the point in saving me?” He put his hand to his chest. “Do you think that I’m going to suddenly start loving these putrid zoners again? After what this one is doing to you?! If you think that, then you’re even stupider than I thought!”

Mr. Wilter slowly lifted his head up. He turned over to stare at him in the eyes. Mr. Cosmo shuddered when he saw how the man was looking at him. Despite that, he still couldn’t get himself to look away. But he remained standing there, rigid, stiff, baring his teeth. He wasn’t going to let this guy brainwash him like he had tried to in the past.

Mr. Wilter just chuckled softly as he looked at how Mr. Cosmo was looking at him. It was evidently clear that Mr. Cosmo wasn’t convincing Mr. Wilter of anything. That made him glare harder, bare his teeth more noticeably, whatever he could to make it look like he was willing to take a blow. But all that served to do was amuse Mr. Wilter more. This was...unsettling. Even when in grave danger, his old former friend still managed to find some way to get under his skin. Even without words…

“Y-Y-You still d-d-don’t realize it….d-d-do y-you..?” Mr. Wilter wheezed. His breathing sounded horrible. It seemed like a miracle that he was able to talk at all. “Y-You don’t realize that in the end…” He swallowed hard. “Y-You c-c-can never truly abandon someone forever. I tried to forget you… but I see you and I-I-I still see my f-f-f-friend.”

Mr. Cosmo flinched at this. He had no idea what he could say to that. What should he say? He never thought that Mr. Wilter would say something like that.

Mr. Wilter’s eyes widened a bit as he lifted his head up. He sounded like he was trying to draw in another breath but he was having some trouble. He let out another cough before he cleared his throat and gave him a small smile. Shaky and weak, but still there nonetheless. “I never w-wanted to see you d-d-die, Teddisson… I had only wanted to s-s-see you f-f-free. I wasn’t..” He gasped in pain as Draow started to press down harder on his body. “I wouldn’t let them...t-t-take that chance a-away from you.”

Rudy, who had been silent up until this point, slowly moved towards Mr. Wilter, stopping only when he heard a growl from the reddened Draow. The boy kept his distance, but was still close enough to see everything. He reached his hand out slowly. There was a hint of tears in the boy’s eyes. “M-Mr. Wilter… Please try to h-hang on. I’ll… I’ll try to get you out of there… I promise.”

The old teacher chuckled weakly. He coughed and some blood started to trickle out of his mouth. He swallowed weakly as he seemed to be trying to draw in as much energy and strength as he could. His eyes were unfocused, yet somehow it still felt like he was staring right at Rudy. “Oh R-Rudy, I just… w-w-wish there was enough time for me to…” He gasped again in pain. He had to struggle to keep talking. “...I-I did want t-t-to tell you about… h-how you got...the magic chalk…”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this. “R-Really….?”

Mr. Wilter nodded his head slowly. “Y-You see… I-I didn’t tell you because I...d-d-didn’t know how you would feel…” He gave a bitter laugh, as though angry with himself. “That was a f-f-foolish thing on my part… W-Wasn’t it..?”

Rudy tried to smile, but the fear and dread was still shining in his eyes. “Mr. Wilter...please…”

Mr. Wilter just smiled at him before he turned his head to stare over at Mr. Cosmo. His eyes furrowed slightly, but the man clearly didn’t have much energy left to be really angry with him. “F-For you… I-I hope that you will eventually be free… Ch-ChalkZone could always use your help again… Don’t forget how things once were. Y-Y-You have a chance to make things right. Don’t screw it up.”

Mr. Cosmo didn’t say anything.

Mr. Wilter gave a small, hopeful smile. “A-Are you going to...try? I-I-I saved you… Now are you g-going to return the favor? Y-You would have in the past. A-A-Are you still there, my old friend…?”

Mr. Cosmo slowly walked towards Mr. Wilter. He soon came within a foot of the old man. He stared at him with an expressionless look, with only a tinge of curiosity. He raised his hand up slowly and move it towards Mr. Wilter. The man started to reach out towards him. Their hands came close and then…

Mr. Cosmo snarled as he yanked his hand back at the last second and hissed, “You’re such an idiot.”

Before Mr. Wilter could say anything, Draow’s jaws closed tightly around him. The teeth broke through the skin and bones cracked. The old man tried to scream, but it was cut off when Draow’s jaws snapped shut. There was a disgusting fleshy sound, something bursting, and blood splattered everywhere. Some of it hit Mr. Cosmo in the face. But he just stood there, icily calm and quiet.

Then, after staring at what remained of Mr. Wilter, he gave a small smile. “Good riddance.” Was all that he said.

sss

Rudy stared in horror and shock as Draow’s jaws closed against Mr. Wilter’s fragile body. He could still hear the sound of his guts spilling out and the bones snapping under the pressure. He could still see the blood spraying everywhere, and now he found himself slowly looking around, trying to get a handle on just what had happened.

His green eyes soon settled on Mr. Cosmo’s face. The one-eyed man was just staring emotionless at Mr. Wilter’s destroyed body. The sight of the exposed bones, twisted spine, and revealed organs wasn’t enough to make the man react all that much. And those words that he had spoken by the end, how heartless they were...

Rudy could feel a surge of emotion rising up inside of him. He felt his teeth grinding together and he growled deeply as he stared at the man. He could feel himself wanting to launch himself at the man and tear him apart. He wasn’t sure what was holding him back, but he still felt himself grinding his teeth, his blood heating up.

“H-How could you have done that...?” Rudy finally heard himself saying. Despite how emotionally distraught that he was, Mr. Cosmo hardly reacted. He still looked at him with the same dulled expression as he had given Mr. Wilter before he had... “He was your friend!”

“Yes. Was. You should know by now, kid, that we stopped being friends years ago when he betrayed me.” Mr. Cosmo said simply.

Rudy was fighting against his hot, burning tears as he snarled at the man. He felt himself quaking and he felt his teeth grinding harder. He could feel his vision blurring just slightly and his throat felt like it was starting to burn a little. The worst part at the moment was his headache, which pounded through his thick skull like it was a pancake.

Rudy resisted the temptation to charge the man just barely. And instead of doing that, he let his emotions out through his words. “He still saved your life from Draow! He was going to attack you! If it wasn’t for him, you’d be dead! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?!”

Mr. Cosmo paused for a few moments as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then he just shrugged. “No, not really.”

Rudy’s eyes snapped open in shock at this. Then he growled deeply. He knew that this guy was an asshole, but he thought that he’d have some empathy left inside of him. The fact that he had dismissed Mr. Wilter’s heroics and did absolutely nothing while his former friend was crushed to death... Just how sick and twisted did this man have to be?

Mr. Cosmo went on to say, “He was tainted by the white chalk for too long. He had turned his back on me when I needed him the most. So why should I care if something happened to him?” He turned his head to the side, his single grey-blue eye watching the unmoving form of Mr. Wilter for several seconds. Then he gave a small smile, the first sign of emotion in a while. He lifted his head up and he gave a small sneer. “It looks like finally, after all of this time, he’s ultimately gotten what he’s deserved for so long.”

Rudy couldn’t believe how this man was acting. How could he say this sort of stuff about someone he had used to call his friend? How could he turn his back on him like this? How could he treat him so coldly? Mr. Wilter had been able to push aside his anger to help him. Why did that matter so little to this man?

Rudy tried to control his breathing. He could feel his chest heating up and each breath felt as though its temperature was rising up. Mr. Cosmo seemed to hear his soft growls and looked over at him. But he merely just licked his lips and smiled at the boy, his expression hardly changing.

“Do you miss him, dear boy? Do you want to do something to help him? Maybe be the one to bury him?” Mr. Cosmo taunted him. Rudy gritted his teeth, leaning away from the man and adopting a defensive posture. Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this. “Oh sure, go ahead and act that way towards me. But I thought that you’d want a proper burial for your ‘master’ before you are cleansed.”

Rudy growled, “That will never happen! I won’t join you!”

Mr. Cosmo looked down at his fingers, flexing them. “How cliche... How many times are you going to repeat this before it gets too old for you?”

Rudy lowered his head, narrowing his eyes deeply. “However many times I have to...”

“I see.” Mr. Cosmo commented. “Let’s test that, shall we...?”

Rudy wasn’t sure exactly what Mr. Cosmo was getting at, but whatever mind games that he had in store, he wasn’t going to let these attempts to get at him. He just stood there, his body tense, fighting against his tears as he got ready to fight Mr. Cosmo. He didn’t know how he was going to pull it off, but he would find some way to make sure that Mr. Cosmo paid for what he had done, for what he had caused.

His train of thought was interrupted when he saw Mr. Cosmo heading towards Mr. Wilter’s corpse and instinct started to kick in. Rudy could feel his legs starting to rush over, only to stop when Mr. Cosmo lifted the dead form up by his neck. Mr. Cosmo was staring into Mr. Wilter’s unmoving face, giving a dark smile of his own.

“Heh.... I wonder if you can see this, Horace. If you can, take a long, good look. I’m going to make sure that this little student of yours doesn’t follow in your footsteps.” Mr. Cosmo said. “You should be thanking me, too. He won’t end up like you.”

And with that, Mr. Cosmo just threw Mr. Wilter away like he was some bag of trash. He watched him collapse into the ground, tumbling across in a painful sort of manner. And all the while, Mr. Cosmo just smirked at him.

“Oh and make sure to give Ms. Saffron my greetings!” Mr. Cosmo called out.

That was it. That was the final straw. Rudy wasn’t going to take this laying down anymore. He had been trying to get this man to listen to him. But he just kept ignoring him. It was clear that Mr. Cosmo didn’t really care to hear what he had to say. He was too busy pulling things out of his ass to justify his actions rather than sitting down and actually listen to him.

At this point, everything around Rudy just went dark. He was unaware of anything that was going on. Any sign of there being anybody else in the room faded. Rudy couldn’t see Draow any longer, or Bardot or those other humans or even Lars. And the corpse of Mr. Wilter faded from his field of vision as he glared intently at Mr. Cosmo. That man started to look increasingly more prominent and noticeable and he felt his teeth begin to bare tightly. He struggled to keep breathing in and out slowly, a small hiss escaping his mouth.

But he was not able to stay calm for very much longer. He could feel something snapping in his head. He could feel the weight all around him pushing against him, causing his feet to start to bend and cave into this pressure. He drew in a few more breaths before his muscles began to act on their own. With no way to stop himself, Rudy charged towards Mr. Cosmo.

The man was startled by the boy’s sudden attack. He attempted to react, only to feel himself being pushed into the ground. Rudy could feel his body twisting a little as he rammed against the floor, shivering softly. But despite that, he still held on, wrapping his arms around the man and holding him tightly, digging his fingers against his sides, right where Bardot had attempted to previously. He could feel some push back from Mr. Cosmo, but that did little to stop the teenager.

The two of them began to roll across the ground, fighting rather viciously with one another. Low growls escaped their throats and their eyes blazed with determination. It was clear that nothing was going to stop them from attacking one another. The two of them almost looked feral, their eyes almost glowing and their teeth baring, jaws split open wide.

Mr. Cosmo struck out with his fist, trying to knock Rudy off of him. Rudy moved his head to the side to dodge it and struck back with a fist of his own. He could feel it colliding with Mr. Cosmo’s face. He watched as his head twisted about to one side. Mr. Cosmo soon held still for a few moments before he struck back at Rudy. This time, the male teen wasn’t able to react quickly enough and he could feel himself getting struck. Rudy felt a wave of pain spreading throughout his head and he stumbled back, groaning on the ground.

Mr. Cosmo let out a small snarl as he raised his foot up and he pressed it against Rudy’s back. He applied pressure to hold him down. Rudy scrambled to get free. He kicked his legs wildly and his arms flailed. But no matter what he did, he couldn’t get himself free. Rudy eventually just held still, growling heavily under his breath, as he turned his head to stare up at the human above him.

“How much of an idiot do you need to be to try to attack me when you have no magic chalk of your own? You are lucky that I didn’t resort to using mine.” Mr. Cosmo stared down at the boy for several long moments. Then he slowly started to smile, releasing some chuckles. “But I gotta admit, you do have some spunk.” He licked his lips slowly. “And all this just because you miss your little teacher friend. Isn’t that so sweet…?”

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly. “How could you talk about him like that?”

“How could he have betrayed me? That’s a better question.” Mr. Cosmo lifted his head up, his eyes narrowing into slits. “He said he would always try to help me, no matter what. And the day that I needed his help, he abandoned me! Why the fuck should I still care about him now? I-I…” The man’s voice started to trip over itself a little. But he soon shook his head and recovered quickly. “I’m under no obligation to help him if he refused to help me. He’s the one who ruined everything! Him and that stupid creation of his! If he hadn’t done anything, this world would have been perfected! Made safe! It’s all his fault that this world is still dangerous!”

Rudy could feel his blood beginning to boil, but he wasn’t sure how he could respond. This was becoming nothing more than constant repeating; the man would continue to reiterate how dangerous zoners were. There was nothing that he could do to change the man’s mind. There was nothing more that could be done except to just keep fighting him.

But how long was he going to be able to keep that up? He knew that sooner or later, he was going to get tired and would no longer be able to fight. Or something else could happen that would solidify this and make it hard for him to do anything. He growled softly as he struggled to think of what he was going to do.

He hissed softly, his thoughts cut off, when Mr. Cosmo grabbed the back of his shirt collar and hoisted him up. Rudy lifted his head to glare at him, baring his teeth, but he didn’t think to do anything, or even speak. It seemed like whenever he tried to do that, the man just pulled on his collar tighter, causing the cloth to push against his throat and making it harder to breathe.

“You know what? I’m in a good mood today. I will offer you a deal.” Mr. Cosmo lifted Rudy up a little higher. “How about we have a bit of a bet? A deal?” He tilted his head to one side slowly. His teeth were bared in a broad grin. The sight of it made Rudy shudder a little bit. “Let’s have a duel. We both enter a fight to test to see how the other one does. We won’t try to kill each other. We will just try to made the other one submit.”

Rudy furrowed his eyes. He grabbed against his shirt collar, trying to loosen it up as it was growing increasingly uncomfortable. “A-And just what do either of us g-g-get out of that?”

Mr. Cosmo moved his head back, grinning more broadly. “It’s really easy to grasp the concept. You see, little boy…” He raised his hand up and motioned to Rudy. “If you win, I’ll leave this world and never bother it again. But if I win…” He motioned to himself at this, sneering darkly, his eyes glinting. “You will have to work for me.”

Rudy’s eyes widened. “Wh-Why would I ever agree to that?!” His voice was filled with horror.

“Because you have a chance of getting your way. If you want, we can make this blood bound.” Mr. Cosmo raised his finger up, turning it around a little to look at the tip of it. “Prick our fingers and join this pact in blood. It’ll make it solid, and if you beat me, I’ll be obligated to keep my end of the deal.” He lowered his hand down as he smiled at Rudy. “What do you say?”

Rudy remained silent, unsure of how to respond.

sss

She didn’t want to go home yet. She really didn’t want to go. She wanted to stay behind and see what was going to happen with her friends. She wanted to see how things were going to progress with them. She wanted to make sure that they were going to be safe. She just couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them.

But both Mr. Tyreek and Ms. Ghadir insisted that she get home to get some rest. They pointed out that the sun was mostly set at this point and she wasn’t going to do herself or her friends any favors if she kept staring at them and trying to hurry to get a response from them. They told her to just go home and relax and that they would contact her tomorrow to let her know how they were doing.

Though she was grateful that they were willing to look out for Joe and Millie, a part of Mrs. Sanchez couldn’t fully relax just yet. There was so much that she wanted to know. There were too many questions that she wanted to ask and she couldn’t figure out how to calm herself down long enough to figure out how to ask. She licked her lips slowly as she had images of all sorts of things happening floating around in her head. There was no telling when it would stop and she realized that she was going to continue to be bothered by this for a long time.

She tried to keep her focus on the road. Her eyes and mind shifted back towards the road just in time for her to make a sudden turn with her car. She narrowly dodged a trash can that had rolled out in the middle of the street. She felt her heart pounding at this and she had to force herself to calm down. It took a little while and she had to breathe in and out heavily repeatedly before she began to return to normal.

She was almost home at this point. Or at least, almost out of the main part of the city, which would in turn lead her towards her place. She didn’t live too far outside of the urban setting. She enjoyed the suburban homes more as it offered her more privacy and space that she needed for her vet clinic. And of course, it was closer to….

Her thoughts ran off the track when she thought she saw some sort of strange movement going on with the trash cans in front of her. She was presently passing by an alleyway that had a lot of garbage cans lined up. It wasn’t exactly the cleanest place and she always felt uneasy about going by here. But never before had she ever seen the cans moving about like this. It was something that immediately caught her eye and caused her to slow down her driving. She was thankful that there was no one else on the road at this point.

Was it some kind of wild animal? Plainville was no stranger to creatures like squirrels and raccoons getting into trash cans and foraging for food. Or it could even be a cat. There were a number of logical explanations for why this was happening. It probably wasn’t anything of interest to her, so she should just get a move on and….

Suddenly she could see a flash of something, large and swift moving. She thought she could hear retreating footsteps and her heart skipped a beat. Her head pounded with one question: what the hell was that thing?

She couldn’t ignore her curiosity any longer. Slamming on the brakes, Mrs. Sanchez immediately stopped the car and got out of it. She rushed over where the cans were. Was this a stupid act? She realized that it was the case. But she ignored her own urge to slap herself as she got closer to the cans. For all she knew, it was a grizzly bear that gotten out of the city zoo, and if something like that were the case, she was the best citizen to try to mitigate the problem.

But when she came over and looked around, she was greeted by something else entirely.

A teenager laying on the ground, groaning in pain. Blood was leaking out of a deep and savage side wound. Clothes were a bit dirt and dust covered, with some speckles of blood. The hair was a bit mangled and unkempt. The teenager raised her head up slowly and she turned to look at Mrs. Sanchez. Her eye were dull and almost unseeing, glasses knocked askew. But the teenager seemed to still have energy to do one thing.

With a squeaky voice, she said, “M-Mama…?”

Mrs. Sanchez felt herself dropping the keys to her car. “P-Penita…?”

The woman immediately rushed to her daughter’s side. She dropped down onto her knees and wrapped her arms around her daughter, or at least she would have had she given into the temptation. She could see the horrific wound and she had to stop herself, gritting her teeth tightly. She reluctantly held herself back, reducing her efforts to embrace her daughter to a mere pat and stroke on the head.

She wanted to say something, anything. She had so many questions to ask her daughter. She wanted to know where Rudy was, where Ms. Saffron was, if Mr. Cosmo had done anything. She realized that while it hadn’t been even a day since she allowed her daughter to go with that woman, so much can still happen in just a few hours. And seeing what happened to Penny awakened this realization, bringing on a sense of dread and horror.

As she listened to her daughter struggling to breathe, her eyes blinking as though trying to keep herself awake, Mrs. Sanchez did the only thing that she knew that she could do to help her daughter. She reached into her phone, pulled it out, and she began to dial 9-11.

sss

Bardot lifted his head up and he stared over at where the two humans had been fighting. Or at least, they were. Bardot shook his head, rubbing it with a paw and trying to push aside the pain that rumbled through his head. He gritted his teeth tightly, recalling how that stupid man had kicked him during the little scuffle. On purpose or not, he did not appreciate that. Little Teddy was going to pay for that. Well, there’s a lot of things he was going to pay for.

But was now a good time for that? Did he really want to get in the middle of this? He could tell what was going on. He had heard the human’s words. If Rudy accepted the challenge, there was going to be a duel of some kind. That was not something that he himself wanted to get involved in. He knew what would happen if he dare try to fight or do anything in the middle of that.

Licking his lips slowly, he realized that the best thing to do was to back away. He should leave or at least find a place to hide until the duel was finished. He wasn’t some fool. Draow might be able to handle two creators at once, he himself couldn’t. Unarmed, yes. But if both are using magic chalk to draw, create things and bring things into reality, his speed could only help him so much. He could try to take action now, but it was too risky. He gritted his teeth. He should cut his losses now and get out of here.

Everything had failed at this point. His plans were not going to work, not if he continued like this. He thought that he had a foolproof trap, and it seemed that Mr. Cosmo also thought he had a good trap as well. Bardot hadn’t counted on Mr. Cosmo being able to fight back like that. He had underestimated him, and because of that, he missed his chance to bring someone to the Red Chalk Chamber.

The thought made his heart skip a bit. He couldn’t go back to that chamber without someone. He had promised the red chalk, his brethren, that he was going to give them someone that they could use to restart the revolution, to overthrow the white chalk and bring forth a safer age for ChalkZone. They would start a new era where zoners could not be used like tools by their creators again.

But if he showed up empty-handed…

Well, they might be understanding. They might realize that this sort of thing was difficult, that he couldn’t control every aspect. They might even…

No, it was too much of a risk to go back without anyone. He had been given enough chances. He had his doubts that the red chalk would want to let him try again. He needed to bring someone over and fast. He needed a human to drag back, and Rudy and Mr. Cosmo weren’t going to do. How was he going to accomplish his goal if these two were fighting?

….but then again… It’s not like he had to use either of them. He just needed a human.

And there were a couple of available ones laying on the ground over there.

Bardot let himself smile broadly, his teeth gritting tightly in a broad grin. His tail swishing about excitedly, he began to make his way towards those humans.

sss

Ms. Teelar let out a small groan as she opened her eyes and lifted her head up. She leaned back against the wall, letting out a small groan. She could still feel the impact of that large wolf-like zoner ramming against her. She rubbed her hands together, trying to clean herself off. She felt as if she had been rolling around in the mud for a while.

She could hear the sound of fighting going on. Nothing physical, but fighting nonetheless. She didn’t need to look over to know what was going on. It would seem that Mr. Cosmo had made some kind of deal with Rudy, and the teen wasn’t one hundred percent agreeing with it. Of course he wasn’t. Didn’t she hear at least once how stubborn the little boy was? But at least things hadn’t gotten too violent between them. Yet, anyway.

She slowly straightened herself out, feeling some dull waves of pain as she did so. It felt like Draow had hit her harder than she thought. She thought about going after the zoner, but there was still a bit of her fear that held her back. How ironic…. She had been given something to help her feel more brave, and yet it felt like she was just as scared as before.

No, it was worse than that. She could feel the fear burning inside of her, prompting her to take action. She was more scared now than she had been before. The paranoia was already clinging to her psyche and she could feel her heart thumping hard in her chest. She struggled to keep herself breathing, and it was by some miracle that she was able to prevent any obvious signs of distress from showing up on her face. She drew in deeply and let out another breath before she narrowed her eyes slowly.

She began to wonder if the boy had been right all along. Had it been a bad idea to work with the black chalk? Was there something that it was hiding from them? If it wanted to help, why was it making her feel so scared? The only reason that she was acting anything remotely brave was because of the power and adrenaline that it gave in return. And the only reason she was able to think clearly like this was because she could push back at least some of the thoughts for now. But how long would she be able to keep it up?

Ms. Teela turned her head to where Mr. Malcolm was. The man was still on the ground. Or perhaps he had fallen and she had not noticed? She thought for sure she had seem him standing up earlier. Oh well, she might as well attempt to help him back up to his feet.

She walked over towards him. When she got close enough, she lowered herself down, bending one knee, and then she reached out towards Mr. Malcolm. She could feel his hand seizing hers and she pulled him up quickly. She used whatever strength that she could to make sure that she could balance him properly. Only when the man was starting to regain his footing did she begin to let go.

But then, just as soon as she did let go, she could feel him grabbing onto her shoulder tightly. Ms. Teela let out a small yelp of pain as she looked at him, her eyes widened in shock. She could hear herself trying to ask him what he was going, but then she could feel him starting to push her to one side, causing her feet to trip up over themselves.

“Look out!”

She heard that shout ringing in her ears as she hit the ground painfully. She felt her body rolling a few times before she finally landed on her stomach. She pushed herself up and shook her head. Looking over, she could see what had been going on and her eyes widened in shock, her mouth letting out a sharp gasp.

That little creature, that Bardot fellow, had been rushing towards them. He had been jumping right where she had been, indicating that she was his intended target. Instead of her, he wound up ramming against Mr. Malcolm. Thankfully, the man hadn’t fallen down, but he was struggling to get Bardot off of him. He walked around in tight, repeated circles as he tried to grab onto Bardot to pull him off. But he appeared to not be able to. Bardot was a slippery little fellow.

Bardot growled softly as he clung to the man. “You aren’t who I wanted….” He gritted his teeth tightly, but then he began to smile slowly. “But I suppose you’ll do…”

Mr. Malcolm bared his teeth as he reached towards Bardot in an attempt to grab him and lift him up. Bardot just moved himself to one side, moving in an almost serpent like fashion. Mr. Malcolm’s face contorted in frustration, a sight that made Ms. Teelar uncomfortable. She watched in silence as the man tried to grab the zoner again, without much luck. Then after another time, Mr. Malcolm let his arm rest and he resorted to using his voice. “Whatever you have planned for me, I won’t allow it!”

Bardot grinned at this. “I don’t expect you to. That’s why I’m going to do this….” He raised his paw up, his three claws spreading and glinting. “...by force!”

Ms. Teelar’s eyes widened in horror and she reached her hand out towards the two. “No! Don’t do that, please!”

Bardot had no interest in listening to her. He hardly took a breath when he struck down against Mr. Malcolm’s shoulder. Blood splattered from the wound as the man let out a scream. His legs wobbled as he moved back and forth, trying to keep himself as balanced as possible. But he wasn’t able to keep it up for long and he hit his other shoulder against the wall. He clutched at his injured shoulder, seething and trying to make the bleeding stop.

Bardot wasn’t finished with him yet. He opened his jaws up and he bit down hard on the man’s arm. He only bit for a few seconds, likely to avoid painful damage caused by the teeth going into Real World fluid. But it was enough that he got something in Mr. Malcolm that was causing him clear agony. With another scream of agony, the man dropped down onto his knees.

The yellow and red zoner casually walked over, raising his tail up and brushing it against the man’s chin. Mr. Malcolm froze as the beast looked at him in the eyes. It was like he couldn’t turn away. Ms. Teelar looked over at where Mrs. Cosmo stood, but the man wasn’t paying attention. It didn’t even look like he realized what was going on. Ms. Teelar narrowed her eyes at this before turning her head back to where Bardot and Mr. Malcolm were.

Bardot was standing in front of the man with his tail straight up. He didn’t appear to be smiling. He was gritting his teeth tightly and a whole plague of emotions seemed to be dripping down his facial features. “You were going to come with me, or else I’m going to rip your eyes out…”

Mr. Malcolm hissed through gritted teeth. “Like hell you’re going to get close enough to…” He stopped himself when a wave of pain appeared to have stricken him. He seethed as he clutched at his arm, holding it tightly as he tried to push back the pain. Despite that, he still glared at Bardot to make sure that he didn’t try anything funny without him seeing it.

It didn’t look like the small zoner was all that phased, however. He just looked at him with the faintest hint of a smile and all the frustration that seemed to stretch out far. “You are going to be a problem, I see. Perhaps I should have been quicker.” He turned his head to one side, one of his green eyes managing to look back and glare at him sideways. “I’m sure your little friend would have put up less of a fight.”

Mr. Malcolm looked pissed at this statement. He opened his mouth to respond, but Ms. Teelar was quicker to the point.

“If it’s me you want, then you can have me.”

Bardot and Mr. Malcolm both froze at this. They turned their heads to stare at the woman in shock.

Ms. Teelar took a few steps over towards them. “Only if you let Mr. Malcolm go. Then I’ll go quietly.”

Bardot started to smile at this while Mr. Malcolm looked a little more horrified. The fear that had been injected into his head became more prominent, more noticeable. Ms. Teelar flinched and tried not to let it get to her. She also tried to ignore the voices in her head as she kept her stare right at the small red and yellow zoner.

“Do you mean that?” Bardot asked as he tilted his head to one side. “You would be willing to come with me willingly…” He motioned his paw out towards Mr. Malcolm. “...for him?”

Ms. Teelar nodded her head affirmatively. “That’s right. So do we have a deal?”

“W-Wait.. You can’t do that.. Ms. Teelar…” Mr. Malcolm started to limp his way over, somehow having gotten back up onto his feet. He used his hand to keep his balance on the wall as he came over. His limp seemed to be getting worse as he continued along and it was getting increasingly painful to watch. “Please, reconsider this…”

Bardot turned to snarl at him. “Oh no you don’t…” He started to make his way towards Mr. Malcolm. “You are not going to get in the way of this.”

Ms. Teelar noticed what was going on and she immediately rushed over to where Mr. Malcolm was. She got in front of Bardot as she looked directly at Mr. Malcolm. She put her hand on his uninjured shoulder. “I know what I’m doing. Trust me.” It was a lie of course, but she wanted to help him calm down. She leaned in and whispered as softly as she could. “Just wait for me, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

Mr. Malcolm just looked at her with uncertainty. He licked his lips and swallowed hard. He managed to smile, but it was easy to see how shaky that it was. “O-Okay… I guess I’ll…” He swallowed a second time, more audible than the first one. “...I’ll trust you.”

Ms. Teelar smiled at this. She then turned to glare at the eagerly awaiting Bardot, who had gotten onto his haunches, sitting like a dog. She stood straight, her arms rigid at her sides, as she said, “Okay, I’m ready.”

Bardot smiled more broadly at this. He started to move a little closer to the woman. He stopped a few feet away from her. He moved his paw at his side, his palm facing up. “Then come along with me. It won’t take long. I promise.” He watched in silence as Ms. Teelar got a little closer. He raised his paw up and then said, “But you have to commit to this. No trying to fool me. You got that?”

Ms. Teelar nodded her head. “Yes, I understand.”

Bardot raised an eyebrow at this. “Well I think I should make sure that you commit.” He walked even closer to her, his eyes locking onto hers. “You know how some people can be, saying they will do one thing but they never mean it. Understand that?”

Ms. Teelar didn’t know where the zoner was going with this. But she remained calm and said, “Okay, how you want me to prove that I will follow through?”

“Allow me to show you what I mean.” Bardot said softly.

Ms. Teelar felt a strange sensation starting to come over her when she saw the zoner walking towards Mr. Malcolm. She could see how the man shuffled uncomfortably and how Bardot looked a little too confident. She realized, in her gut feeling, that something was about to happen. But she couldn’t tell just what was…

Then it happened. Without warning, without any sort of statement beforehand, Bardot had shoved his claws into Mr. Malcolm’s eye sockets. The man froze, the screaming delayed until the eyes were ripped out. Blood splattered all over the ground and the man immediately covered his eye lids, blood rapidly pouring out of the now empty sockets.

Ms. Teelar let out a scream of terror, her body trembling, her fingers clawing at her face. She couldn’t move her rigid feet. She only just barely managed to stare down at the zoner in utter shock, her breathing straining in her throat.

Bardot hardly reacted to the screaming other than twitching his ear a little. He looked up and gave the frightened woman a stare that pierced into her soul. He gritted his teeth tightly in a clearly fake smile. “If you want me to leave him alone, if you want him to have a chance at survival, you will listen to me.”

Ms. Teelar couldn’t bring herself to respond to the zoner as she listened to Mr. Malcolm’s pained whimpers and cries.


	66. The Hero Versus The Villain

The arrangements had been made. The rules had been set. Or whatever there were, anyway. This was an all out fight. Both would do whatever it took to win, and Rudy was well aware of this. He knew that if he slipped up, that was it. He knew the consequences of losing, and so did Mr. Cosmo. Neither could afford to lose. Who was going to come out on top? Who was going to be able to defeat the other? At this point, neither of them had a clue. But neither were going to back down without a fight.

Rudy stared down at the piece of white chalk he held in his possession. Mr. Cosmo had given it to him to make the fight even. Apparently Mr. WIlter had it with him when he came over. He didn’t know why he didn’t use it when he could have. Was it possible that he knew that his time was up and…

Rudy had to stop for a moment, his mind swirling with thoughts as he thought about what had happened. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, twisting and yanking tightly as sharp, bitter emotions clung to his chest. He wished things didn’t have to happen this way. Why did Mr. Wilter have to…. He fought against his tears as he tried to keep focus on his opponent. He shouldn’t try to cry right now. If he wanted to avenge Mr. Cosmo, he needed to focus on the fight at hand.

Mr. Cosmo smirked at him, showing no remorse for what he’s done or for what he was about to do. The man was sick and twisted and it was beginning to show, even before the fight truly began. Rudy felt his teeth grinding against each other and he tried not to lurch too much. He raised up his own magic chalk, his eyes blazing in determination.

But he couldn’t get too cocky. After all, his opponent had magic chalk as well. The two of them were evenly matched. It was all going to come down to skill. Rudy just had to be the better of the two.

“Are you ready, silly little boy?” Mr. Cosmo asked. He turned his head to the side as he stared down at Rudy, a smile stretching along his lips. “Let’s see if you can make your precious master proud.”

Rudy could feel his body shuddering at that statement. He glared at Mr. Cosmo, growling deeply. But he tried not to let himself get too overwhelmed by emotion. He reminded himself that his anger was only going to hinder his ability to fight. So he forced himself to exhale slowly as he took a step forward, clutching the magic chalk tightly. “Okay, let’s get this over with then…”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes glinted. There was a flash of something in his eyes. A hidden emotion that Rudy just barely caught. He tried not to pay attention to it. Mr. Cosmo said softly, “Time for a little bit of fun, eh Rudy? Let us start the duel.”

Rudy raised his magic chalk up a little more to prepare to draw. But Mr. Cosmo was quicker than he was. Rudy felt his eyes widen when the man had quickly drawn a long whip with heated thorns, holding the handle in his hand. Rudy had to move quickly to avoid getting hit by the whip. As he jumped to the side, he heard it crack and he could feel a wave of hit hitting him. His eyes widened at this and he wondered what would have happened had he actually been struck.

But Rudy knew that two could play it that game. As he slid along the ground, the force making him do it, his body slowly turning, he quickly drew a counter weapon of his own. An old device of his that he hadn’t used properly since he was a child. He held up his freeze ray gun, taking note of the changes that he had made to its design, and then he pointed it at Mr. Cosmo. He put his finger on the trigger and pulled it.

Mr. Cosmo widened his eyes at this before smirking. The man waited until Rudy pulled the trigger before he jumped out of the way. He quickly began to draw as Rudy was quickly doodling something else. Now it was Mr. Cosmo’s turn to be taken by surprise when Rudy suddenly abandoned the drawing, a loud clang crashing against the ground, and another wave of cold was sent forth. So unprepared was Mr. Cosmo that his foot ended up partially frozen. The man let out a pained grunt as he tripped over himself a little in response to the attack.

“Heh, such a clever little boy, aren’t you?” Teased Mr. Cosmo, his smile getting increasingly broadened. “I wonder if you would be able to keep this up. How long will it be until you drop to your knees?”

“N-Never…” Hissed Rudy.

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this. He used the heat from the whip to melt the ice that formed on the tip of his foot. He wiggled his foot a bit to test it before putting it back down to the ground. He straightened his body up a little and had an air of confidence around him. “We’ll see about that.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. “Yes, we shall.” He said as he accepted the man’s challenge. He wasn’t going to back down. There was too much at stake. He didn’t want to think of what would happen if he lost…

...and he was bound to this, wasn’t he? They had made the blood pact. It was quick and largely painless. But it would be much harder to back out if he lost. The man did say it was binding and he suspected that he did something to make it that way. The thought terrified him, causing his blood to turn into ice.

But that was all the more reason to make sure that he could win, right?

Rudy dashed over towards Mr. Cosmo, feeling his feet pounding against the ground with each stride. He made his way closer to the man, his freeze ray raising up to try to attack the man again. Rudy pointed it at Mr. Cosmo, getting ready to pull the trigger yet again. But Rudy realized too late that he should not have expected this to work.

Mr. Cosmo was quick to bend his body around to avoid another freezing attack. Then he whipped himself around behind Rudy and struck with him with the whip. Rudy felt his eyes widen in pain and he let out a loud screech. He tumbled forward a little, only just barely managing to catch himself in time. He swerved his head around and glared at the obnoxious man. He could only tolerate his smirking for a short time before he charged forward again.

“So eager to fight… That’s what I like to see. You will make a fine addition to the team, Rudy.” Mr. Cosmo said in a cooled voice. He raised his whip again as he prepared for another attack. “Just imagine all the people that you’re going to help.”

Rudy could feel himself shuddering at this statement, licking his lips dryly. He tried not to let himself feel too sick at this statement. As he approached the man, he spoke in defiance, “That’s not going to happen!”

Mr. Cosmo let out a small chortle. Rudy tried not to flinch at it too much. It was likely a tactic to try to get him shaken up anyway. Rudy instead just bared his teeth and tried to look as determined as possible. Before the man could even try to say anything else, Rudy managed to get close enough to try another attack. This time, rather than using the magic chalk, he struck forward with his fist, hoping that it would make contact with the man’s hand and knock out the black chalk that he was holding.

The red-haired man merely dodged the attack, however, and he came forward with a move of his own. Rudy’s body tensed up, his back arching, when he saw Mr. Cosmo coming in closer once again. He licked his lips slowly and he prepared to fight as Mr. Cosmo made a move to get at him, his hand reaching out. Rudy prepared for this.

….but then, as Rudy put his arms up to protect himself from the blow that he was certain would have come, Mr. Cosmo changed things at the last second. Before Rudy realized what was going on, Mr. Cosmo lifted his leg up and struck it between Rudy’s legs. The impact caused a wave of pain to spread throughout his body and he dropped down onto his knees. He gritted his teeth tightly as tears dripped down his face. He collapsed onto his side, his body shuddering, as he looked up at the man with a mixture of shock and anger.

“Th-That was a low move and...y-y-you know it…” Rudy managed to say through his pain.

Mr. Cosmo just shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, I never said you couldn’t get a little dirty.” He took a step forward. He lowered his front part of his body and his head as he met him right in the eyes. “I know you’re desperate to help the white chalk, just as I want to help the black chalk. Do you think I am going to let you go so easily? I don’t expect you to join me willingly if you’re still that brainwashed.” Mr. Cosmo sneered, “But don’t expect me to go down without a fight. I want you, Rudy. I need you. I need all the help that I can get.” He raised his black chalk upwards. “I can not just let you go.”

Rudy could feel himself cringing as he looked up and he saw how the man was looking at him. He could see the emotions that rang through his body and face, what was apparent on his facial expressions. Rudy could feel a chill of fear in his stomach and he swallowed hard, feeling his heart pounding. He did realized that Mr. Cosmo was speaking the truth here and he couldn’t have just expected otherwise.

But while the man may say that he has something to lose if he doesn’t win, Rudy also was the same way. He forced himself to remain still, his hands forming tight fists in his hands as he pressed his teeth against one another so hard that he thought something was going to give in. His fingers on his free hand pressed against his palm, and he could feel the tips themselves beginning to sink in, nearly cutting into the flesh itself. He could see the man’s eyes widening for only a brief moment. It was enough that told him that Mr. Cosmo was realizing just how serious that he was.

“And do you think I can just easily let myself lose on this? There’s so much at stake…” Rudy’s voice trailed off for a moment. Then he continued in a hissingly low voice, “I’m not going to let ChalkZone or the zoners or any of my friends fall under your rule! I know what you did to ChalkZone years ago and I know that, if given the chance, you’ll do it again!” Rudy took a step forward. “These zoners depend on me to protect them! Don’t you get that? Don’t you realize just how important this is to me?”

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him, blinking a few times. Then he narrowed his eyes slowly.

Rudy spoke before Mr. Cosmo had a chance to. “Of course not. It doesn’t matter to you, does it? You think zoners are monsters so you paint me as one. Are you really that narrow-minded, Mr. Cosmo? Don’t you know about artist intent? How that plays a key role in how a zoner will behave? Or do you act like this doesn’t exist just like your precious black chalk tells you so?”

Mr. Cosmo snarled, “Don’t you dare….”

Rudy smirked at this. “Why? Are you realizing the truth already? About how the black chalk sees you as nothing more than a tool to get what it wants? Are you realizing how it has blinded you for so long? Because if you are…” He put his hands on his hips. “Congratulations on reaching reality again. You have been missed.” He only stopped when he heard Mr. Cosmo’s low growlings and he wondered if he had been pushing it a little bit too hard.

And indeed it seemed that was the case. Rudy couldn’t even keep up with what had happened. Without warning, Mr. Cosmo just charged at him at full speed. His eyes widened as he could feel the human ramming into him like he was a punching bag. Rudy could feel air escaping out of his lungs as the pair of them hit against the ground in a loud thud. Rudy attempted to wriggle himself free, but he could feel the man’s grip on his shoulders tighten, preventing him from going anywhere.

Rudy looked up and he could see the rage boiling in the man’s one good eye. Despite it only being one, that eye seemed to glow bright enough for two eyes. There was a flash of black, and it matched the coldness that he was feeling in his stomach. Rudy could only gulp nervously as he waited to hear what the man wanted to say to him.

But Mr. Cosmo didn’t reply, not that this was much better. He could see how the man was glaring at him, his teeth bared and grinding. Rudy could almost see the radiation of anger coming off the man’s body, swirling around and trying to cuff him inside of it. Rudy felt himself attempting to struggle, but there was little that he could do about it. He soon just laid still, doing little but staring up at the man as he wondered what he was going to do. Was he just going to leave him or was he going to do something else?

Eventually, it seemed Mr. Cosmo couldn’t just stay silent for any longer. After drawing in a few slow deep breaths as if to calm himself down, Mr. Cosmo blinked a few times, his good eye still glowing. He then opened his mouth carefully and began to speak in a soft, hissy voice.

“Say that again, you little brat.. Try to tell me how unimportant the black chalk is..” He lifted his head up a little. Rudy could barely look away from him. His wide eyes conveyed a lot of emotion, which Mr. Cosmo barely seemed to respond to. Instead, the man just continued on with, “I’d hate to have to do something about your ungrateful attitude. It was the black chalk that’s kept you safe all this time. Yet here you are, pretending that it never happened. You should be ashamed of yourself.”

Rudy furrowed his eyes a little. Despite being afraid of what the man might say, Rudy still found himself speaking, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. The black chalk has done squat for me!”

Mr. Cosmo released a few low bitter chuckles at this statement. “You’re just a naive little boy, aren’t you? Still persistent and so stubborn… You refuse to see what the black chalk has been doing for you this whole time.” He shook his head slowly. “Tsk tsk…. Ain’t that just a shame.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Rudy shouted. “The black chalk has only been controlling me! How the fuck is that helping?!”

Mr. Cosmo shoved Rudy harder into the ground. Rudy released a small yelp of pain, his eyes squinting shut tightly and his teeth baring. He could hardly open his eyes up as Mr. Cosmo moved in close to him, his hot breath hitting against his face. “I find it hard to believe that you don’t know. This should have been something that you, as the new protector of this world, should have known about all along.” He gave a wry smile. “Did your precious little giant friend not tell you anything…?”

There was something about that tone of voice that caused Rudy to shudder. His eyes immediately snapped open wide and he felt his mouth going dry and bitter. There was no telling just what the man meant by that. But there was still a chance that he was actually trying to imply something rather...uncomfortable.

Rudy licked his lips slowly as he stared at the man in silent horror. Recalling what he had learned about earlier, recalling how this man treated the deceased Mr. Wilter, knowing that he had killed many zoners in the past…. It was all adding up to a horrible image that he couldn’t push out of his head. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as he struggled to breathe. When he spoke, his voice was weak and barely audible. “D-Did you do something to him…?”

Mr. Cosmo just stared at Rudy for a few seconds. He was still and unmoving for the most part, save for a few blinking. Then the man’s face began to contort, his mouth corners stretching up, and his remaining eye glinted brightly. The sight of this was all that Rudy needed to see to know what the answer was.

No, it couldn’t be…. Rudy shook his head in denial, not wanting to believe it. Many thoughts zipped through his head as he tried to control himself. But it seemed like there was nothing that he could do to keep himself under control. He was just feeling increasingly worse as the seconds passed by. And crawling up in the back of his head was a strong sense of emotion, a burning anger that started to cloud him.

But it wasn’t aimed just at Mr. Cosmo. He was mostly angry at himself. He hadn’t been attentive as he should have been. He had neglected to see if any of his other zoner friends were fine. He had no excuse. He knew what happened to some of the zoners here, enslaved by Mr. Cosmo or even killed by… Rudy tried not to think about it.

But he should have been able to figure out that Biclops would have been a target. He was someone from Mr. Cosmo’s past, someone that the man seemed to hate. How could he have… And now he was…

Well there was a chance that Biclops was still alive, but if the man’s expression was of any indication, his chances of living must be slim. This wouldn’t have been the case if he just had been more focused and attentive, if he had only thought about him and went to check on him. He had already known Biclops was in trouble, sure, that was a given, but he hadn’t done anything to help him when he should have and now Biclops might not even be…. And who knows if Mr. Cosmo had done anything to him in that time and… Rudy felt his eyes burning with tears as he glared at Mr. Cosmo.

“Don’t try to be putting the blame on me, kid. You’re the one who decided to prolong everything by refusing to join me. You keep saying that you will and you keep backing down. And when I tried to encourage you to join, you push away.” Mr. Cosmo was sounding increasingly irritated as he talked. Rudy was surprised that he wasn’t foaming at the mouth at this point. “You could have made this so simple and so painless if you had just listened to me from the start. Look at where your rebelliousness and stubbornness had gotten you.”

Rudy formed a tight fist with his hands, shaking them. He couldn’t believe how Mr. Cosmo was really trying so hard to paint him as the bad guy. He was trying to push away all forms of responsibility and place it on his shoulders so he wouldn’t be liable for anything that’s happened. Rudy ground his teeth together as he felt his fingertips burning. He shouldn’t be surprised by this disgusting behavior, but it sure as heck didn’t make him feel better, either.

Rudy kept glaring at Mr. Cosmo as he tried to think of what he was going to do. The man still held him down and Rudy still couldn’t escape. Words were not going to aid him, either. Mr. Cosmo would not listen. It would seem that the only language that he truly spoke was…

Without hesitation, Rudy repeated one of Mr. Cosmo’s previous actions. He kicked the man between the legs.

“Aaargh! You fucking little…!” Mr. Cosmo shouted in agony as he held onto himself, staggering back away from the boy. “I’m going to….!”

Rudy didn’t let the man finish his sentence. Using whatever time that he had available, the teenager quickly got up. Bending his legs a little, he launched himself at Mr. Cosmo. He rammed into him and caused the man to stagger back, his feet tripping over each other. Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened and he let out a cry of pain as Rudy pushed against him as hard as he could, ramming him against the nearest hard wall.

Mr. Cosmo managed to get away from Rudy before he could attack him again. After putting some distance between him and the teenager, the man stood against the wall, trembling in pain. He looked down towards the ground as he held onto his arm. He then turned his head to stare over at Rudy. After the two glared at one another for a few long, painfully silent moments, Mr. Cosmo raised the black chalk up slowly.

sss

Mrs. Sanchez hadn’t expected to be back at the hospital so quickly. It hadn’t been that long and she thought she was in for some rest and reflection. But instead, she found herself in the ambulance truck, hurdling back towards the hospital.

And there strapped to the stretcher was her daughter.

Penny looked dreadful, with her paled skin, her struggling to breathe, and the horrible injury that stuck out like a sore thumb. The torn pieces of flesh were evident, making it clear just how violent of an attack this was. Mrs. Sanchez could tell, from just how bad it was and the angle, that it was most likely a purposeful attack. Someone had deliberately done this to her daughter.

But why would anyone want to…. Oh no, it wasn’t that blasted woman was it..? The thought caused her mind to burn, making her grind her teeth. She knew that she shouldn’t have trusted that woman. She knew that she should have just refused to let Penny go with her. Because of her stupidity, Penny was hurt. She couldn’t begin to imagine why Ms. Saffron would do something like this. But she wasn’t going to stand around and wait to find out. She would deal with that woman later.

Mrs. Sanchez wasn’t allowed to come too close. She had to sit down in the back, holding onto whatever she could, as the ambulance frantically drove towards the hospital. Mrs. Sanchez watched as the paramedics surrounded her daughter and tried to do whatever they could to help her. They had an oxygen mask over her face to keep her breathing. Others were racing over to try to give her some shots of antibiotics to keep her from getting infected. They treated her wound carefully, but only superficially; they appeared to be waiting until they got to the hospital before they did anything too extreme. Probably not the best move, but perhaps they didn’t have what they needed here.

The woman gritted her teeth when the vehicle started to turn in one direction, nearly causing her to fall down. Thankfully, she didn’t have to worry about Penny; as she clung to the seat as she was pushed up painfully at the side, she could see in the corner of her eyes that Penny’s stretcher was hooked into the ground quite securely. Then the vehicle corrected itself and they resumed on the right track.

Mrs. Sanchez continued to stare at Penny, feeling a strong sense of guilt clinging to her chest. She gripped at her heart, attempting to settle down the quickening thumps, licking her lips slowly as she attempted to settle herself down like before. But there was very little that she could do and all that she could hear in her mind was…

...what was she going to do….?

The female vet could feel questions, so many questions, clamoring inside of her head and her heart pounded loudly. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do when she got there, or what she could do. And honestly, she wasn’t interested in speaking with Mr. Tyreek and Ms. Ghadir again. She just wanted to be with her daughter. That is, if she would even be allowed to see her daughter. She knew that she would be in the emergency room to deal with her injuries. Who knew how long that would take? Her already aching heart was going to explode if…

And what about Rudy? He was still with Mr. Cosmo, wasn’t he? And Ms. Saffron? The realization made her heart twist. While she was glad that Penny was out of that situation now, she didn’t want the same fate to fall upon Rudy. What had happened to him? Had he gotten away or was he still trapped? Was Ms. Saffron going to hurt him as well? If Penny was of any indication, then….

Mrs. Sanchez felt herself jerking forward when the vehicle finally came to a stop. She could hear the brakes being put into place and the paramedics were already starting to disembark. The stretcher that Penny was on was already unhooked and the door swiftly opened up. Mrs. Sanchez hadn’t had a chance to get off before Penny was immediately pushed off and the wheels touched down on the parking lot pavement.

The woman didn’t hesitate to get up and rush over towards them. She easily caught up with them despite how fast they were moving. However, one of the paramedics glared at her, raising her hand up and trying to halt her.

“Sorry, you can’t come with us.” The paramedic said.

“She’s my daughter.” Mrs. Sanchez replied, her eyes narrowing. “I’m not going to leave her to….”

Another paramedic spoke up, “Listen lady, if you’re a vet, then you should know you can’t be with your daughter the entire time. Just head into the waiting room. We’ll call you with any updates.” He paused for a moment and then said, “Is that clear?”

Mrs. Sanchez let out a small sigh. There wasn’t really much that she could do and honestly, she would only put herself and Penny at risk if she just barged into the emergency room. Reluctantly, she slowed herself down, allowing the paramedics to push Penny further and further away from her. Mrs. Sanchez watched them disappear, her heart aching at seeing her daughter being pulled away into the distance. Only when Penny disappeared entirely did she resume walking forward, walking into the hospital and heading straight to the waiting room.

This was going to be a very painful waiting time, she knew. She had no idea what to expect or what was going to happen to her daughter. She hoped that Penny was going to be all right. But there was no telling. Something could always happen and… She shuddered to think about it.

Unable to do anything, the woman walked towards the nearest chair. She sat down into it and leaned herself back. A small breath escaped her lips as she tilted her head up slowly, staring at the ceiling. She did the only thing that she could do and she whispered a few soft words of hope.

sss

Rudy’s eyes opened wide open as he felt something sharp hitting him in the back. He tried to twist himself around, but Mr. Cosmo just rammed against him hard, leaving him no room to maneuver or get away. He could feel himself hitting against the ground, whimpering in pain. Rudy looked up just in time to see the man bringing down his weapon, which was a fucking axe of all things. A quick turn to the side allowed him to miss the blow.

“Wh-What the hell are you doing?! I thought you didn’t….” Rudy started to cry out.

Mr. Cosmo just grinned at him. “I know what I said. But I still think perhaps you need a little bit of persuasion.” He held the thing up a little higher, looking ready to strike. Rudy cringed at the sight of it. “Maybe you will listen if I showed you exactly what could happen to you if you refuse.” He looked at the axe, stroking his finger along it slowly. “I know I wouldn’t really hurt you with this….” He gave Rudy a sideways glance with his good eye. “But a zoner might try to use it against you.”

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly as he scrambled up to his feet. He took a few steps back as his body wobbled and shook. His eyes remained glued to the man as he searched through his aching mind to find something that might help him out of this situation. But what could he do? Even if the man didn’t intend to hurt him, he still needed to fight him and subdue him. This man was crazy and unpredictable. How the heck was he supposed to…

Rudy didn’t get a chance to finish his train of thought when he saw the man coming barreling down towards him, raising his axe up to strike again. Rudy had to jump back, but if the man hadn’t been trying to hurt him, he would have been screwed; he wasn’t able to move fast enough. Rudy could feel himself tripping a little as he got out of the way, his tongue hanging out and panting heavily.

Mr. Cosmo came in around him, holding the axe out in front of him. The man’s eyes were staring at him in curiosity, a small grin spreading along his face. There was a small glint in his remaining eye that Rudy could not tear away from. It was like he was glued there and no matter what he did, he was trapped looking at the man in the eyes.

Slowly, the two began to circle one another. Rudy was slow and careful, keeping his grip on the white piece of chalk. He could feel how rigid his leg muscles were and how hard it was to move. He bit his lip tightly, feeling it sinking into his skin. He breathed in and out heavily, his head starting to spin. He arched himself up when he thought Mr. Cosmo was going to come in to strike. Then, when he had an opening, he twisted himself around, managing to stop Mr. Cosmo’s attack in mid form as he went around and he struck the man from behind.

But this only served to aggravate the man, barely causing him to move. Rudy jumped back when he saw Mr. Cosmo looming over him, those eyes staring right into his soul. Rudy felt his heart pounding and he struggled to breathe, licking his lips rapidly as he quickly moved back from the man. He tensed himself up as he prepared himself for another attack.

He was instead surprised when the man set his axe down towards the ground. There was a bit of a thud that hurt Rudy’s ear drums, but he tried not to pay attention to it as he glared intently at the man. He bared his teeth as he wondered what he was up to. What did this guy have in mind?

Mr. Cosmo just grinned like he did before, an eerie smile that pierced into Rudy’s soul. The man kept this up for several long moments, as though trying to deliberately strike against him mentally. If that were his plan, it was succeeding. It seemed only after Rudy moved back yet again did Mr. Cosmo decide to speak anything. And when he did, Rudy almost wished that he had just stayed quiet.

“You’re looking at me so strangely, Rudy. Are you realizing that this is where you belong? Are you finally seeing what I am?” Mr. Cosmo continued to smile as he held the axe up once more. He stared at it, as though to admire his own reflection. “It doesn’t have to be this way, you know. You could just forfeit and we could get this nasty business behind us. I won’t punish you for quitting early.”

Rudy tried not to gasp at this. Was this man being serious? Did he really think that he would just roll over like that? Did he honestly think that he was going to get him to just…. Rudy narrowed his eyes deeply, his teeth grinding so much that he thought he was going to crack them eventually. He tried his best to remain calm, but just how long was he going to be able to handle holding back? It seemed to be an impossible feet.

Mr. Cosmo was merely amused by all of this, smiling down at Rudy as if he was just some kind of amusing toy for him to play with. “I see you are at a loss of words. I can understand that. Did you want to call it quits now?”

Rudy shook his head furiously. “Like hell I’ll do that! I don’t belong here! I am the protector of ChalkZone and the likes of you…” He pointed his chalk wielding ahnd towards the disgusting man. “..aren’t going to change my mind!”

Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh, shaking his head slowly as he rested a hand against his face, the axe returning to laying by his side. “Tsk tsk….you really don’t understand, do you? Such a stubborn little boy like I figured. I wish there was a way to break that nasty little spell the white chalk has casted upon you. But I suppose there’s really only one way to pull that off and it’s by force.” Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes a little as he pushed the axe away, letting it drop to the ground. The black chalk was raised again. “I will have you yet, Rudy Tabootie.”

The male teenager tried not to let himself shudder at how the man spoke that statement. He instead just tried to focus on glaring at the man in the eyes. He couldn’t let him get the best of him. He couldn’t let him get away with intimidating him like this. No, that would just be… Rudy stiffened himself up as he felt his arm already drawing something.

And so was Mr. Cosmo.

It took only a matter of moments before both of them were wielding what appeared to be a long, glowing sword. Rudy’s was, naturally, white while Mr. Cosmo held a black one. Rudy’s sword sparkled like the white chalk, rainbow bits and all, while Mr. Cosmo’s sword had a black, wavering glow to it, giving it an ominous look just like the black chalk. The two of them stared down at one another before they finally raised their swords up, ready to fight.

Rudy didn’t know how well he could do this. A part of him still hesitated, still felt so rigid and stiff. But he also knew that he couldn’t just keep backing out of this. He had to keep going forward. Mr. Cosmo was not going to quit and neither should he. With his eyes narrowing slowly in determination, Rudy eventually started to make his move. He began to move forward, raising his sword up and ready to attack.

The two swords began to clang into one another. Mr. Cosmo was more than eager to meet with him. The sharp, thick tips hit against one another, creating an echoing sensation that rumbled through both of their bodies. They felt their bodies shaking and their feet started to trip a little. But that did not prevent them from continuing to head forward, hitting against one another again and again. Loud clangs continued filling the air and the two glared at one another with gritted teeth and glowing eyes.

It was uncertain just how long this was going to last or when it was going to end. The room lit up with the flashes of blackness and especially of whiteness. Each sound made it seem like a storm was rolling in. And in a way, symbolically, this was the case. It was only going to get worse if Rudy didn’t manage to win this fight.

Rudy grunted as he felt himself being pushed up against a nearby wall of rocks. He pushed his back against it as Mr. Cosmo came rushing in. He saw the dark sword rising up and Rudy’s eyes widened in horror at the sight of it. He had to quickly turn himself around and he just barely missed getting hit. The sword clanged loudly, scraping and nearly sparking as Mr. Cosmo pushed it downwards before pulling back. Rudy’s ears were aching from this, the pain swirling in his head, but he still managed to glare at the man before him, keeping his teeth bared and growling heavily.

Seeing an opening as Mr. Cosmo just stood there with his body twisted to one side and the sword down, Rudy lifted up his white one and proceeded to charge forward, the tip of it aimed right for Mr. Cosmo’s weapon. He tried to move quickly enough, but though he did ram the thing against his intended target, he just did not have the strength necessary to push it out of his hands. The man only grunted and moved back, but soon Rudy was facing that sword staring right at him, raising up over his head.

And then it came down, forcing Rudy to quickly block. The sword hit against his that he held above his head and the force was enough to push him into the ground. Rudy laid on the ground for a few seconds, stunned and recovering from the blow. Mr. Cosmo kept pushing the sword down and soon his foot stepped onto him to hold him still. Rudy struggled for a bit, but he couldn’t dislodge himself.

Mr. Cosmo glowered down at him, making no effort to hide his frustrations. It was hard to tell if the man even still wanted to keep him around or if he was just lying to himself. Rudy didn’t care to find out either way, though. All that was important to him was getting himself free. As he bared his teeth and pushed up against him, Rudy mustered up as much strength as he could to try to accomplish the feat.

But all Mr. Cosmo did was just hold himself still and let himself smirk broadly, his eyes glinting with something awful. Then with his teeth bared in a grin, he started to speak softly, “Looks like we’ve got a winner…”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror. He had no idea what the man was talking about. How could he say that…

Mr. Cosmo continued, “You can’t get up, can you?”

At this cue, Rudy started to push back harder, trying to get up. He pushed harder and harder, but no matter what he tried, he couldn’t seem to get free. He only ended up weakening himself, his muscles bursting with exhaustion. He couldn’t even roll himself out of this situation. Mr. Cosmo’s sword prevented him from doing anything.

Soon, Rudy just stopped moving altogether as he looked up at the man in horror, realization slowly dawning over him.

Mr. Cosmo was smart enough to keep him pinned down. He leaned in a little closer, his eye meeting with Rudy’s. “So about that deal….”

Rudy gritted his teeth in fear. He turned his head to the side, staring up at Mr. Cosmo, his heart pounding in his chest. He didn’t want to believe it. There was no way that… He couldn’t… Shutting his eyes, Rudy let out a shout of utter terror, “No!”

sss

There, the deed was finally done. He didn’t need to worry about it any longer. He didn’t need to worry about his mind playing tricks on him or getting him to do something he didn’t want. He could finally return to what he himself wanted to do.

Skrawl slowly limped his way back towards the portal. Staying hidden in the streets hadn’t been all that difficult. It was dark here mostly, making it easy for him to hide in the shadows. He just needed to make sure that he avoided the lights, keeping himself bathed in darkness. He had been able to do the deed, and getting back shouldn’t be as difficult. It was even darker now and most humans were asleep at this point. At least, that’s what he’s heard.

He still felt a sense of disgust with himself. He hoped that no word of this is ever leaked to any zoners. He didn’t want any of them to pester him on what he did, asking him questions or anything. He just wanted to move on. He wanted to go back to his Beanie Boys and resume his work of trying to take over ChalkZone. It was a more familiar thing to him. Something that he could understand. It was his comfort zone, and he wasn’t yet ready to leave it.

He hissed in pain as he moved his hand over his wounded areas. Getting out of here hadn’t been all that easy. He had to struggle and fight, but he did still do a good job of escaping. The thought of it brought a smile to his face and he couldn’t help but chuckle a little. There was a reason that it wasn’t a good idea to mess with him.

He looked out ahead and he could see the portal facing him. It was pushed back into a brightly lit alleyway. A bit counterproductive, but it helped to mask the appearance of the portal. Skrawl just zipped over as quickly as he could, preventing himself from being spotted so easily. He could feel a sense of comfort as he passed through, heading right back into the portal and returning back into ChalkZone.

And right there, he was greeted by a trembling human. A bit torn up and bloodied and a look of terror in his eyes, the man had held a small eraser in his hands. Not to go after him of course, but to erase the portal. That is, after he went through it himself.

Skrawl smiled down at the human, playing on his fear. “Like I promised, I won’t let your friends’ fate fall on you if you leave this place and never come back.” He raised his hand up, which had some blood stains on them, a reminder of what he had done. “Now go on home… I’m sure that you have some family waiting for you, right..?”

The man gulped, his body remaining hunched. “P-Please...y-y-you’re not…”

Skrawl tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Well, I would consider it but…” He raised his hand up in gesture. “All I want you to do for me right now is just leave. Unless you don’t mind me visitng your family, right?” He leaned in a little, putting his chin to his curled fingers.

The man’s eyes widened in horror and he staggered forward, his legs wobbling violently. “Please, you can’t….” He had to stop when Skrawl raised his hand up, showing his sharp claws to him. “Don’t...please…”

Skrawl just smiled twistedly at him. He reached forward and he grabbed the man by his throat. He lifted him up from the ground, letting his feet dangle below him. The man squirmed and twisted himself around to get free. But eventually, he just stopped struggling altogether and stared at the zoner in fear as he was brought up close to his face. “Then get out of here while you can…”

Skrawl then dropped the human to the ground and glared at him, still smirking. The man released several small whimpers and cries as he scrambled up to his feet. He stared at Skrawl for a few more seconds with those wide, terrified eyes, before he turned around and he began to flee, his wobbly legs giving him a weird gait as he went off.

Skrawl watched him for a few seconds, smiling in satisfaction, before he just simply glared at him. He scoffed softly, thinking ‘good riddance’ to himself. He then turned his attention to the area around him, feeling the Day Zone sun shining down upon him. He took in a deep breath and he exhaled slowly. He then began to head off in one direction. It was time for him to return back home.

sss

“No!”

The boy’s voice echoed throughout the room. It seeped into the ground and almost appeared to be dominating the cracks. The voice took a while before it would stop echoing, repeating itself against the hard walls of this room.

But that wasn’t the only thing that it did. There was something else that it seeped into to dominate over.

And that was Mr. Cosmo himself.

The red-haired man stared down at Rudy with a slightly shocked expression. But he didn’t stay this way for long. His eyebrows soon furrowed and his face was graced with dark, upset emotions. He wasn’t too particularly surprised by this, but he was still wracked with disappointment. He had hoped that things didn’t have to come this way. He had hoped that the boy would keep his promise this time. But that had just been wishful thinking, wasn’t it?

Mr. Cosmo kept Rudy pinned to the ground. He wasn’t about to let him leave so easily. Not until this was taken care of. Rudy could struggle all that he wanted to, but nothing would change the fact that he lost this fight. He was going to have to own up to this and submit to him. He had no other path that he could go. There was nothing that would change this. And Rudy knew that he didn’t have much in the way of defending himself, now did he?

Mr. Cosmo slowly smiled at him, his remaining good eye glinting in the light. Mr. Cosmo leaned in a little closer, overlooking the details of his face. He could still see the fear radiating from Rudy’s eyes. The teen was obviously trying to hide it, but he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. This made the man start to sneer at the boy, chuckling darkly. It’s of no surprise to him how much the boy was trying to hide this fact. He wanted to look smart and strong, didn’t he?

Well wasn’t that just too bad?

Mr. Cosmo broke the silence. “I do believe that we had a deal.” He raised his free hand up, showing his finger’s undersides. “A blood-based one if I remember right.” He tilted his head to one side. “How can you break something like that? Why did you agree to it if you weren’t going to fulfill your end of the deal?”

Rudy struggled a little on the ground. But he didn’t try for too long, as though he knew that he couldn’t escape. He stared at the man with eyes that shone of fear, but his voice dripped with at least some courage. So there was still some braveness left in the boy. Mr. Cosmo frowned at this. Perhaps he should do something about that.

Mr. Cosmo let out a small sigh. “I’m getting tired of this run around, kid. I’ve given you multiple chances to join me. And now when you promised that you would if you lost, you still bail out. Just like you had before.” He curled his lip up slightly. “This is making you seem very untrustworthy, child.”

Rudy bared his teeth. “Y-You know I can’t… I don’t want to… I only agreed because…”

Mr. Cosmo cut him off. “...because you thought it would be your chance to stop me.” At Rudy’s silence, Mr. Cosmo knew that he had guessed right. Figures. He scoffed a little, tilting his head back. “But unlike you, I would have kept my end of the deal. What is your excuse? If you think you’re so much better than me, then why aren’t you keeping your bargain? Why not practice what you preach?”

Rudy was silent for a few moments, clearly struggling to respond. Then his eyes narrowed a little further and he growled, “Because at least I’m trying to protect ChalkZone…”

“So in other words, because you are protecting these filthy zoners, you get a free pass on stepping out of an agreement….” Mr. Cosmo motioned his head to himself. “..but because I’m against what you believe, I am bound to keep the agreement?”

The teenager just glared at him.

“Hmph…” Mr. Cosmo snarled. “You’re such a hypocritical little brat, Rudy.”

“And you’re just a monster using lies and false promises to get what you want.” Rudy retorted. “You love hiding behind whatever you can, because deep down, you’re a terrified child who still believes in the boogeyman...and you pretend that the black chalk isn’t just that. The boogeyman controlling you.”

Mr. Cosmo growled under his breath. “I think you should keep your big mouth shut.”

“That’s just the sort of thing that you’d want me to do, right? Shut my mouth so that you can tote around your beliefs, making me feel like an idiot.” Rudy hissed softly. His voice was low, but still sharp and deliberate. “This is all just a ploy, though. Hiding behind your own fears and guilt… You pretend to be courageous when you’re really just a worthless snake who slivers underground at the first sign of trouble, aren’t you? Am I guessing right, ‘little Teddy?’” Rudy taunted.

Mr. Cosmo could feel his teeth grinding against one another. His blood had reached a boiling point. It wasn’t just what the boy said now, but also back then. Rudy had been constantly pushing his buttons, constantly trying to find ways to get under his skin. So far, the boy seemed to continuously succeed, making him look like some kind of a fool.

And he wasn’t very appreciative of this.

It was at this point that Mr. Cosmo started to wonder why he was even bothering to keep Rudy around. What was the point? It was clear that this boy didn’t really care what he thought. He was a liar who would just say things to try to get what he wanted. He was a little trickster, specifically chosen by the white chalk for a reason. Rudy truly was destined to remain the white chalk weilder. So was there any purpose in trying to keep him around?

As far as he could tell, no.

Mr. Cosmo released a low growl as he repositioned the sword to strike at Rudy. He didn’t do anything right away. He just wanted to make sure it was all steady so that he could get ready for such a move. Rudy stared up at him in shock and fear as the man was preparing for the attack. The man stared down at him with a cold glare, this time showing no signs of hesitation.

“I wish it didn’t have to come to this. But you have left me with no choice. I’ve given you chances after chances, but it’s clear where your loyalty lies and it’s clear that your stubbornness will permeate even through the black chalk’s guidance.” Mr. Cosmo said, his voice low and seething. “As such, I think you’re right. It would be a bad idea to let you be recruited. I should have chosen wiser. Even Ms. Saffron was better than you.” He narrowed his eyes further. “A shame you forced me to kill her…”

Rudy cried out in shock at this, “What?! You can’t possibly blame me for that!” He pointed his finger at Mr. Cosmo accusingly. “Y-You’re the one who decided to do it! You could have stopped yourself! You could have…”

“Silence, you little brat!” Mr. Cosmo’s voice boomed throughout the room. Rudy froze at this, staring at the man with his wide green eyes. Mr. Cosmo took in a few ragged breaths as he tried to calm himself down. But he wasn’t able to stop his body from shaking and his teeth just bared against each other more tighlty. “Y-You obviously don’t have any respect or remorse at all, do you…? Trying to pin the blame on me when you had something you could have done to stop this…”

Rudy managed to choke out, “Join you…?”

“Precisely! If you had done that from the start, none of this would have happened! This is your fault, Rudy, and I’m not going to let you run away from your responsibility!” Mr. Cosmo declared as he raised the sword a bit higher above his head, pulling it back to get ready to strike. “Now prepare for your punishment… I will cleanse you before the white chalk can use you for any longer...”

And with that, the man prepared to drive his sword towards Rudy. The teenager kept looking at him in fear, cringing back as he waited for the blow. A part of Mr. Cosmo regretted having to do this, but he did agree with what the black chalk said. Rudy was a lost cause and a danger to himself and to humanity. The zoners were just going to exploit him and the only way to prevent that was by getting rid of him.

“I’m sorry…” That was all Mr. Cosmo could say before he lurched forward.


	67. How Lies Come Forth

It had been difficult, but Bardot did manage to get his quota. One human. No, he had managed to do better than that. This foolish girl thought that he was going to stop at her, did she? It was a thought….until he realized that this man was going to be a problem. He wasn’t going to just allow him to take away his little friend. So why not take him, too?

Of course, the woman was not happy with this. She had started to yell at him, calling him a liar, how she was going to tear him apart, blah blah blah… Feh, wouldn’t this woman ever stop? He was having enough of her excessive yapping.

But oh well. There wasn’t much that he could do right now anyway. Besides, the red chalk would take care of the two of them soon enough. He just needed to get them to the chamber as quickly as possible. It wouldn’t be too long and Mr. Cosmo was too distracted with Rudy right now to realize what was going on. A smile was brought along his face and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Oh poor little naive Teddy… He had no idea what was about to happen, did he?

And it would seem that he didn’t warn these two about what he could do. It had been fun tricking the woman into believing he saw her friend’s eyes ripped out. The hallucination had worked well and it did force her into submission. Of course, she wasn’t happy when she found out it was a lie and the man was furious, but neither of them were going to take the risk of him actually pulling it off, now were they?

He could hear Draow’s low rumbling as he tried to keep hold of the two humans in his jaws. He snarled a little and shook his head, trying to make the two stop moving around so much. But they were a rather tenacious bunch, weren’t they? It didn’t seem like they were willing to stop moving so easily. If anything, they were only getting increasingly feisty.

Upon seeing the look in Draow’s eyes, Bardot had to raise his paw up and motion towards him. “No, Draow. You’re not going to hurt them.” He lowered his paw towards the ground and resumed walking. “The red chalk wants them alive.”

Normally, Draow would have tried to do something to fight back, to say ‘screw you’ and do whatever he pleased. But that was not very likely in his current situation, now was it? Not while he was still coated in the red chalk’s energy, making him nothing more than a plaything. Bardot sneered at this as he flexed his claws in excitement. He had never before gained control of such a powerful zoner. He might as well just keep Draow. Why in the world should he release him? He could just think of what he could accomplish with him under his command.

And best of all, Draow would not even be able to escape from him. The zoner’s mind was partially shut down, with only instincts ruling. And the only one that could guide him now was Bardot himself.

Before he could take another step forward, there was a small rustling sound. Bardot lifted his head straight up. He looked around for the source of that sound. He turned his head left and right slowly, his lips curling up into a small snarl, a low growl emanating from his throat. His bright green eyes turning to face Draow, he made a quick gesture and said, “Wait… I think I hear something…”

Draow stopped and lowered himself towards the ground. He laid himself upon the two humans, who squirmed about underneath. Draow roared and snarled at them loudly, making them too terrified to try to move or get away. With the bat wolf zoner keeping them in check, Bardot went towards the nearby bushes, staring intently.

Lifting his head up, he took in a few whiffs to see what was present. He could detect something in the air, something of an irony kind of… Wait, was that blood? Bardot froze at this realization before he slowly snarled. He raised his tail straight up and he forced himself to move forward more quickly, eagerness taking him over.

Then the bushes parted and he found himself face to face with the sight of something large, flopping, and injured.

Bardot widened his eyes. “Tsere…?”

Or rather, Tsere 2.0, but that didn’t have as nice of a ring to it. He brushed the thought aside as he moved in closer, stopping a few feet in front of the massive zoner. Tsere 2.0, despite the noises that he was making, hadn’t moved all that much from his spot. The large dent from which he had been pushed into, and the large pool of blood present there, indicated that he hadn’t crawled that far. Those eyes of his were rather dulled and faded and for some reason, his body did look a little bit paler than usual.

Bardot stood there for a few seconds, his body rigid and his mind racing to think of what he should do. The most obvious thing was to just kill the thing and move on. Tsere 2.0 might end up causing too much trouble and he didn’t have much time to waste.

...but on the other hand, Tsere 2.0 could make for a useful servant if he were to be healed. Having two flying zoners, especially ones that used to be rivals, would increase his power hold and make it easier for him and the red chalk to spread their plans across ChalkZone. It wouldn’t be too hard with that kind of power house to his advantage.

He was going to need to make a decision and fast. He didn’t know how long Tsere 2.0 could last and there was no telling how he would react once he was…. Bardot stopped himself in that train of thought. He narrowed his eyes into slits. This was going to be a rather tough move, but…. It needed to be done.

Bardot moved in closer and, drawing in a deep breath, he placed his paw on Tsere 2.0’s body. He shut his eyes for a few moments and then reopened them, a bright glow wafering off of them. Then a bright redness began to spread through the pterosaur’s outline, dissipating the black.

sss

There was nowhere for Rudy to go, no way that he could hide from this. He didn’t have any sort of chance to escape this. The sword was already coming down upon him. Within seconds, the sword was going to pierce through his flesh. There was no time to get away. There was no hope.

Everything around him started to slow down. Even his breathing and slight twitches seemed to take forever. He could see in full detail what was going on. He could see where the sword was going to strike and how it was gradually moving towards that spot. He could see the look of determination in Mr. Cosmo’s eyes, as well as despair, as though he really didn’t want to do this. And Rudy could soon see something else moving across his field of vision.

His life flashing before his eyes.

Rudy could see his childhood, when he was a little kid, and all the great times and moments of desperation that he had. He could see all his past adventures flipping through the front of his eyes as if they were part of some kind of flip book. From toddler to his early teens to now, at age fifteen, Rudy relived through his childhood.

And while it did bring him some moment of relaxation and peace, that didn’t last too long. It only took moments later for him to realize just what this signified. With a tear rolling down his cheeks, he closed his eyes and waited for the final blow.

Suddenly, his closed vision was lit up, an intense light illuminating all around him. Rudy tried to open up his eyes, but he let out a yelp and shut them again. There was a light coming from his hand, where he still held the white piece of chalk. It started from the tip and shined upward, almost like it was some kind of super flashlight. The intensity of it was not just affecting him, either. He could see some quick motions and heard some grunts and he realized that Mr. Cosmo had also been afflicted.

The man appeared to be seething and the sound of scrambling feet strongly suggested that he was trying to back away quickly. Rudy couldn’t tell how far away he was going nor if he was trying to draw something else. He could only just lay there for several moments before things finally started to dim a little. Once the luminosity lowered enough, Rudy managed to open his eyes and look around.

Mr. Cosmo stood a few feet away from him, his body tense and bent forward into a fighting position. Rudy turned his head and he saw that his hand with the white chalk had been moved forward, and he realized that Mr. Cosmo must think he had been trying to use the white chalk itself as some kind of a weapon. Rudy remained still for a few moments, stunned by this, before he narrowed his eyes and climbed up to his feet. He stood there rigidly, his hand still holding up the white chalk tightly, and he glared right into Mr. Cosmo’s eye.

“What’s the matter? Are you afraid to fight me now?” Rudy taunted. Mr. Cosmo growled at this. But he made no movement to recover the sword that he dropped. It was almost as if… “You’re afraid of what I might do with this, aren’t you?” Rudy held the white chalk out further. “Am I right? Do you fear what I will do?”

Mr. Cosmo took a small step back. There was a hint of shaking in his legs. His blue-grey eye was staring not at him, but at the chalk itself. He clearly didn’t want it leaving his field of vision, especially with how he was following it slowly as Rudy moved it about. Mr. Cosmo’s grip on the black chalk tightened like a vice and he looked ready to fight at any moment. Was he afraid of losing the piece of black chalk?

Rudy could feel his eyes glinting at this thought. There was only one way to find out. If he could just disarm the man and break the black chalk… Not that it was going to change the man’s mind. He was already too far gone into the black chalk’s lies. But he could at least try to subdue and restrain him.

Rudy didn’t hesitate for another moment longer before he started to make his way towards Mr. Cosmo. His hand started to move quickly in the air as he started to draw something. The lines rapidly formed in the air, giving off a brighter glow than he was normally used to. Then the color started to come in as the thing manifested into reality. Rudy quickly grabbed onto the long, sturdy ribbon that he had created. After taking it in his hand, he rushed over towards the man.

Mr. Cosmo stared at this display in confusion before he just smirked and laughed. “D-Do you think that this is going to frighten me…?! Do you think that you can just….”

Mr. Cosmo’s voice immediately stopped in its tracks when Rudy just kept on coming towards him. The red-haired man stared on in shock and confusion and he tensed himself up as he prepared for a fight. Gritting his teeth tightly, he attempted to draw something.

And that’s when Rudy took action.

Rudy immediately lashed the ribbon out forward. Sure it wasn’t much of a weapon. Sure it couldn’t hurt the man as it wasn’t a whip. But it did still wrap around his arm, the one that held the black chalk, and squeezed it tightly. Mr. Cosmo froze in shock at this before Rudy yanked down hard, causing his arm to be pulled roughly to one side. This in turn caused whatever he was trying to draw to form as just a few scribbles that dropped to the ground.

Mr. Cosmo grunted in frustration, his teeth clenching. He glared over at Rudy and he started to pull back. “Let go!”

Rudy refused to listen to the man. He just started to pull back, trying to trip the man up. He didn’t get that far. Mr. Cosmo was still bigger and stronger than he was. All he had to do was just yank back and It was Rudy who flew forward and hit the ground face first painfully. Rudy gasped and coughed and spluttered as he looked up at Mr. Cosmo.

“You just don’t quit, do you? You are so tenacious, so stubborn…. In some ways, like myself.” Mr. Cosmo said. He smiled at this, but it was a bitter and dry one, devoid of much meaning. Rudy tried to get up, pushing himself on his elbows, but Mr. Cosmo’s foot came down on his head. Rudy felt it strike against his skull and he cried out in pain. He could soon feel the side of his face being flattened against the hard, unforgiving floor. “I have to wonder if that means, sooner or later, you will follow in my footsteps. Maybe if I let you live, you will still become like me, my successor, no matter how much you say that you will never go down that route.”

Rudy glared up at the man as he said this. He at least tried anyway. It was hard to see what the man was doing, nor could he see much of him at all. He was at a weird angle in this position. But he could still imagine that horrible smile that plastered over his face. The very thought of it made Rudy feel sickened.

He tried to get up once more. The man’s weight kept him down. And this time, the white chalk was tucked under his chest from how he had landed, the light blocked out. If he wanted to get out of this mess, he would have to do it without the white chalk’s help. And that was going to be a rather difficult thing to do. If he can’t even lift his head up, how was he going to get himself to get the man completely off of him?

Mr. Cosmo released a series of bitter chuckles as he kept pushing down on Rudy’s head. He wasn’t attempting to crack the skull, otherwise he likely would have drawn a weapon at this point. But it was clear that the man wanted to assert his dominance over him, to rub it in his face how much he had lost. Rudy flinched as he continued to hear the man’s cruel laughter.

“You look so funny there, you know that? So pathetic as you try to squirm around…” Mr. Cosmo’s soft, taunting voice came, invading Rudy’s ears. “I would have thought that you would stand on equal ground with me. But it would seem that this is where you belong after all.”

Rudy growled at this, striking his hand against the man’s leg and digging in his fingernails. He tried to hold on tightly, hoping to draw some blood and cause enough pain to make the green-suited man let go of him. But it didn’t seem to do much other than annoy the man a little.

“Oh I see you’re still trying to get free. Didn’t you get the memo already? You aren’t getting away from me.” Mr. Cosmo said as he put more weight on his foot, more weight against the boy’s head. This was enough to make Rudy pull his hand back and look at the man in fear. Mr. Cosmo seemed almost delighted by this. “I see it’s finally dawning on you what’s going to happen. I’m not giving you another chance. I did that before and you only backstabbed me. So take a good look around, child. This is the last thing you’ll ever get to see.”

Rudy could feel his heart pounding in his chest. Despite really wanting to hold still, he found himself obeying the man’s words. He could feel his eyes turning about, seeing the mostly barren, cavernous room, decorated only by rocks, a small remaining batch of black chalk, and the dead bodies that were his fault. It all painted an ominous picture in his mind and served as a reminder that this really was…

Then he suddenly froze his gaze on that pile of rocks over there. The one that required trekking near the zoner skeleton that he and Penny had come across earlier. A kind of cave-in he realized, and that meant that…

...something must be on the other side…

Rudy could feel a sudden resurgence of energy. His will to try to stay alive had pumped him full of adrenaline and he started to push back. Before he realized how he did it, he managed to push Mr. Cosmo off of him, knocking the man off balance and causing him to fall into the ground. Rudy didn’t bother looking at him or saying anything to him. He just immediately just scrambled to his feet and started to make a run for the pile of rocks.

“D-Don’t you dare…!” Shouted Mr. Cosmo from behind. “Come back here, Rudy! Face me with dignity! Don’t just flee from me, you rotten little coward!”

With his heart pounding against his chest, his breathing quickened, Rudy reached the pile of rocks as soon as possible. He stood in front of it for only a moment before he looked over behind him. His eyes widened in horror upon seeing Mr. Cosmo rushing at him. He quickly turned his head towards the pile of rocks. He raised the white chalk up, creating a large opening that let him step out of the Black Chalk Chamber.

But he knew he didn’t have time to close it and it would not have lasted that long anyway. So instead of just standing there or bothering to look around, Rudy just picked a direction to go in and he started to run as quickly as possible.

Behind him, Mr. Cosmo’s screeches echoed ominously.

sss

Darn it, blast it…. He hadn’t been quick enough. That little brat had managed to get away from him and now he was moving through the blocked off tunnel. Sure, it might be a small one and he can’t get far, but what if it led him right into the Chalk Mine…?

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes in determination. He knew that, if this were the case, he shouldn’t be standing here, wanting to slap himself. He didn’t hesitate to move towards the opening as quickly as he could, going through the opening that the teen was too stupid to erase.

Mr. Cosmo immediately found himself bathed in mostly darkness, with only some small lights on the side showing any sort of illumination. There were two ways that he could go. He had to close his eyes and listen carefully in order to figure out the likely direction that Rudy must have taken. He could hear the boy’s voice echoing in the background and he felt his teeth gritting tightly. He knew exactly what he had to do.

Choosing that direction, Mr. Cosmo immediately began to head out. He took the path to his right, which started to wind upwards, creating a twisted slope. No staircase, so he would have to be careful not to roll back down. He gripped tightly against the walls here, which weren’t going to provide much help for him. But despite that, he continuously headed on up, determined to get to wherever Rudy was trying to go.

Thoughts raced through his mind. Did Rudy even know where he was going? Or was he just taking an educated guess? Was he aware of the tunnels in the back of the Chalk Mine? Was he going to get lost? Whatever these answers ended up being would determine how he himself was going to approach this. He realized that if he screwed up these answers, he might end up messing up everything else after that. He would need to be careful.

Mr. Cosmo could soon hear the boy’s panting. Instead of increasing his speed, however, Mr. Cosmo had to slow himself down. If he moved too fast, then Rudy could draw something to defend himself with and knock him back down. This was not going to help him recapture the boy to finish him off. So instead, he moved a bit slower, trying to keep himself as quiet as possible so that Rudy didn’t know he was behind him.

At the top of the twisting slope, Mr. Cosmo found himself at another crossroads, this time with multiple tunnel openings facing him. There were about four and they all led to another part of the mines. He looked left and right as he tried to see any indication of where Rudy might have gone. Then turning to his left, he could see the faintest hint of a shadow. He narrowed his eyes and he started to follow the teenager. Was this the way out or was Rudy just taking a wild guess? Mr. Cosmo didn’t care. He only cared about getting his hands on that little brat before he managed to get to the White Chalk Chamber.

How clever that they put it in the front… Mr. Cosmo knew that this design was not by mistake. There had been a reason for it and a reason for why the black chalk was hidden in a chamber away from here, hard to get to. The white chalk wanted to make sure that it got first dibs on any human that came in here, so that it could brainwash them. The black chalk, which revealed the truth, would be hidden, allowing ignorance to take over.

Mr. Cosmo had wanted to change this years ago, but he hadn’t really garnered much success. He hadn’t even gotten close and he had a feeling such a plan wouldn’t work this time. He couldn’t just physically move the locations around.

But he could block access to the White Chalk Chamber and grant a better access to the Black Chalk Chamber instead….

His eyes lit up at this. Yes, that would be something that he could do. He would be able to easily pull this off. At least in comparison to his previous plan. By doing so, he could ensure that any future human that wanders into this world would be given the proper tools to defend themselves with. The zoners were dangerous, yes, but even they had their limits. They wouldn’t dare mess with a human wielding the black chalk.

Mr. Cosmo continued down through the tunnel. Barely lit like the other one save for the small lights, it turned around a little in one direction before changing off in the other. It had a downward slope for a while before flattening out, and it was a mostly smooth tunnel with some jaggedness to it, a sign that it had been created through drilling rather than naturally formed.

Up ahead, he could see Rudy’s shadow distorted on the walls. He could hear the sound of feet pounding the ground. He could hear the boy’s heavy breathing. He was getting tired. He was starting to slow down. And so long as he was exhausted, that meant that he was going to be easier to catch. Mr. Cosmo smirked at this and he increased his speed just slightly.

He soon found himself in a smaller tunnel, a bit more difficult to maneuver through. It was more of a tight fit and it forced him to be more careful as he headed in forward in the tunnel. As he did this, he could hear a small cry of pain and a thud and his eyes twinkled. He quickly sped himself up and as he turned around the corner, he could see that Rudy was leaning up against the wall. With how he was clutching his leg, it became clear that the boy had injured himself while running.

This made him such an easy target. Smiling, he headed forward.

Rudy was shaking his leg a little, as though trying to get the feelings of pain off of him. He then tested his foot on the ground, making sure that as much of the pain had been pushed from him as possible. He only got to lean himself forward a little bit before he could suddenly hear something behind him. When he turned around to look, his eyes flashed in fear while Mr. Cosmo smiled twistedly.

“Hello there, Rudy… Did you miss me?”

Rudy stared at him for a few second before he suddenly turned around to try to run. The boy could only manage one step before Mr. Cosmo had already met up with him. He rammed up against the boy, causing him to let out a cry of pain before colliding into the ground painfully. Rudy hit against the surface and gave a few shudders before whimpering in pain. Mr. Cosmo realized that he had kicked Rudy in his damaged leg and he took swift advantage of this.

Before Rudy could recover from the blow, Mr. Cosmo came in from behind and wrapped his arms around him tightly. Rudy’s eyes bulged open and he tried to scream. The man tightened his grip on him, putting pressure against his neck, causing him to gag. Rudy struggled and squirmed in the man’s grip. Mr. Cosmo tightened his arms around him, pulling Rudy back into the ground.

Mr. Cosmo sneered down at the boy, taking in a few shaky breaths as he watched how he was looking up at him in fear. Rudy tried to draw something. Mr. Cosmo stopped him by gripping the wrist that connected to the hand that held the chalk and pushed it down. He then laid himself on the boy a little bit, enough that his weight made it hard for his twisting about body to get any sort of chance to strike against him.

“You thought that you could get away from me, did you…? Heheheh…. That’s what they all think.” Mr. Cosmo spoke. His voice was low and hissy. A ball of emotion was already forming in his throat, pushing its way upwards. “Many zoners and many of my human opponents thought the same thing. I told them that I would get them, and they never believed me. Or they were at least stubborn as you are.”

Rudy struggled and pushed up against the man for a bit before his energy seemed to start giving out. All that running that fast was having an effect on him now.

Mr. Cosmo leaned in towards Rudy, putting his face close to his. He whispered in a low, harsh voice, “But I always managed to get what I wanted. Even Horace ultimately paid the price, even if it did take a long time. And now…” He paused for a moment to watch Rudy struggle. “You will get to join them. Such a shame you didn’t last as long… But I give you props for trying, at least.”

Rudy wasn’t giving up still. He just kept at it, twisting himself from side to side, trying to use more of whatever energy he had left. He looked like he wanted to speak, but it would seem that the teenager had stopped trying. He must have realized that there was nothing that he could do to change the man’s mind. The only thing that he could do right now was to just accept fate. And that meant glaring at the man and acting like he wasn’t afraid, but Mr. Cosmo could see right through it.

“That look in your eyes…” Mr. Cosmo cooed softly. He could feel the back of his mind sparking with surging thoughts and he could feel himself smiling a little in nostalgia. “It reminds me so much someone I tangled with in the past…”

Rudy snarled at him. “Are you talking about Mr. Wilter? If you say anything about him…”

Mr. Cosmo waved his hand dismissively. “Not really. I was referring to someone else. I don’t think I’ve mentioned her before. I don’t think I even remember her name that well. But I recall her last name was Tabootie…”

At this, Rudy’s eyes widened immediately, drawing in a sharp breath.

“Oh yes, I remember her… And now that I think of her, she looked a bit like your father. I would say they were...siblings.” Mr. Cosmo took another look down at the boy. He could see that his expression had changed. Still in shock but now intermixing with uncertainty and anger. “Yes, I can see where you get this look from. And she had your eyes, too.”

The teenager’s breathing increased rapidly, his face contorting in surfacing anger. When he spoke, his voice was shaky, indicating a great difficulty in keeping himself completely under control. “Wh-What did you do to her..?”

Mr. Cosmo smirked at him. “Normally I wouldn’t go too far in punishing my opponents. They were usually better defeated through assimilation. Bringing them over to my side before the white chalk distorted them for too long. But your...aunt…” He leaned in closer once more, unable to control the emotion that was seeping out all around him. “She was different. She was too stubborn. She refused to go down. Your stubbornness comes from her, I take it.” He leaned himself back, tilting his head to one side. “So I had to do something about her.”

“And what did you do..?” Rudy asked softly. When Mr. Cosmo didn’t answer right away, Rudy shouted, “Answer me, you asshole!”

Mr. Cosmo chuckled at this. The boy was a little too eager for his own good, wasn’t he? Well if he was really that curious… “I promise you that I was swift with her. I’ll make sure that you end faster than she did.”

Mr. Cosmo realized too late that saying such words hadn’t been a good idea. Before he realized what happened, Rudy had freed his other arm and grabbed the man by his throat.

sss

Moving the two humans into the Red Chalk Chamber had been a lot easier with the help of Tsere 2.0. It had been a good idea to grab a hold of him, even if he was still injured and had a hard time moving about, even with the red chalk’s power giving him more energy. At least the job was almost finished. All that was required now was for Draow and Tsere 2.0 to keep their positions near the opening of the chamber so that these two idiots couldn’t get out.

Of course, neither of them were willing to go along with this. Bardot watched with an amused expression as both of them tried to get out. They rushed over towards the opening of the chamber, trying to get past the two large winged zoners. A flick of Bardot’s wrist was enough to make the two large zoners make a move and they snarled and snapped at the humans.

No surprise, Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm were both rather determined and not so easily deterred. Bardot just smirked and chuckled at this, a grin spreading across his face. He liked how tenacious that they were. He hoped that this would be of use for the red chalk. They could use an energy level like this.

Bardot turned his attention to the red chalk that hung overhead. They hadn’t yet spoken and he did wonder what was going on. He licked his lips slowly and he took a few steps towards them tentatively. He didn’t want to do anything too extreme as he had no idea what to expect. At the same time, he also didn’t want to appear weak. Doing so would be problematic. The red chalk wouldn’t trust someone that was weak.

He lowered his head slightly, showing submission and respect to the red chalk. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and his eyes closed softly. He waited there for several long moments, waiting for the red chalk to make a move. Surely it could see his offering.

It seemed to take longer than expected, but eventually he could hear the red chalk starting to talk.

“This it…? No more…?”

Bardot gritted his teeth. “I never said I could bring over a lot. I think I said at least one but I’ve gotten two.” Bardot lifted his head up a little as he stared more directly at the red chalk. “I know two is not a whole lot to work with. But it’s better than nothing, right?” He turned his head to the side. One of his eyes could see Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar being held down by Draow and Tsere 2.0. The other could see the red chalk sparking above him. He gave something of a half smile, though it took effort. “It is the start of setting you all free. Think about it.” He stared more directly at the humans as he continued, “Think about it. You can use these two to open up portals, bring red chalk into the Real World. Our message would spread…”

The red chalk sparked a few more times before answering. “Sounds intriguing… But not ideal…. Idea how…?”

Bardot frowned a little at this. “I think it might be best if we all took this more slowly. We wouldn’t want too many humans to come in here. And there are things that need to be done. We can’t have them using the white chalk, right?”

“Indeed… White chalk bad... “

“Needs blocked up…”

“And we can do that with these two.” Bardot nodded his head towards Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm. “They would make for the perfect slaves. How fitting, with how creators like to treat us as their slaves…” Bardot gritted his teeth tightly as he recalled what had happened with him. He was not going to allow it to happen again. “They will be the foundation of our little uprising. Soon, under our leadership, the zoners will be freed.”

“Before black chalk… Foolish…”

“Act fast…”

“Not allow delays…”

Bardot nodded his head once. “That is correct. We do need to move fast. The black chalk is making its latest attempt at recruiting more humans for it to control. And we all know that the black chalk’s way is going to spell doom for the rest of us.” Bardot let out a low growl, his body giving a quick shake as he thought of what might happen if they failed. “Let’s just get this over with. I don’t know how long we have left.”

“Not agree more…” The red chalk spoke, its voice sizzling with some sense of desperation. It was as if it knew exactly how much time they really had to act. “Act now… Before too late..”

Bardot didn’t need to be told twice. He didn’t hesitate to look over at where the two large zoners were. The humans had long since stopped struggling, it would seem. But they were still glaring in determination, showing no signs of completely submitting. This meant that there was no way they were going to walk over willingly towards the red chalk. Even if they didn’t know what the red chalk was capable of, it was obvious they still wouldn’t go over. They weren’t that trusting. In a way, they were smart, but this was going to prove a problem.

Or rather, it would have if he didn’t have Draow and Tsere 2.0 with him. These two were going to make things a lot easier. They were just standing there, awaiting orders. They were using their weight to keep the humans down and they were a lot stronger than they were. Both of them were still under his command as well, as shown by the red outlines that they still had. All it was going to take is a simple set of words to get them to head towards the red chalk.

And that’s exactly what Bardot was going to give them.

“Take them over there.” Bardot said as he motioned his paw towards the overhanging red chalk. “Hold them down while I get them both a piece.”

Immediately the two large zoners went to obey. With one human in each of their jaws, they began to head over to the red chalk. They dragged the struggling, kicking, and squirming humans with them.

“You can’t do this!” Mr. Malcolm shouted. “You’re just a bunch of lowly zoners! You should be listening to us! We are your creators!”

Ms. Teelar twisted herself from side to side. After failing to free even just her arm, she collapsed a little, breathing heavily. She glared intently as she snarled, “We are above you!”

Bardot twisted his ears a little as he gave them a backwards glance. He could see how their eyes were starting to glint with black. The black chalk must be trying to aid them right now. He gave a bitter chuckle at this. Bardot had no idea why the black chalk had insisted on doing this. It was through this process, of putting itself inside of its host, that it had weakened itself. That was why the black chalk was mostly destroyed. It was such a fool.

But even just a little bit of black chalk could prove troublesome. That Black Chalk Chamber would need to be sealed away as soon as possible. That might be what the first agenda will be once he got these two humans under red chalk control.

It took a bit longer than he would have liked as the two humans struggled more viciously than he would have thought. But it didn’t take too much longer before they arrived at their destination. They now stood just a few feet in front of the overhanging red chalk pieces. Draow and Bardot pushed the two into the ground to hold them there, ensuring that they could not get away.

“We swear we will get you for this!”

Bardot just chortled at this statement. He gave them a smile before he headed over to the red chalk. He could feel his heart thumping with excitement. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. A part of him had a hard time believing that this was really happening. But despite his excitement, he knew that there was stuff to be done. He didn’t hesitate a moment longer before he reached up and snagged a piece of red chalk in his jaws. With a quick twist and pull, it was broken off.

Bardot then started over at the humans, smiling at them as they squirmed about. Bardot stood there in silence for a few more moments before he slowly began to take steps towards them.

“This will feel a little strange. Don’t be surprised if you feel a burning sensation. It’s absolutely normal.” Bardot said as he drew in closer to the two humans. He could see how they still tried to wriggle themselves free like they were some sort of puny little animals. “Just try to hold still and it’ll be over quicker before you think. And don’t worry…” His eyes glinted brightly. “It’s not like you have to agree with what’s going on. You won’t have much of a choice in the end…”

Mr. Malcolm bared his teeth as Bardot now stood only a few feet in front of him. “Y-You sick bastard… You said that you would…!”

Bardot waved his paw to the side in a dismissive manner. “And you trusted me? I only said that so I could get both of you.” He leaned in closer. “Did you think that I would be dumb enough to allow one of you to leave?”

Ms. Teelar looked like she wanted to strike him, but there was also hint of that old fear that the black chalk hadn’t quite diminished from her system yet. “I-I should have known not to trust you…”

Bardot stared at her in the eyes. His own felt like they were glowing softly. He curled his lip up and he gave a small snarl. “Yes...you should have.”

With that, Bardot held up the two pieces of red chalk in his right paw. He clutched them tightly as he moved it outward, making sure that the two humans could see exactly what he was holding. He could see how their defiance turned into fear. They both knew exactly what was in front of them and what it meant, if their expressions were anything to go by. That was going to make this very interesting. Bardot couldn’t help but smile darkly at this.

Bardot looked left and right as he tried to pick out the first human to do this on. Both of them would make for a good first target, but since the results were going to be the same, what did it matter whom he picked first?

Ah, the heck with it. He would just give it to them at the same time. They were held closely enough together that he could pull this off. And with a wide grin on his face, he took action immediately. Rearing up onto his back legs, holding a piece of red chalk in either of his front paws, he struck outward, pushing the pieces of red chalk in one palm of each human, closing them tightly and holding them in place.

The room was immediately filled with a bright red light.

sss

Rudy had no idea just how it had come down to this. He was suddenly enveloped in a redness that took him over, twisting around and keeping him encased in it. He looked around and all was red and he could feel his emotions burning in his chest.

In front of him, he could see Mr. Cosmo squirming and trying to get away. He thought he could hear him crying, but it was all so distorted, it was hard to tell just what was going on. All that Rudy knew is that he couldn’t just let this man go. He had done something, his mind told him, and instinct was preventing him from releasing the man or letting him get away.

His mind soon echoed with words. The same ones the man had spoken a while back. And they served to tell him just what had happened. And as the words echoed, Rudy’s eyes snapped open wide and he thought he could feel a glow wafering off of them, creating a warm yet burning sensation. It was almost...icy.

“Y-You...monster…” Rudy growled. He could feel the heat spreading throughout his body as he spoke, the emotions overflowing. “You killed her…”

Mr. Cosmo gulped at this. He stammered and tried to speak, but he only ended up tripping over his own words. He soon just looked away from the boy, raising his arms up to defend himself.

Rudy just snarled back at him, feeling his body shaking hard. He didn’t care that he never knew his aunt. But he did know that his dad did care for her, and that she was still family. And this sick, twisted demon had been the reason why the two of them never met. Burning thoughts raced through Rudy’s mind as he tried to think of the most appropriate way of punishing Mr. Cosmo for what he had done. He couldn’t let him off too easy. Oh no… Mr. Cosmo deserved something extra...special.

But what should he do? There were too many thoughts swirling around in his head. It was too difficult for him to really think of one thing. He could only hear words pounding inside of his skull and he could feel his body trembling hard. It was going to be very difficult for him to decide on what to do while he was in this situation. But he couldn’t go anywhere. He needed to do something before this man tried to….

Mr. Cosmo had taken immediate advantage of the boy’s silence and refusal to move anywhere. Pulling his foot back, the man kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. Rudy hit the ground painfully and rolled around for a bit. It took him a while before he was able to get back up again.

Of course that man would try something that low and dirty… Rudy lifted his head up and he could see Mr. Cosmo trying to get away. It would seem that his moment of fear was making it hard for him to make any rational decisions. This prevented him from pulling out the black chalk to draw. And Rudy still remembered his piece… Baring his teeth tightly, Rudy raised up his piece of white chalk and swiftly began to draw, twisting his arm from side to side rapidly as he tried to form something that would help him get the man back here.

In seconds, Rudy drew another long colorful ribbon. Not exactly what he wanted to do, but it would do the job just fine. Baring his teeth in anger, emotions burning at the back of his skull, Rudy twirled his arm around and he shot it out forward. He could see the ribbon wrapping around the man’s leg and Rudy tightened his grip. He didn’t try to pull until the man lifted his leg up. Once it was in this more vulnerable position, he yanked backwards, causing the man to trip up.

“Oof!” Mr. Cosmo grunted. He lifted his head and looked behind him. His remaining good eye widened in horror. “W-Wait! Please!”

Rudy wasn’t going to have any of this. He didn’t hesitate to rush over, raising the ribbon up, preparing to wrap it around the man’s legs to keep him from getting away. He was going to make sure that he stayed put while he figured out what he should do with him. This man will not get away with all that he has done. It wasn’t just for his late aunt, but also his friends and anyone else that was hurt by this disgusting man. Snap, Mr. Wilter, Ms. Saffron, Penny….everyone else… They all deserved closure and he was going to make sure that they got it.

Rudy had to move pretty quickly, but he did soon catch up to Mr. Cosmo before the man could get up to his feet. Rudy snarled under his breath as he jumped forward and latched onto the man. He could hear Mr. Cosmo letting out a cry of surprise before he was yanked into the ground painfully. The two of them immediately began to roll across the ground, wrestling with one another.

This time, the man’s attempts to kick him off failed. Rudy managed to prevent this from happening, holding his leg down with the ribbon while he tried to push the man into the ground and hold him there.

“Hold still, you piece of shit! I’m not finished with you yet!” Rudy shouted at Mr. Cosmo. He didn’t get any sort of answer, but he didn’t care nor was he really expecting an answer. He just wanted to restrain the man before he had a chance to get away. “You’re not going to get out of this unpunished! You hear me?!”

Mr. Cosmo stared up at Rudy fearfully. “P-Please… I’m sorry for what I’ve done…” The man’s voice was soft and nothing more than a mere whimper. It made him sound really pathetic in Rudy’s eyes. “J-J-Just let me go…”

Rudy snarled at this, unable to believe that this man dared to beg with him. Rudy’s arm shook and he felt the urge to strike him. It took all of his strength to keep him from doing so. But regardless, this man was being really hypocritical, clearly only out to benefit himself. “Whatever happened to your earlier determination? Why are you suddenly so frightened? Heh...is it because I almost touched you with this…?” Rudy held the white chalk towards Mr. Cosmo.

Almost immediately, the man cringed and let out a yelp. “D-Don’t let that touch me…!”

“Why not? You touched it before without a problem.” Taunted Rudy, his mouth twisting into a dull smile. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

Mr. Cosmo shuddered for a few seconds as he swallowed hard. “I-I… It was only for a second… I g-g-gave it to you… But if that thing touches me… It might brainwash me again…” He looked at Rudy with the saddest eyes he’s ever seen. “I don’t want to go back to that. Don’t you understand?” He took in a heavy breath and shouted, “I never want to go back to that!”

Rudy just narrowed his eyes coolly. “You don’t want to go back to...what? Knowing what the reality is all around you? Realizing that you had been used like a tool by the thing you say is your ‘friend’?” Rudy could feel his mind burning as he spoke. “You are truly the worst kind of coward, Mr. Cosmo.” He paused for a moment before lifting his head up. “Why was I ever afraid of you?”

Mr. Cosmo continued to shake underneath the boy. He continued to stammer with his words, trying to plead for the boy to let him go. All it did was further disgust the boy and remind him that he had been afraid of a coward, a sissy that ran from danger the moment that things began to shift against him. Someone who couldn’t accept that he was wrong and refused to listen. Rudy narrowed his eyes further as he glared at the man. He had grown sick of this. It was time to end this.

Rudy didn’t hesitate to draw something more dangerous. In his moment of seething anger, of being pushed to the edge, Rudy had created a long spear with a hooked ending. He realized momentarily what he was doing, but his desire overrode his rationality. He rose the spear up, ready to strike Mr. Cosmo.

“You will not harm another person, Mr. Cosmo.” Rudy seethed through clenched teeth. “Nor will you attempt to corrupt another person into your disgusting crew. This...is where it all ends.”

Mr. Cosmo shook his head rapidly, whimpering softly. “N-No...please!” He raised his hand up, his blue-grey eye widening in horror. “Have m-m-mercy on me...!”

Rudy felt his stomach bursting in boiling rage at this. He stiffened for a moment, nearly stopping breathing. He wanted to speak, but that statement of Mr. Cosmo’s just pushed him a bit too far. Rudy’s arm muscles tightened up and he felt himself striking down.

Just then, Rudy could hear something echoing throughout the hallways. A faint scream, one filled with familiarity. Rudy froze and his eyes widened up. He turned his head away from Mr. Cosmo and stared down the hallway. He uttered one word under his breath.

“Snap..?”


	68. The True Threat All Around

“Aaaah!” Rudy grunted as he was knocked into the ground. This had been the second time that he was struck and he still wasn’t able to move fast enough to avoid the attacks. Even now, as he lifted his head up, another was already underway.

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly after just barely dodging the attack. He couldn’t believe that this was happening. He didn’t know just how Snap managed to find his way here and he didn’t know how he had started to glow red. All that he knew is that he needed to find a way to stop him before he or anyone else got badly hurt.

He didn’t know where Mr. Cosmo went. The man had disappeared shortly after Snap had arrived. He thought he had heard him scream in terror. It wouldn’t have surprised him if he really did. That man had an irrational fear of zoners and it was causing all sorts of problems. Rudy couldn’t even muster up a chuckle no matter how pathetic Mr. Cosmo appeared to act. He was just… Rudy didn’t want to think about it too much.

Instead, he focused his attention on Snap, who was coming around the bed and rushing right at him again. Snap looked feral and wild, still with injuries that needed healing but somehow the adrenaline given to him by the red chalk was making him able to ignore that. Rudy tensed up his body as he prepared for another blow. Somehow, the red chalk made Snap really fast.

Was that why Bardot was fast as well?

Rudy wasn’t able to answer his own question when Snap rammed into him hard. Rudy let out a small yelp of pain as he was forced into the ground once more. Rudy felt the hardness of the rocks pushing up against his back and he thought he felt something sharp there. He tried to get up, but Snap had quickly jumped on top of him to hold him down. Rudy let out a small grunt before staring up at his friend with wide eyes.

How was he going to take care of this situation? How could he use the magic chalk against his own friend? Well he has had done it in the past. But never like this. Snap had never been this feral before. The closest was when his mind was switched with a bull. Even that was tame compared what he was seeing here.

But still, he needed to try something. He couldn’t just allow this to continue on. What would happen if Snap got a hold of another zoner like this? What if someone else caught him? Rudy was certain that someone was going to come after Snap and try to do something about his ‘condition’, and if Rudy didn’t stop it first, then someone else would have a shot. He imagined that other people would be more willing to take extreme measures. Rudy wasn’t ready to lose another friend. He had already been responsible for a few. The deaths of Bathtub Granny, Howdy, and Buttered Toast Man still weighed heavily on his mind. He wasn’t going to be responsible for another death.

Rudy latched onto Snap and held on tightly. He could hear and see Snap growling and snarling and biting as his hand. Rudy tried to squeeze as tightly as he could, refusing to allow Snap to get really far with him. He then attempted to pull Snap into the ground, finding a way to restrain him before things got really bad. Snap continued to squirm tightly and twisted his body about. But by some miracle, Rudy managed to hold on.

It took a while but soon it was Rudy who was now holding Snap to the ground. He held onto his shoulders tightly, trying his best not to cause any further damage to his existing wounds. He used his weight to push Snap against the ground and he narrowed his eyes into slits. He opened his mouth to speak, but what was the point? It wasn’t like Snap could really understand or respond to him right now.

For a few minutes, long and grueling, Rudy held the squirming Snap to the ground, doing whatever he could to make sure that he couldn’t escape. Snap kept kicking out, letting out a few growly shouts and even trying to bite him. Rudy had a difficult time holding on forever, having to move his body about, maneuvering to avoid an attack. But he still somehow managed to keep Snap pushed against the floor and didn’t let up, refusing to do anything to let Snap escape. All the zoner could do was just lay there and continue to fight a losing battle.

Well that is, until Rudy made the mistake of letting up just a little and not watching more carefully. For when he looked in one direction for too long, looking for signs of trouble, that’s when Snap made his move.

Rudy’s eyes widened and he screamed in pain when he felt Snap’s teeth pressing up against his neck. He opened his mouth to try to breathe, but when Snap bit down harder, that was stopped, as well as any chance of him crying out for help. Rudy shut his eyes tightly and pushed up against Snap as hard as he could. The zoner’s teeth started to press into the flesh and Rudy gave an airless gasp when he felt the first sign of skin breakage and the tiny trinkle of warm blood.

Out of sheer desperation, Rudy raised his hand up and he arched his fingers. He struck forward and he hit against one of Snap’s large white eyes. The zoner gave a yelp and jerked back, his jaws releasing from Rudy’s neck. Immediately, the boy drew in a few deep breaths to restore his oxygen levels in his burning lungs. And then he struck Snap in the side while he was distracted, allowing him to get up and away from the zoner.

Rudy immediately took a fighting stance as he glared at Snap. The small reddened superhero zoner was also quick to recover. His eye not looking worse for wear, Snap turned to glare at Rudy, baring his teeth tightly and letting out a low growl with his teeth grinding. Rudy could hear just how menacing this sounded and he gulped.

But he didn’t back down.

Snap lowered his head and, in an almost bull-like fashion, he charged. Rudy moved out of the way and turned himself around, having barely dodged and feeling the rush of air moving past him. Rudy then ran towards Snap while his back was still turned. Within seconds, Rudy collided himself against Snap, making the zoner tumble forward and smashing into the ground. While Snap was distracted with this, Rudy quickly raised up his magic chalk. It was now or never.

Moving as quickly as he could go, Rudy quickly drew some thick, strong rope. It took only seconds to draw, but for him, it felt like it was taking much longer. The rope dangled towards the ground as he held onto it. He then turned his attention to Snap. While the zoner was still distracted, Rudy ran over as quickly as he could move.

While Snap was still trying to get up, Rudy went around behind him. He leaned in and he immediately wrapped the initial rope around Snap’s body. The zoner seemed to realize what was happening and tried to fight back, squirming in the boy’s grasp. Rudy was quick to move and he wrapped around more rope to try to pin the zoner’s arms to his body. While he did succeed in doing this, he had to hold no tightly as Snap’s feet and legs had begun to move about in response. Rudy struggled to tie the ropes, but doing so while Snap was trying to kick at him was difficult. And soon he could feel his shins getting bonked.

But that only made him hesitate for a quick moment before he continued. He pushed against Snap when he started to make another turn and he forced the zoner into the ground like before. Snap wailed and snarled and snapped wildly, and Rudy did his best to ignore this while he tried to secure the ropes around Snap’s arms.

He did manage to secure him this way after a few grueling moments of trying, but getting to his feet was another matter. Rudy attempted to bring in more rope, but it would seem that Snap wasn’t going to let him take him down without a fight. Rudy could feel those feet hitting against him, the force enough to make him bite his tongue. Rudy yelped and moved back, holding his mouth and tasting blood on his tongue. Rudy shook his head and he looked down at Snap.

Already the zoner was scrambling up to his feet. It looked almost comical, seeing how he was managing to pull this off with only his feet, and wobbling around almost silly-like. But Rudy knew there was nothing actually funny about this. Gritting his teeth, he launched himself at the zoner.

The two of them wrestled in the ground. Rudy held Snap from behind, wrapping his arms around him and holding him tightly. But Snap was such a wild little fellow right now. The red chalk had turned him into such an animal. Rudy eventually had to cross his legs over Snap and hold on that way. Otherwise, Snap was going to get free again.

All Rudy could do at this point was just hold on tightly. He hoped that, if he continued to hold on like this, Snap was eventually going to run out of energy. He couldn’t possibly keep this up for too long. Once he used up most of his energy, Rudy could use that chance to tie up his legs and then try to take him somewhere where he’d be safe.

But Snap was apparently not going to make this really easy.

“C-Come on, Snap… Don’t be like this…” Rudy pleaded with the zoner. “I’m just trying to help you! Can’t you see that?”

There was no reply from the zoner. Rudy had suspected this would happen, but it only served to make his heart twist tighter. It was nothing more than a confirmation from him that his friend wasn’t going to listen to him. Snap was under something else’s control. Even if his friend could hear him, he wouldn’t have the capability of reacting to him. The red chalk is what was in control right now. And the only way Rudy knew to undo it was….

Rudy snarled softly as he turned his head and narrowed his eyes slowly. He stared at the tunnels around him, trying to get a sense of where he was in the mines. If he could just find the Red Chalk Chamber, he might find Bardot there and he could undo this spell.

And if he refused, he would just force him to help.

But first, he would need to find a way to keep Snap under control. The zoner had not seemed to tire out just yet. It was like he had a lot of bountiful energy surging through him. This was going to make it difficult for him to get some help or do anything. But despite knowing that Snap could just try to bite him, Rudy had to at least try to restrain his legs. Holding onto some more rope, Rudy attempted to adjust himself and leaned forward to try to wrap the ropes around his friend’s feet to secure them.

Of course, he knew that Snap wasn’t going to down without a fight. He would just have to be quick about this. He moved as fast as his muscles could handle. He managed to avoid getting bit though he had to endure a few hits while he started to tie up the zoner’s legs. It all happened so fast that his mind had trouble keeping up.

And when it was finally done, Rudy was still confused on how it happened. It felt almost like he had been stuck in a trance and he didn’t know how everything played out. He couldn’t even tell if he had any injuries that he was just dismissing.

Rudy soon shook his head, knowing that he should not worry about this right now. He needed to try to find Bardot and force him to cure his friend. And he was going to make sure that Bardot could not say no.

sss

Did he lose him? He had moved quickly enough that he should be out of sight for now. But what if the zoner had followed him? What if…

Mr. Cosmo pressed his back up against the wall, taking in a few deep breaths as he tried to settle himself down. He breathed in and out heavily, his eyes wide and his mouth open wide. He didn’t know how long he had been running or how far. He wasn’t even aware of how far he had gone. He just knew that he had to run as quickly as possible. He couldn’t let that zoner get to him. Not after the hard work he had put into getting all of this…

Mr. Cosmo gulped as he looked over the corner of the curvey, rocky wall. The tiny lights that provided some illumination did help him see that there were no shadows on the walls, indicating that he wasn’t being followed. He also couldn’t hear anything in particular that was indicating anything serious. Despite that, he still remained there, trembling as his mind still washed with many emotions.

And to think that Rudy still thought zoners were friends… Feh, the thought filled the man up with disgust. He couldn’t understand why Rudy still insisted on helping them. It was the white chalk’s fault, wasn’t it? He felt a burning anger in his stomach. Something needed to be done about the white chalk.

And it wasn’t just the white chalk, either. The reckless red chalk would need to be taken care of as well. If something wasn’t done fast, things were going to get out of hand. It was true, as Bardot said, that the red chalk did want to help ChalkZone, but it was just too foolish in its endeavours. Mr. Cosmo couldn’t even see it as an ally. It was just too dangerous.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard something in the distance. Not screaming but..he wasn’t able to make out just what it was. He just stared in the general direction that it was coming from, trying to listen intently. Something about the sounds were familiar, but just what..

Bardot…? Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened at this realization before they narrowed into slits. That zoner was nearby, he could tell. If he acted now, he might be able to stop Bardot from doing what it is he’s trying to do. Then he could focus on his efforts of making ChalkZone a safe place to be in. Especially and most particularly, for humans of course. The zoners...needed some restrictions.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t hesitate to move himself forward, his narrowing eyes keeping an eye on everything around him. He couldn’t risk doing anything stupid, or else all of this was going to fall apart. That’s just...something he didn’t want to happen. He had worked so hard for this and… He wasn’t going to let things fall further than they already did.

At least he did manage to take care of a few important things. He did get rid of some potential threats, particularly Mr. Wilter. He had been fearful that Mr. Wilter was going to pull some horse shit that was going to ruin everything again. The man seemed to have that kind of touch. He didn’t know why Draow listened to him them, if he were still listening to Bardot. But perhaps his hatred for Mr. Wilter was so great that he had temporarily bypassed the control to kill the man. Whatever the cause, Mr. Cosmo was not going to complain.

Mr. Cosmo noticed how the voices were growing louder as he walked along the tunnels, and it slowly made him realize just how desperate the voices were. They were screaming almost. Not out of pain, but out of fear. They were trying not to allow….something to happen. Anyone listening would be confused by what was going on.

But not Mr. Cosmo. He realized, quickly, precisely what was going on.

Bardot was trying to recruit some help for his red chalk brethren, wasn’t he…?

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this realization. He would see to that. He wasn’t going to allow that zoner to gain that much of a footing. He needed to find him quickly before he could…

But how was he going to find him? The voices that echoed were a little distorted and with how the voices sounded jumping off of these walls in their echoing, it was hard to discern the actual direction. Mr. Cosmo stood there for several long moments, pondering which direction he should take. But he was drawing a blank. Figuring out what to do was going to be rather tough. How was he going to…

That was when he could hear the sound of someone else approaching. He turned his head and he could see the shadow moving along the wall. With a shocked expression, Mr. Cosmo had to quickly move back to avoid getting spotted. He leaned over a little, just enough to see who was coming down the hallway. He could feel his eye widening as he realized that it was…

“Rudy…?” Mr. Cosmo whispered. And it wasn’t just Rudy, either. He could see that the boy was holding Snap in his arms. The sight of the zoner made Mr. Cosmo’s breathing increase before he forced himself to quiet down. He sat there and waited to see what would happen.

How had the boy caught up to him so fast? It didn’t seem all that possible. It felt like there had been no delays. Thinking about this gave the man a headache and he felt his heart yanking once in fear. He could almost sense Rudy coming towards him and…

...wait, Rudy was going past him? It didn’t even seem like he noticed. Mr. Cosmo blinked in confusion as he craned his head to see where Rudy was heading off to. Just what was that boy’s target? What was he hoping to accomplish? Was he by any chance going towards the Red Chalk Chamber?

The man blinked at this thought before smirking. If Rudy was heading there, perhaps he could fellow. Yes, the boy would lead him right to Bardot.

sss

Bardot couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched how the male and female humans tried to release their grip on the red chalk. They would likely keep struggling like this. Even without Draow and Tsere 2.0 to hold them down, it just wasn’t enough to help them escape this control. The red chalk’s grip was like a vice.

The black chalk focused on changing the mind, but that took time. Sure it did make it easier for longer term or even long distance influence. But why not do something more direct like this? As soon as a creator held a piece of red chalk, they could not escape it. There was no need to do something as complex as brainwash them. All they really needed to do was control the simpler muscle movements in the arms, and everything else would fall into place.

And unlike the white chalk’s approach, or even the black chalk’s approach, zoners created from red chalk remained their own being. They weren’t confined by what the creator wanted. They couldn’t be forced to be loyal to creators. They were completely and utterly free, and they could act based on what they wanted. This was the first true stop in liberating ChalkZone from those pesky humans.

There was still more work to be done, of course. It wasn’t going to be a simple thing. Biclops had hidden the Red Chalk Chamber, that giant idiot. He had no idea what kind of trouble he was causing, and him locking up the red chalk zoners that were created… He felt the need to go and find and free them now, but first, he had to focus on this.

“W-We’re not…” Mr. Malcolm hissed as he tried to pull his arm back. He was down on his knees, trying to free himself. The red chalk was yanking him forward, trying to keep him in position. “...y-your slaves…”

Ms. Teelar was also struggling herself, but she had been quickly pulled into the ground. She coughed and spluttered as she said, “What gives you the right to do this?”

Bardot raised his head up a little high and smirked at the two humans. “You really love pretending that you’re above your creations, don’t you?”

“W-We are…!”

Bardot swerved his head in the direction of the human who had said that. He narrowed his eyes as he stared intently at Mr. Malcolm. He stayed like this for several moments as he licked his lips slowly. Then with a soft snort, he started to walk over towards the man slowly, his tail moving from side to side. “And would you care to explain...why?”

Mr. Malcolm snarled at the zoner. “If it weren’t for us, none of you would even be alive! Y-You need us to live!” Malcolm squirmed a little as he tried to pull his arm back. He let out a yelp as his arm was pulled forward sharply, and then he turned to glare at Bardot. “W-We humans don’t need someone to create us. We’re real life! You’re just a pathetic collection of chalk dust that can so happen to speak!”

Bardot raised an eyebrow at this. “Do you really believe that bullshit?”

“What do you mean?” Ms. Teelar called out. “It’s true! We humans don’t require some great being to draw us into existence! We aren’t ‘drawn’, we’re ‘born’! Have you ever heard of that, zoner?”

“Oh yes I have, and that’s precisely why I’m going to say…” Bardot stood up and lowered his head a little, sneering at the two humans before him. “..you two are a bunch of hypocrites.”

Mr. Malcolm hissed, “What did you say..?”

“You heard me, human. You’re hypocrites!” Bardot leaned his head in forward, his mouth opening up and lips curling into a small snarl. “You humans are still created! Sure it might not be in the same manner as us zoners, but ultimately you are still created! You still require the existence of two previous humans in hopes that you will be born!” He took a step forward, lowering his head as he gave the two humans an upward glare. “Don’t you dare pretend that you’re somehow better just because you don’t need to be drawn. Someone still made you in the end.” Bardot stared into the humans’ eyes for several long moments before he turned his head to the side. “Now erase such silly thoughts from your mind.”

“S-S-Silly?! Y-You… Do you think that you’re going to change our minds?!” Mr. Malcolm shouted. “You zoners are unnatural! You shouldn’t even exist! You are made up of chalk dust! That’s not…”

“It’s still got carbon in it, right? Correct me if I’m wrong…” Bardot paced around in front of the two humans. “Even if it’s not, isn’t carbon alone a non-living thing? And yet you humans are made up of it…” Bardot released a series of dark chuckles as he adjusted himself, bringing his shoulders forward as he gleamed at the two humans before him. “Wouldn’t that make you...unnatural as well..? If that’s your definition..?”

Ms. Teelar looked like she wanted to speak, but she soon shut her mouth. She clearly couldn’t think of a response. But the same could not be said for Mr. Malcolm.

“Why you ignorant piece of shit…” Mr. Malcolm hissed under his breath, his body quaking. “Y-You have no idea what you’re talking about.. You don’t know how things… You don’t know anything!” The human’s body appeared to quake as he shouted this, his eyes blazing and his teeth gritting tightly. It looked like he was about to foam at the mouth, which would go along with his bloodshot eyes. “Wh-What would you know, anyway?! You’re just a stupid zoner! You have never experienced real life, real birth, real… Ouch!”

Bardot narrowed his eyes as he held his paw up, his claws having just struck the main. Some blood began to form, drizzling down the man’s face as Bardot glared at him intently. The man gave a small cough before turning his head to stare over at Bardot, his expression having been replaced with a look of shock.

Bardot hissed under his breath, “Watch what you say, human.”

Mr. Malcolm stared at Bardot for a few seconds before he narrowed his eyes and bared his teeth. “And what are you going to do about it…?”

Bardot snarled at him softly before a smile suddenly came over his face. He gave a few bitter chuckles as he raised his paw up in gesture. “Then perhaps I will just have to fulfill my threat from before and rip out your eyes.”

Ms. Teelar gasped and she whirled her head towards Mr. Malcolm, her eyes registering in horror. Mr. Malcolm could only glance at her sideways; his eyes mostly remained on Bardot. He looked like he wanted to speak, but now it was his turn to be quiet. Bardot rather enjoyed this. He wished that the man would be silent more often.

Well, he felt that they had wasted enough time on this. He wanted to get things moving. He didn’t do all of this just to stand around and hold still like a bunch of statues. There were things that needed to get done. Bardot took a moment to look around to make sure that no one else was arriving here yet. He didn’t want to completely dismiss the idea of someone, even a limping, dying Biclops, coming in and trying to stop him. But of course, there was no one around, and why would there be? Maybe he was just overthinking things.

He watched the humans for a few seconds before he turned back to the cluster of red chalk above him. He raised himself up onto his hind legs, his front paws tipping downwards, as he tipped his head up and stared at the red chalk intently. He licked his lips dryly before he forced himself to speak.

“What would be the best thing to do first? What did you have in mind?” Bardot asked softly.

The red chalk appeared to flash a little bit. After a few times of doing this, it gave its response. “Use them… Catch Great Creator… Take to city square… Give message to zoners… Show them liberation…”

Bardot was silent for a few seconds. This did seem a little bit more extreme than he thought, and a part of him wondered what the red chalk wanted done with these two humans after it was all said and done. But he wasn’t going to question it. He was certain there was a plan after this. He gave a small sneer towards the humans not far from him, sitting like a dog and his tail curling inwards.

“You heard the chalk.” Bardot said. He wasn’t directing this at the humans entirely, although he did want to make sure that they understood. “Let’s head on on out. The exit should be around this way.” He got up and he started to walk towards a nearby pathway. “Just follow me. Soon you will get your first taste of fresh air.”

“No you don’t…”

“We’re not…!”

Bardot chortled when he heard Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm still try to fight against the red chalk’s grasp. The two of them didn’t get very far and they were already starting to be dragged. The sound of their shoes scraping at the ground could be heard. Bardot flinched a little, but he otherwise enjoyed the sound to an extent. It was a way of showing these two humans just who was in charge now. It also showed them how helpless they were. The red chalk was not something that could be pushed around, and they made a huge mistake in underestimating it.

Of course, this was all going to get really irritating if it lasted for too long. That was why he would prefer taking the quickest route out of here and to move as swiftly as possible. If they were to take too long, well, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He just hoped that he could control himself long enough until they got there.

He got to where the exit of the chamber was, the large door already pushed open as far as it would go. He could feel his body leaving the comforting warmth of the red glow and he soon entered the darker, dankier tunnel that led to the rest of the Chalk Mine. He could already feel the chilling bright light that the white chalk gave off. He shuddered, but that was the fastest way out. He pushed his initial uncomfortableness away as he forced himself to walk down this path.

But he didn’t get that far. Without warning, he could hear the sound of pounding footsteps. He could hear heavy breathing. He turned his head quickly to see what was going on, and he was just in time to see a blur of colors right up against him. Then in seconds, Bardot could feel himself hitting against the ground as something rammed into him.

Or rather, someone.

Bardot immediately squirmed, trying to get himself free. He snarled and snapped his jaws wildly, blindly, but this did little to get him free. He twisted himself around and soon he could see just who had a hold of him. With a few heavy pants, he spoke under his breath.

“Rudy… what the fuck are you doing here…?!” Bardot growled, anger at being interrupted rising up inside of him. “Get off of me! This isn’t concerning you, I…” Then Bardot recalled the red chalk’s words. He stopped himself from struggling as he stared at the glaring boy. He took in a few slow breaths before he chuckled and said, “Actually on the other hand, I think you do have some concern with this, right…?”

Rudy just snarled at him, breathing heavily. It looked like the boy wanted to slap him. It was wise of him not to actually go through with it. But Rudy still wasn’t going to let up on him. There was some sense of determination in those eyes. Whatever he wanted to do, he was not going to let Bardot wriggle free until he told his demands.

“You...are going to help me…” Rudy growled under his breath.

Bardot blinked at this before he started to laugh a little. Did this boy really think that he could order him around? But rather than attack him right off the bat, Bardot was curious to know just what this child thought he was going to do with him. He turned his head to the side and, staring up at Rudy with one green eye, he said, “And exactly what do you want my help with?”

That was when Rudy moved to the side. Bardot could see that he hadn’t been a lone. Laying on the ground, tied up, was Snap. But the zoner had taken on the appearance of a red chalk zoner, which took Bardot by surprise. He stared back up at Rudy, who had a finger pointed at Snap and he said through clenched teeth, “Fix him.”

sss

“Fix him.”

Rudy hadn’t hesitated to tell Bardot exactly what he wanted. He stopped for breath nor did he wait for Bardot to do anything else. All he wanted as for him to remove the spell or whatever he had done to Snap. And he wasn’t going to take ‘no’ for an answer.

Although right now, he wasn’t getting much of an answer at all. Instead, Bardot was just staring at him almost as if he had grown an extra head. Rudy bared his teeth tightly, not appreciating the zoner taking his sweet little time with answering. This should be an easy thing to understand. Why was Bardot acting like it was such a huge problem? And why was he looking at him like that? It’s not like he hadn’t seen this before.

“Stop pretending and just do it.” Rudy said after he got tired of waiting for Bardot’s reply. The zoner still stared at him silently. Rudy held onto him more tightly, his fingers pressing against his fur and flesh. “What are you waiting for? Do something!”

Bardot flinched at this, turning his head to the side and staring up with one eye. It was hard to tell if it was Rudy he was reacting to, or someone else. But regardless, the boy wasn’t going to allow the zoner to get away with this. He was the one who made Snap like this and now he was the one who could undo this. He didn’t care how long that it took. There was no way he was letting go of Bardot before all of this was over. Not even….

“Aaah!” Rudy let out a loud hiss of pain when Bardot suddenly struck him in the arm. Blood, warm and sticky, moved down his limb as he released the zoner and staggered back. He nearly tripped over where Snap was. He had to quickly correct himself to avoid this from happening. Then he glared off at where the zoner was. “Y-You…”

Bardot had already moved back away from him, having adopted a defensive stance, his tail straight up and moving from side to side. His teeth were more exposed and Rudy could just imagine them sinking into his flesh. He could also see the steam rising from his heated saliva, which made it all the more uncomfortable to watch this.

“I’m in the middle of something right now…” Bardot hissed lowly, his voice tinged with a growl. “I have a more important thing to worry about now. If you want me to do you any favors, then you will have to let me go first.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. “Oh no you don’t.. I’m not falling for that! You are going to do exactly what I say! I…”

“You’re not the boss of me, so don’t even act like it.” Snarled Bardot, his fur starting to bristle a little. This show of anger seemed to last for a few moments before he seemed to catch himself and settle down. The zoner sat back down on his back legs like a dog, giving the illusion that he was going to do this peacefully. “I would be more willing to help your friend out here if you help me out with something.”

Rudy couldn’t believe that Bardot was even attempting to negotiate with him. He wondered just how… He quickly stopped his thoughts as he licked his lips slowly. He shouldn’t get worked up over this. That’s probably just want this zoner wanted him to do. He bared his teeth softly as he continued to glare at the zoner. He struggled to think of how he should respond. But he had a feeling that nothing he did was going to work in his favor.

Just how could he trust Bardot and his word? He hadn’t been given much of a reason to do so. Especially seeing what he was doing with the humans here. Rudy hadn’t been blind to the humans being forced to hold the red chalk. He knew what could happen in the next few moments. But Rudy was just focused on Bardot right now, trying to get him to do what he wanted. He thought that if he intimidated him enough, he would concede. After all, being polite did not really work with the red chalk.

But he did have to do something. If he did anything too rash, the red chalk might move in to protect Bardot. Or Bardot himself might take another strike at him. Though if Bardot really did need him, then he probably won’t do anything too rash. But he’d rather avoid having anything happening at all. Perhaps it would be best if he at least tried to see what this zoner wanted. How much could that hurt?

“What is it you want me to do…?” Rudy asked carefully. He turned his head to the side and watched the zoner, waiting to see if he was going to do try pulling anything.

But Bardot still just remained still where he stood, making no effort to head over towards Rudy. This didn’t exactly comfort the boy and he still waited for something to happen. Bardot smiled, as if reacting to this, before lifting his paw up and making a slow gesture. “I just want you to come with us to the town square in ChalkZone City.”

Rudy blinked at this. He did not expect this answer. He cocked up an eyebrow in confusion. “What exactly for?”

“Why...to deliver a message, of course!” Bardot raised his paws up in the air, spreading them outward. “You’ve always wanted to make a difference in ChalkZone, right? We can help you with that! We just want you to come with us so that you can tell the zoners something. Spread a message of hope! Don’t you want that?”

“Well, yes...but…” Rudy started to say.

Bardot interrupted him. “But what? Why would you decline this offer?”

Rudy stared for a moment before narrowing his eyes. “Because I know how you are, Bardot. There’s something else behind this, isn’t there? You have an ulterior motive.”

Bardot put his paw to himself. “Me? An ulterior motive? How could you say such a thing?”

Rudy flinched, gritting his teeth as he listened to Bardot speak like this. If he were trying to sound genuinely shocked, he wasn’t doing a very good job of it. Rudy had to take in a few breaths before he relaxed enough to answer. “Well for one thing, you aren’t sounding very convincing right now. And I can see what you did with the two people behind you.” Rudy motioned to where Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm were standing. “How do I know you aren’t just going to use me as another tool?”

Bardot blinked at this before giving off a heavy sigh. “You really are a clever little boy, aren’t you?”

“Not the first time you noticed, I imagine.” Rudy nodded his head once. “So instead of trying to trick me, why don’t you help my friend out there?” Rudy looked over at where Snap was. The ropes were still containing him, but he didn’t know how long that was going to last. “It’s your fault that he’s like this. If you want my cooperation, you will help him first.”

Bardot tilted his head a little, one eyebrow rising up higher than the other. He looked over at where Snap was squirming on the ground. Then he turned back to Rudy and merely shrugged his shoulders. “Sorry, but that ain’t going to happen.”

Rudy’s eyes flashed, his stomach lurching with emotion. “Why the hell not?!”

Bardot replied, “Simple. I can’t do it.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes. “You can’t or you won't’?”

“I can’t, boy. I don’t even know why he’s like that.” Bardot snarled as he looked at Snap sideways. “If you’ve come to me for help, I’m afraid you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Rudy pondered what the zoner said for a few moments. He took in a few slow breaths, his eyes narrowing slowly. He could feel his teeth clenching tightly and he thought he could see the light coming out of his eyes. He let the zoner’s words echo all over his head, bouncing off his mental walls, letting it all sink in.

Was the zoner telling the truth? Could he really not do anything to help Snap? Or was he just saying it so that he could get out of doing anything for Snap? Rudy had very little reason to believe that this zoner was telling the truth. Bardot likely wanted to try to force him into coming with him first for this town square thing. He recalled what Mr. Cosmo was trying to pull before. He had little reason to doubt that Bardot was going to do the same thing. He wasn’t going to make it that easy for him.

“You haven’t even tried yet.” Rudy said, folding his hand into a small fist. “You obviously had the time to round up a couple of humans to bring them to the Red Chalk Chamber.” He lowered his head a little, arching his neck. “So why can’t you do the same thing for Snap? Spare the time?” He straightened himself up a little and then brought his shoulders forward. “And don’t you dare to try to say ‘it’s not any of your concern’....because if you don’t do something for him, I will make it your concern, you got that?”

Bardot didn’t seem too fazed by what the boy said. Rudy could feel his teeth grinding in frustration. He didn’t know what more he could say to get Bardot to do anything. It was like he was purposefully trying to push his buttons. Rudy soon couldn’t take it any longer and he couldn’t stop himself from rushing forward.

“You asshole! I know you can help Snap! Stop lying to me!” Rudy grabbed onto Bardot and pushed him up against the nearby wall. He could hear the zoner releasing a loud grunt as his back was whammed up against the hard, bumpy surface. But Rudy didn’t bother letting up. He could feel his fist pulling back, ready to strike. “You’re going to cure Snap or so help me, I’ll…!’

“Wow, Rudy… You have gotten quite dark…”

Rudy jerked at this sudden voice. He nearly lost his grip on the zoner. He thought he could hear the two humans making some kind of comment. Slowly, Rudy turned his head and he could see Mr. Cosmo coming towards him.

“Why, you’re acting a bit like how you say I act. Heheheh...now isn’t that ironic..?”

Rudy flinched at this statement. He didn’t know how Mr. Cosmo managed to catch up so quickly or how he knew that he’d be here. But that didn’t matter right now. Point was, he was here, and he doubted that this man was going to let him just wander off so easily. In a seething voice, Rudy growled, “Stay out of this…”

“And why should I? He’s both our enemies. Why not ask me for help?” Mr. Cosmo inquired. He held his hand up in gesture as he moved in closer. The look in his eyes strongly suggested that he was being serious, but at the same time, Rudy knew how much of a trickster this man could be. Trust was not something he could afford doing with him. “Bardot is a dangerous zoner. You know that.”

“I thought you said all zoners were dangerous.” Rudy said in a growly voice.

“Ah, that they are.” Mr. Cosmo looked over to where the two humans were being held. Despite their hopeful expressions, Mr. Cosmo didn’t seem too bothered by them being held the way they were by the two large zoners. Nor did he react to the fact that Draow was under Bardot’s control. The man just shrugged his shoulders and looked back at Rudy and said, “As you can see here, a couple of examples of other zoners being dangerous.”

Rudy snarled, “They’re influenced by the red chalk!”

Mr. Cosmo just shrugged his shoulders. “It makes no difference. All zoners are alike. They all want to stab you in the back.” He narrowed his eyes, his glinting blue-grey eye seeming to swim in a mixture of emotions. “It’s just that the red chalk is a little more..bold.”

Rudy struggled to keep his breath from getting too raggedy in emotion. “Y-You just love trying to figure out whatever you can say to dismiss the fact that you’re wrong! Zoners aren’t all the exact same person! You can’t act as if one size fits all with them! Humans aren’t the same and zoners are created by humans! How can you possibly say that they’re all alike?!”

Mr. Cosmo seemed to flinch a little at this. It was faint, but Rudy still noticed it. He started to wonder if the man was starting to realize that he had a point. But knowing Mr. Cosmo, he’d likely just dismiss it, trying to play it off as something else. The man seemed desperate to cling onto his own beliefs, or rather, the beliefs of the black chalk. Or did the black chalk even believe the crap it was saying? Or was this just a manipulative tactic?

Either way, Rudy wasn’t going to just listen to this man unconditionally. Whatever response he was going to give, he knew it was to be a lie. This man, and the black chalk, were just delusional, caught up in their own lies that they tell themselves. It wasn’t worth it to try to change their minds, as it wasn’t going to happen. The best that Rudy could do right now was just keep himself tensed up, ready and waiting for whatever would come his way. He was going to ensure that these idiots weren’t able to get the best of him.

Mr. Cosmo’s previously unsure face was already gone at this point, something that didn’t surprise Rudy very much. He had suspected that his would happen. Instead, Mr. Cosmo had begun to glare at him as if he had done something horrible. Perhaps just from criticizing his choices or being frustrating, as he might put it. About the only thing that surprised Rudy was the fact that Mr. Cosmo wasn’t already yelling at him.

“The black chalk had tried to help you understand and see why the zoners were dangerous, Rudy. It doesn’t matter if they are created by humans. It doesn’t matter if humans are diverse. Zoners aren’t.” Mr. Cosmo’s lips curled up a little as he glared at Rudy before he appeared to catch himself. He straightened himself and tried to look calmer as he motioned his hand out towards the boy and said, “Zoners are not created with their human maker’s intent. They have their own minds and they can and do wander outside this ‘intended soul’ that you seem to think zoners are created with. It isn’t just red chalk zoners, boy. All zoners go outside their intentions. Zoners don’t care why they are created. They have their own agenda.”

Mr. Cosmo moved in a little closer, his narrowing eyes staring right at Rudy. The teen tensed himself up as he got ready for a fight. The two humans just glared at one another for a few moments before Mr. Cosmo finally said something.

“And if you can’t see that…” Mr. Cosmo’s voice was rather low, as if being pushed into the ground physically. “Then you are the one to be dealt with.”

Rudy narrowed his eyes into slits, but he didn’t say anything. He wasn’t sure how he could respond to this. The man was delusional, having fallen deep into the lies that the black chalk was creating. He wasn’t sure if there was anything that he could say to snap him out of it. But even if there were…

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard one of the other humans starting to speak.

“M-Mr. Cosmo, sir.. Aren’t you going to help us?”

Mr. Cosmo turned his head to stare at the two employees. His eye seemed to flicker and a smile spread along his lips. “Ah yes, my loyal employees…” He spoke in a droll. He moved his hands together, tapping his fingertips against one another. “How could I have forgotten about you? I see you’re in some kind of sticky situation.” He gave a small glare at Bardot as he continued, “I take it that he’s trying to pull one of his stunts again, Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar..?”

Mr. Malcolm nodded his head quickly. “Y-Yes, sir! He’s trying to…” As the man jerked a little, Mr. Cosmo was given a reminder that it wasn’t just Draow and that reborn Tsere that was causing problems. “He’s going to use us to take Rudy to the town square to kill him!”

Rudy stiffened at this, his eyes widening in shock. He could feel his blood run cold as he turned to glare at Bardot. He bared his teeth tightly, feeling his heart tightening. Even though he shouldn’t be surprised, he could still feel his mind whirling from the confirmation. “I knew you couldn’t be trusted!”

“Now now…” Bardot took a few steps back. “Are you really going to believe them?” Bardot motioned to Mr. Malcolm and Ms. Teelar. “They hate me, Rudy. Don’t you realize that they would say anything to fool you into aiding them?”

“And just what were you going to do with me in the town square?” Rudy asked through gritted teeth. “You mentioned about ‘giving the zoners a message of hope’. How do I know that this hope doesn’t involve killing me so that you can spread the message of liberty to zoners?”

Bardot gave a few chuckles. They weren’t very genuine. Rudy could hear the nervousness behind it. “Oh Rudy.. Do you really believe that? Why would I want to get rid of you?”

“...that’s a very stupid question, Bardot.” That was the only thing that Rudy could think of to say as a reply. He didn’t know why Bardot was even trying at this point. The yellow zoner was not fooling anybody at this point.

Bardot’s green eyes narrowed as he lowered his head, his ears flattening a little. It would seem that he was finally getting the message. “Then perhaps I don’t have a choice. Draow! Tsere!” The two zoners looked over at him, their eyes glinting red. Bardot motioned to where Rudy and Mr. Cosmo were. “Grab them!”

At this statement, Rudy and Mr. Cosmo immediately moved back. The two large zoners towered over them, opening their mouths wide and letting out a series of loud hisses and growls. Rudy and Mr. Cosmo stared at one another, exchanging glances silently before looking back at the zoners that were attempting to grab them.

And it wasn’t just the zoners. The red chalk that had a hold of Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm also wanted in on the action. Against the humans’ wishes, the red chalk in them was yanking them forward, forcing them to raise their wrists up in order force them to draw. Rudy could feel horror clinging to his heart when he saw that they were already starting to draw. Biting his lip, he turned his attention to Mr. Cosmo.

“Don’t just stand there!” Rudy called out, despite a part of him telling him to just leave the man to his fate. “Run! Get out of here!”

Mr. Cosmo stared at Rudy with a blinking expression. It almost looked as if the man didn’t want to leave. But why? It couldn’t be because of…

Rudy couldn’t finish his thoughts. He noticed what the man was doing. His eyes started to widen a little. “Mr. Cosmo! I told you to….!”

“You can’t tell me what to do, kid.” Snarled Mr. Cosmo. “You have your own way of handling things. And I have my way. I’m not running anymore. I’m going to face my fears! Enough is enough!”

Rudy tried to say something, but it didn’t matter what he said. Nothing would stop Mr. Cosmo from rushing over towards the zoners in front of him, his black chalk raised up in preparation of a fight. Rudy watched thim rush over before he turned his head to where Snap was still squirming on the ground. He looked this way and that a few times as he tried to think of what to do. It didn’t take long for him to decide what the best course of action was.

He did not spare Mr. Cosmo another glance before he rushed over to where Snap was. He had to get him out of here, before Bardot could regain control over him.

sss

What in the world was that boy thinking that he was doing? Going after a zoner while his own life was threatened… That boy was such an idiot. Even when he knew the consequences of doing so, he still chose to help a zoner. Tsch…. The boy had such poor judgment.

But Mr. Cosmo couldn’t really focus much on the boy at the moment. He only spared him a glance, watching him as he foolishly ran to help the zoner that had tried to attack him earlier, before he turned his attention to where Bardot and the others were. He felt his eyes narrowing as he tried to think of just what he was going to do about this.

But what he did know is that this was presently the most current threat. The one that he should pay the most attention to. If he did not do something to contain this mess, then it was just going to spread and get worse. He knew how dangerous Bardot was and he knew that he should have gotten rid of him long ago. He couldn’t just keep scolding himself over that fact, however. Instead of doing that, he should just take action on it. And with Bardot so distracted at the moment…

Mr. Cosmo realized that this was his one chance to do something. He was already on his way to attack, only stopping when he realized Rudy was running somewhere. Now with the adrenaline rushing over him again, the desire to get past his fears returned, and he felt himself gritting his teeth tightly as he raised up his chalk to draw something quick, before Bardot realized what was going on.

However, he had underestimated the zoner it would seem. Before he realized what was happening, he felt something ramming up against him. He felt himself release a pained grunt and he tripped over his own feet. Once he managed to regain his footing, he turned to see that Mr. Malcolm was standing where he had stood. The man wore a shocked expression on his face while his hand was raised up. It didn’t take much genius for Mr. Cosmo to determine that the man hadn’t done this on purpose. It was the workings of the chalk that he had held.

Looking over to another side, he could see Ms. Teelar coming in from the other side. She was charging quickly, or rather, she was being harshly dragged. Her feet were constantly flipping over themselves as she tried to walk. She was obviously trying to keep herself from getting a twisted ankle and she was also trying to get herself away from Mr. Cosmo, attempting to go in the opposite direction. But the red chalk was not allowing this and it continued to move towards Mr. Cosmo, the tip of it sparking a deep, unnerving red.

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this and he curled his lip up into a snarl. He stood there for a few seconds as he watched Ms. Teelar coming in so fast. He waited until the right moment before he quickly moved out of the way, allowing the woman to pass by him quickly. Ms. Teelar tripped over herself a little as the red chalk tried to force her to turn around. In a matter of seconds, she was going after him again.

Mr. Malcolm’s red chalk wanted a piece of him as well. But rather than charge, it started to make Mr. Malcolm draw something. The man’s grunts could be heard as he fought against the red chalk’s will. But he just wasn’t strong enough. His arm was ripped around in the air, bent at painful angles, while the red chalk drew in the air. And soon what appeared to be a small harmless ball formed and dropped down.

But Mr. Cosmo knew better.

His judgment turned out to be right. The red ball that seemed so benign immediately started to launch itself at him. Mr. Cosmo moved out of the way. He heard a pained cry and he realized that the ball had hit Ms. Teelar instead. Oh well, he thought to himself, giving a small shrug. It was still better than himself.

He was a bit surprised that the red chalk first went with a ball, but it was a quick and easy thing to draw. And it didn’t matter what was drawn; anything that the red chalk created was going to be immediately aggressive. It wasn’t like the white chalk where the zoners are better at hiding their hostility. Red chalk has always been more bold, so he had to be on higher guard with it around. He took a defensive stance, arching his arms and back and legs, and he prepared for whatever was about to come his way.

Ms. Teelar’s red chalk began to draw something now. Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes and snarled as he looked over behind him and watched this go on. He could see how the woman was trying so hard not to draw anything. There was a hint of tears in her eyes and was doing whatever she could to pull her arm back. This didn’t stop the red chalk from drawing what looked to be a long hose-snake thing. It coiled up on the ground before raising its head up and hissing in Mr. Cosmo’s direction.

The man could feel his heart skipping a beat at the sight of the zoner, noticing its hose-like head being stretched out into a metallic jaw, the opening giving off a soft glow to indicate that it was not going to shoot water out but instead something else. But Mr. Cosmo forced himself to remain put, realizing that he couldn’t let Bardot use this ‘fear before the fall’ bullshit on him anymore. If he couldn’t even beat that, then what hope did he have on helping protect the Real World?

The hose-snake charged at him, opening its mouth wide, revealing a toothless, metal beak. Mr. Cosmo had to move quickly. He thankfully missed being bitten, but he didn’t dodge the tail of the hose-snake, which sprang towards him and tripped up his feet. His eyes widened as he hit the ground in a loud thud. He coughed and spluttered as he pushed himself back up on his hands, feeling the pain spreading through his face a little.

He froze when he could feel a silhouette moving over him and he felt something squeezing around his body. He realized that the hose-snake had started to coil him a little and he could see and hear those jaws opening up. He turned his head just in time to see the tip starting to glow a little. He could see the billowing steam coming out and he realized that the snake was about to unleash its attack. He quickly squirmed to try to escape it.

The hose-snake launched its attack.

Mr. Cosmo yanked himself to one side, causing himself to fall over as the zoner’s body still wrapped around him. He felt his arm being chilled to a painful point by the hose-snake’s ice breath attack. The man let out a cry of pain and clutched his arm to himself. He soon looked down to examine the wound. Thankfully it was just a simple graze. But the top layer of his skin looked as if it was on the verge of getting frostbite. He put his hand over this spot on his arm and he turned to glare at the hose-snake. He could not let that thing hit him again with that breath.

Mr. Cosmo raised up his hand and he quickly began to draw something in response to the hose-snake’s next attempt to attack. He could see how it was moving its head about and he knew that it wouldn’t be long before it would attack again. He scribbled something real quick and just as the hose-snake launched an attack at him, he countered by pulling the laser gun that he had just created. He immediately shot into its mouth and the consequences were immediately noticeable.

The hose-snake’s body went rigid and its body stiffened up. There was a bit of a spring-like action of its body curling in and then straightening out again. The laser went through its back further down and blood leaked from its mouth. The hose-snake dropped into the ground and wriggled this way and that before it laid still, obviously dead. Mr. Cosmo glared at it for a few moments before turning to glare at the pieces of red chalk that were trying to stop him.

Mr. Cosmo realized that he had been so focused on them that he didn’t realize that the reborn Tsere was moving in behind him. He didn’t even notice the shadow forming on his body. He was only made aware when he heard hot breath behind him and then something sharp pushed against his back. His eyes went wide as he was knocked into the ground. He let out a heavy grunt and he soon just laid there, the zoner’s beak tip pressing against the middle of his back, threatening to break through it like a drill.

“You put up quite the fight.” Bardot commented as he moved in towards him. The zoner stopped and just stood there, staring at the man with what looked like a cross between an amused and irritated expression. “But as you can see, it hasn’t been good enough. What do you know…? Your efforts were worthless in the end.” He spread his paws out as he gave a mock shock. “Who knew something like that would happen?”

Mr. Cosmo snarled at this. He had to resist the temptation to struggle. It would be very easy for Bardot to order Tsere 2.0 to kill him. It wouldn’t take much effort. He would need to play his cards carefully and try to get the yellow and red zoner to let him live a little while longer. That would give him some extra time in finding a way to escape.

Bardot paced in front of him a little, his smile spreading, looking almost excited as if he had waited for this moment for a long time. No doubt, in Mr. Cosmo’s mind, he had. “I wonder what should be done with you…? It’s almost a shame to just off you. After all, you might be a good candidate to helping the red chalk and….”

“No, I refuse to help.” Mr. Cosmo hissed under his breath. “The red chalk is as bad as the white chalk.”

Bardot’s ears twitched at this and his eyes flashed a little brighter green. “Come again? What did you say? Did you really try to say that the red chalk and the white chalk are...the same..?” He hunched himself as he stretched out towards Mr. Cosmo, lowering his front half as his head turned to one side. He stared at the man carefully, his eyes showing the emotions that he was trying to hide.

Mr. Cosmo did not relent. “They are. Both resort to delusions to trick the human creator at hand. At least the black chalk is honest with its approach.” Mr. Cosmo lowered his head a little. “You cannot convince me that the red chalk is any better.”

Bardot twitched his ears forward. He furrowed his eyes a little more before he relaxed a little. There seemed to be something close to disappointment in his eyes. Mr. Cosmo was not going to fall for it, though. He knew that all this zoner was going to do was lie and be sneaky and do whatever he could to get the upperhand. And then there was the fact that…

“I’m so hurt that you feel that way.” Bardot’s voice was a little low. He raised his paw and put it to his chest. “I thought you would have been more understanding. We both want the same thing, don’t we? To increase protection and safety?” Mr. Cosmo just glared at him. Bardot put his foot down. “Why don’t you help me?”

Mr. Cosmo could feel himself cringing away from the zoner. A part of him couldn’t believe that he would dare ask such a thing. Then again, knowing Bardot’s personality, this fit right on. Of course Bardot would try to sway him like this. But in the end, it was just another trap. Away to get under his skin long enough to make another blow. Mr. Cosmo wasn’t stupid, and so instead responded with something else. Wordless, but easy for the zoner to understand immediately.

He pointed the laser at Bardot and pulled the trigger.

Bardot’s eyes widened at this hostile gesture and jumped back. The laser dart hit against the ground, making a cartoonish sound, a sizzling smoke rising up. Bardot started at it long and hard, his eyes blinking rapidly. Then he glared over at Mr. Cosmo.

“Is that how you respond to offerings? It’s no wonder the kid left you.” Bardot said. “If this is how you respond to negotiations…” Bardot froze when he saw that the laser gun was pointed right at him again.

“You dare try to negotiate with me after the crap you’ve pulled? You sicken me…” Mr. Cosmo kept the muzzle of the pistol aimed right at the zoner, fully prepared to cock something straight into the zoner’s head. “You lie and you deceive and you pretend that you care, but you don’t. You are nothing more than a mere menace, a footnote in what is about to be true success. This is the last place that you will stand, Bardot. Take a good look around and try to remember it until the very end.” He put pressure on the trigger. “I don’t think it would be that hard for you, though. There isn’t time left to tick.”

Bardot’s face splashed with some fear, an expression rarely seen on the zoner. His body appeared to be very slightly shaking as the zoner couldn’t fully hide his horror. But his anger still held underneath the surface and he used that to push back against the fear that he was reluctantly showing. He bared his teeth and snarled at the human, trying to look tough.

But that was all going to end with just a single pull of the trigger. And Bardot must have known this himself. He must have known that, even pushed down like this, forced into such an odd angle, he could get a killing shot in.

Why else would Bardot immediately start to chase after him? Why else would Bardot leap into the air and spread out his claws to strike him? Mr. Cosmo had seen this coming. He was quick to raise up his laser pistol up. He took aim at his head. His finger tugged at the trigger and he slowly began to pull it.

“Roooarr!”

Suddenly he felt himself being knocked to the side and he became aware of light brown fur being pushed up against his face. His eyes widened as he realized that he had forgotten about Draow. The massive wolf zoner had ripped him away from Tsere 2.0’s grasp and pushed him against the wall with his foot. The man’s breath was pushed out of his open mouth and he found himself staring at the zoner with wide, horrified eyes. The loud screech echoed through the air as the zoner’s mouth was split wide open.

Bardot had already moved out of the way. The yellow and red zoner slunk around, taking position behind Draow. He was postured like he still wanted to fight, his legs spread out and feet firmly planted, his back parallel, his tail swishing and his neck arched with his head showing its rows of teeth. But he did not move and instead he just watched as Draow put his face close to Mr. Cosmo’s and he snarled at him, his teeth bared and drool dripping from his fangs.

Bardot took in a few heavy breaths before he gave commentary, “So this is how it ends for the Dark Creator, am I right? The one responsible for the deaths of thousands of zoners...meets his end at the claws of his own attack dog. Ain’t this rather amusing?”

“S-Stop that!”

“Let him go!”

“We’re going to…!”

Bardot turned and gave a disinterested expression to Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm, who were trying to defend their boss. “Oh shut up, you two. I can’t imagine all you black chalk artists are this dumb. Has the black chalk lost its touch?”

Mr. Cosmo growled at this insult. Oh how he wished he could get his hands on this filthy zoner… But he first needed to escape the grasp of his own creation. He forced himself still as he looked up and stared at Draow in the eyes. His expression fell a little as he realized just how dangerous he had created this thing. He could see those sharp shining eyes piercing through him, how the teeth looked ready to rip his flesh from his body. It wouldn’t take much effort, and even if it did hurt Draow, the red chalk would just make him more stubborn and keep going.

There was only one thing that he could do. He still had the weapon in his hand. He could still lift it up and pull the trigger. He could end this now and….

But did he want to? As much as he mocked Rudy for caring about the zoners, as much as he convinced others that he could just replace Draow once his use was up, it did feel a little..strange doing something fatal to him. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly. He did share a bond with Banjo and still managed to kill him somehow. So why should Draow be any different? He was just a servant to him after all.

But then why was it so difficult for him to raise that laser pistol up and shoot him? Why should that be a hard decision? It was a simple pull and go kind of choice. It shouldn’t be this damn difficult to start making the move necessary to save his gawd damned life.

“Do it… Before it gets you…”

“Every zoner eventually betrays its creator…”

“Kill it before it kills you..”

“Hurry..”

Mr. Cosmo flinched as he heard the black chalk voices in his head. For some reason, they almost seemed to pound heavily in his skull. They echoed louder and louder and it rapidly became unbearable. He had to shut his eyes tightly for a few seconds just to wait for it to pass. He didn’t know how much time it took, but it still felt forever that the echoes finally seemed to die down a little bit.

But when he reopened his eyes, he was taken aback by what he saw standing before him. He felt a flash of cold ice going through his veins when he could see Banjo standing right there.

There… There was no way that this was real… He knew what had happened… He knew that Banjo had died years ago and that his skeleton was still in here. His logical side knew that. But his more emotional one… His body had frozen up completely and his heart began pounding harder. And all the while, the twisted, broken, and burned body of Banjo just stood there, glaring at him at those empty, accusing eyes.

“Teddisson…. What have you done…?”

Mr. Cosmo cringed when the zoner started to speak. The mouth was distorting unnaturally, unhinging with some parts drippy parts moving downward, making it look like the lips were still attached to the bottom half. It looked really gross seeing all of it moving about like that, forcing him to look away. But he couldn’t get away from the voice.

“Don’t you remember me..? Have you forgotten…? You are the reason that I’m dead…” The voice taunted him. It seemed to slice right into his very soul, making the man shudder. “I have not forgotten, even in death… And I have a present for you..”

Mr. Cosmo forced himself to look back at the zoner, keeping his arms raised up for protection. He let himself breathe in and out quickly as he tried to keep himself under control. The zoner was still staring at him. The eyes weren’t visible and yet the man could almost see the pupils glaring off at him. He wanted to move back, but how could he? He was still trapped underneath Tsere 2.0’s weight. If he tried to squirm to get away right now…

He felt himself trying to cringe back as Banjo started to come towards him. With each step, he seemed to distort further, the smokiness of his body wafering off into the distance. He had a ghost-like look to him and almost looked oily on top of that. This gave him an unnerving appearance and those dark eyes that stared into his soul, Mr. Cosmo could feel his heart starting to break apart. Flashbacks haunted him as the zoner continued to get closer and closer to him.

He then could feel the zoner’s filthy paws touching him. They felt slick and oily, just like how he looked in general. The wounds that adorned him look far worse and more grotesque up close. Seeing them was enough to make Mr. Cosmo want to release his stomach contents. He would have done so, had it not been for Banjo grabbing onto his mouth and holding onto it, as though to make him stay quiet.

“I begged you to stop… You kept hurting me.. Why..?” Banjo hissed at him. He turned his head to the side, his mouth twisting into a horrific smile. His buck teeth somehow looked sharp and imposing, the edges chipped as if he tried to bite into a rock. “I know you once said… together forever… Why don’t I make that come true..?”

Mr. Cosmo leaned back away, scrambling his hands against the ground, a low whimper escaping his legs, as Banjo held onto his face more tightly and leaned in. The blackness that made up the zoner’s body started to get wetter and it dripped down over him, moving along his skin like a snake.

At this point, Mr. Cosmo couldn’t even remember what else was going on. He couldn’t see anything else, either. He was only aware of the zoner in front of him and the fact that he was stuck. He didn’t hear anything the other two humans were saying, or even recall that they were even there at all. He could somewhat see Bardot’s snarling and smiling face, but his eyes remained glued to Banjo. He could feel his body’s survival instincts kicking in, and he couldn’t stop himself from struggling. He didn’t remember why there was a sharp pain in his back, only that he had to get away from here as soon as possible.

His mind became like a race boat. Everything was crashing in all around him. His thoughts were moving at the speed of light. He could feel his eyes moving around and trying to find a nearby exit. He didn’t notice the others around him, only that he was having a hard time finding an area to escape through. It was as if he were trapped completely, with the walls closing in all around him.

But he refused to believe there was nothing. THere had to be some place that he could go. There was always a way to escape, right? He screamed at himself to find a way to get out of here. He wasn’t about to…

Hey… Wait a minute… Wasn’t there something...odd about Banjo…?

Well, it was true that he was dead like he said, however wasn’t there an important thing that he was forgetting? Something was nagging at him in the back of his head and he couldn’t just let it go. Something was crawling along the top of his thoughts, poking and prodding and trying to remind him of something important.

And then it eventually hit him.

This wasn’t Banjo….was it…?

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes into slits, burning anger rushing through his body as realization dawned into his mind. He felt his mouth opening up and snarling, his teeth more and more bared. He felt as though his body had started to light up on fire and he struggled to breathe and he could feel his vision darkening all around him. It would seem that the black chalk was also not amused by this.

And in that moment, it really did feel as though they had become one in thoughts. As he started to speak, he could hear the black chalk’s voice echoing along with his. Something that was temporary of course, but produced the unnerving effect. It was enough to make even Bardot cringe on edge.

“You’re not real.” Mr. Cosmo hissed as he glared at Banjo, or whatever was made to look like him. He immediately swatted the zoner away, his hand moving through his body, showing and proving to himself that he was nothing more than a hallucination. A fabrication created by Bardot himself. “I’m not afraid of you. Why should I fear something that isn’t there?”

Bardot gritted his teeth as he watched this. “How did you see through it? The others… I had to…”

Mr. Cosmo turned to glare at Bardot. His only remaining eye pierced at him, sparking once with a black glow. “You’re too predictable, Bardot.” At this, the zoner started to move back, baring his teeth tightly. “And now…” He leaned his head back a little. “You are going to pay for that.”

Bardot snorted at this. “And how do you propose you’ll do that?”

“I hate to agree with him, sir… but..” Ms. Teelar spoke softly. “You’re kind of...in a sticky situation. No offense. I…”

Mr. Cosmo closed his eyes and chuckled softly. “Don’t underestimate me...or the black chalk…” He remained like this for a few moments before his eyes opening up, his remaining working one seeming to shine a bit brighter. “I am going to make sure that this all ends right here and right now. No more fooling around.”

Bardot growled at this. “And what exactly do you think that you’re going to do?” He took a step forward. “Do I need to remind you of the position that you’re in? Do you really think that you’re going to be able to slip through that so easily? If you think you can, then you’re dumber than I thought!”

Mr. Cosmo just smirked at Bardot. “And you’re not as determined as I thought.”

“And what the hell do you mean by that..?” Bardot asked as he lowered his ears down, his lips curling upward into a snarl.

Mr. Cosmo just continued to smile. He was going to be so glad to show the zoner precisely what he meant. He didn’t do anything right away at first. He wanted to build up a little bit of tension. He wanted the zoner to be looking at him in confusion. He wanted him to be perplexed and waiting for a move. That way, he would be stunned when he finally took action.

He stared up with a backwards glare at Tsere 2.0. His hand still had the black chalk, an oversight that was going to cost Bardot dearly. He hadn’t actually thought too far ahead, but he knew of he could do to show Bardot just how serious he was about this, and it would make for a good shocker, as well. He doubted that he would have seen this coming. In fact, he doubted many had thought to do something like this.

Turning his attention back to the black chalk piece that he held, he grabbed onto the tip of it and he started to pick at it rapidly. He rubbed it against the ground and rolled it around, rapidly producing a sharp tip. The act of doing this perplexed the others, making them forget what he could easily do with this thing. He used this opportunity to his advantage and he immediately rammed the sharpened chalk piece back. He could feel it striking against the zoner’s leg, penetrating far into it.

Tsere 2.0’s beak immediately opened up and he released a loud screech of pain. He immediately jerked back, releasing Mr. Cosmo and scrambling to the ground. The black chalk was no longer present, but the stupid zoner was still pecking at his leg anyway.

Mr. Cosmo looked at the black chalk that he held in his hand. Part of it was soaked with red zoner blood, drizzling down towards the ground. He shook the chalk once, trying to get the blood off more quickly. It still clung, causing him to give a disgusted look with his eyes and face, tongue sticking out for just a moment. Oh well, this would have to do. The man slowly turned his gaze to where Bardot was, a smile spreading along his face.

“Now just where were we…?” Mr. Cosmo spoke in a teasing voice.

Bardot growled, raising his tail up. “So you still want to play this song and dance, do you? Okay then, fine. Let’s do this…”

There was no need to say anything else. No more words needed to be spoken for the two to know what they were going to do next. With their eyes narrowing and determination plastering on both of their faces, they immediately started to charge at one another, their feet pounding the ground.

And when they connected, seering pain connected in the back of Mr. Cosmo’s mind.

But that didn’t stop him.


	69. An Act Of Bravery

Rudy didn’t dare look back. He didn’t dare try to see if he was being chased or not. Right now, all he could focus on was just holding onto Snap as he kept rushing forward, going as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he was going or what he was going to do when he got to...wherever it was he was trying to get to. All he could focus on was just moving his legs to his destination.

He could feel Snap squirming around in his arms. The zoner was twisting himself left and right and going as far as trying to bite Rudy. The boy had to hold the zoner in such a way that he couldn’t do much in the way of hurting him. He looked down at his friend sadly a few times as he wondered how he was going to help him. He couldn’t allow this to persist for much longer. Snap needed to be cure of whatever was ailing him. But how was he going to…

Rudy could feel his leg getting snagged onto something. He gritted his teeth, unable to believe that this was happening again. He didn’t have time to react and retract himself and he was just sent flying forward and hit the ground painfully. He let out a small groan as he hit the ground, landing on top of Snap.

HIs eyes widened as a jolt of pain struck through his body. Snap had bitten down on his stomach. Rudy pulled back, letting out a few screams as he could feel the teeth sliding over his flesh, nearly tearing off a piece. Rudy stumbled back, his legs shaky, as he stared at the zoner with wide, horrified eyes. He took in several deep breaths before he got himself to relax. Even then, he couldn’t stop his heart from racing and he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the small zoner in front of him. He licked his lips slowly and swallowed hard. He could feel the zoner’s red eyes slicing right into him and he had to force himself back.

But he wasn’t going to run off. If Snap thought that this was going to scare him, well he was going to have another think coming soon enough. He wasn’t going to give up on him. There just had to be a way to fix him. Since Bardot was of no help, there was only one other person he thought of who might be able to do something. But could he really try to find Barney in time? Would that be a wise decision to pull? Was there…

Rudy heard a sound echoing through the air. He stiffened up briefly and looked up and all around. Just what was that sound? It was rather soft, so it couldn’t be a scream. Maybe it was whimpering? It kinda sounded close to it. But it was so faint, it might be something else.

But should he even bother going to investigate? He did have Snap here that he wanted to help before he did something to hurt himself. He didn’t want Snap to be found by someone else and have who knows what happen to him. But then again, maybe this sound might lead him to someone or something that might have some kind of help that could be given. And in the end, could he really just walk away from someone or something that was obviously in pain?

Rudy went over to where Snap was. The zoner still tried to bite at him, his growls rumbling deep within his body. Rudy tried not to flinch at this as he lowered himself down and grabbed onto the zoner. He lifted him up with relative ease as he turned and began to walk towards the sound slowly, taking his time. He had no idea what to expect and he had to stay vigilant. He hoped that he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

Rudy moved through the tunnel slowly, following the slight twisting path as it moved down at a tiny angle. And then there was an opening that spilled out into a larger chamber. Rudy could feel the openness as he went in. Something about this felt familiar and he was about to look around to see where he was.

But he was interrupted by the sight that awaited him when he got in here.

“B-Biclops?!” Rudy shrieked, nearly dropping Snap.

He stared at the giant in shock, a mixture of emotions rushing through him. On the one hand, he didn't look worse than what he knew Mr. Cosmo had done to him. But at the same time, the zoner still looked rather...sickly and weak. He… He needed to do something to help him. Biting his lip once, Rudy immediately rushed over to the giant laying prone before him.

sss

Mrs. Sanchez lifted her head up when she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. She immediately rose up to her feet, not able to hold still for any longer, and she stared at them with a look of hopefulness. Were they going to give her some news that she wanted to hear? Or was she just going to be dashed? She swallowed hard and she braced herself for what was about to come.

“You are Mrs. Sanchez? The mother of Penny Sanchez?” The doctor asked carefully, as if he wanted to make sure that he got the right person. This doctor was different from the others she had encountered here.

The woman nodded her head. “Yes, I am.” She paused for a moment as she watched the doctor going through a list of papers. Although she had no idea what information they entailed, a part of her still felt the sting of worry. She could already guess what it was and she had a feeling that it pertained some uncomfortable information about her daughter. As such, she had to keep speaking, “I-Is that about…?”

The doctor stared at her for a moment before he glanced at the paperwork. “Not all of it. I saw a few more patients as well. I’m just trying to find the one on your daughter. Let me see here….”

Mrs. Sanchez felt her eyes narrow a little. She would have thought that this doctor would have been a little more organized. Perhaps he was just new? Whatever, she was more interested in the state of her daughter anyway. She remained quiet as she listened to what the doctor had to say regarding Penny.

“Ah, here it is.” The doctor said as he pulled out a piece of paper. He held it in his hand and steadied it in front of him. He adjusted this glasses as he read a little bit before turning his attention back to the woman. “I take it you already know your daughter had to be taken to the emergency room?”

Mrs. Sanchez nodded her head curtly. “I waited here because I want to know how she’s doing.”

“She’s still in surgery but it’s going well. Better than any of us could have hoped for.” The doctor explained. His tone did sound as though he was hiding something, but it was hard to say what that could be. The man continued, “She did have an infection so that needs to be treated. But she hasn’t lost enough blood to be near fatal. The biggest thing is that she will need some stitches, and antibiotics would be highly recommended.”

“And anything else?”

The man seemed to hesitate to continue. Mrs. Sanchez immediately caught onto this and she quickly realized that it must not be anything good. The man’s expressions gave away his internal emotions easily. If he was trying to hide something, he was failing at it miserably. Mrs. Sanchez waited to see if the man would own up to this or if he was going to just go about pretending that it didn’t happen.

Clearing his throat, the doctor looked at the notes again. He used his finger to move through until he found something that made his eyes seem to spark. He then looked back over at the woman and his look seemed to change a slight tad. Mrs. Sanchez felt uneasy about how he was now looking at her.

“Considering your daughter is fifteen, just how did she end up like this?” The man asked.

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t like where this was going. “What do you mean? I told you what happened. I found her in an alleyway. She had been attacked.”

“And what point did your daughter disappear?” The man inquired firmly. “How long was she gone before you found her?”

Mrs. Sanchez opened her mouth to speak before she slowly shut it. She gazed towards the ground as she tried to think of how she was going to answer this. She couldn’t just keep silent, but what answer could she give? She would have to tell the truth. There was no getting around that. Letting out a small sigh, she said, “Ever since this morning.” That sounded about right.

“I see.” The doctor said as he nodded his head slowly. He leaned himself back a little, that same look still on his face. “And have you filed a report for a missing person at this time?”

“I….no.” Confessed Mrs. Sanchez.

“Why not? She’s your daughter. Shouldn’t you have alerted the authorities the moment that she went missing?”

Mrs. Sanchez flinched at the man’s tone of voice. She couldn’t say anything to defend herself. She couldn’t explain to him that the reason that she didn’t report it was because she knew where her daughter was. But she couldn’t very well tell this man that she let Penny run with someone that tried to break in, now could she? And even if she could explain in such a way that it made sense, it still wouldn’t…

“I was afraid of this.” The doctor spoke up, cutting the woman out of her thoughts. “You know, I did realize something smelled fishy about this whole thing. I didn’t know what it was and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. But my gut instinct is never wrong.” The man’s expression lightened up a little bit. “I wish it were wrong this time.”

Mrs. Sanchez took note of the man’s new expression. One filled with sadness and a sense of resolution. She thought about what he said, and what she had told him and her blood immediately started to run cold. “W-Wait… a-a-are you trying to…?” She swallowed hard. “You’re not accusing me of…”

The doctor raised his hand up. “I’m not under authority to do that. It’s something best settled with the legal system.” The doctor stared at her for a few moments before he narrowed his eyes softly. “But trust me, this won’t be over any time soon.”

Mrs. Sanchez felt her heart skipping a few beats. She could hear just how serious the man was as he spoke and she could feel her body trembling from the cold response. She struggled to think of what she was going to say to him and how she was going to explain the situation without making her look like such a… She couldn’t finish her thought.

But there was something holding her back. A thought that pulled against the back of her head and refused to leave her alone. It was something that she couldn’t ignore. And that was the feeling of guilt.

Although admitting to this might make things worse for herself, Mrs. Sanchez did feel a level of responsibility for what happened to Penny. If she had’t let her go with that damned woman, she would be safe. If she had just pushed Ms. Saffron out the door, she would have been able to prevent Penny from getting hurt. And because of her stupidity, something awful happened to her daughter. She didn’t know what it was and she didn’t know if she wanted to know. All that she did knew for sure is that Penny was gravely injured and it wouldn’t have happened at all if she had kept her home.

Or if she had just gone with. Why hadn’t she done that? She should have just...closed up her business for a day to go with Penny. She should have cancelled the appointments that she had and went with her. Then she could have made sure that her daughter was safe and sound. Oh why hadn’t she done something like that?

“I-I…” That was all Mrs. Sanchez could get herself to say before she had to go quiet.

The doctor frowned at her for a bit before he turned his head away. “This isn’t my job to do, anyway. Let’s just...focus on your daughter right now.”

Mrs. Sanchez numbly nodded her head slowly. “Y-Yeah… good idea.”

sss

He had to be quick about it. There was little time to waste and he had never moved his body this fast before. He could feel his muscles aching as he was forced to stretch them around, moving up higher than he had to before. And he did this all the while making sure that his friend didn’t escape from his binds.

Rudy didn’t know how long he had worked at this, but he was finally finished. He felt sweat pouring down his face as he dropped the chalk to wipe his brow. He took a few heavy breaths and he took a few steps back. He didn’t know how well this was going to hold, but it was still better than nothing. At least he managed to stabilize Biclops.

The giant was now bandaged up, mostly around his leg, the tip of it still caked in dark red blood. Rudy hadn’t attempted to redraw the limb. He wasn’t sure how well it was going to work. It was one thing to redraw Snap’s hand. He never redraw a limb this large nor one that had more than half of it missing. Rudy recalled shuddering when he saw how bad it looked. He wondered just how Mr. Cosmo had torn it off so forcefully.

Biclops hadn’t woken up yet, and it was hard to tell if he had ever woken up at all. The zoner was breathing rather raggedly and it caused Rudy’s heart to twist into two. He couldn’t help but wonder just how far gone Biclops was and if he even had a chance at survival. The thought petrified him and he clung his hand to his chest, struggling to breathe himself. He tried to get himself emotionally situated. He was not going to help anything if he remained this way, too far caught in his emotional wreckage.

Rudy turned his head to see where Snap was. Just as he suspected, the zoner was still squirming about, trying to get free. Rudy could see that he seemed to be an even brighter red than what he was before. He didn’t know what was going on, and he couldn’t even ask his friend what was happening. His mind was gone, devoured by the red chalk.

But it wasn’t just the red chalk he had to fear, was it? No, there was another thing going on that he couldn’t exactly write off. The black chalk was problematic. With Snap being driven nuts by the red chalk, it was the black chalk that controlled Mr. Cosmo’s actions. Both were trying to achieve something that they think is noble, but Rudy could see through the entire mess. He knew what was really going on.

Could he do something about this alone? He couldn’t rely on Penny; she had been injured. Skrawl never came back, which didn’t surprise him. Mr. Wilter was...dead, and so was Ms. Saffron. And he sure as heck couldn’t rely on those employees’ help either. This left him with just himself.

The road ahead was going to be hard and he knew that he was going to have to be brave if he wanted to try to confront this task. He didn’t know how he was going to go about it and he didn’t know what the end result was going to be. But in the end, courage at facing this alone, without the help of anyone, was all that he could do. This was such a strange sensation as he normally had help from someone. In a rare moment, in the worst of times, he had to do things alone.

How well was he going to succeed?

Rudy turned his attention to Snap. He watched as his friend thrashed about on the ground. He could see how wild his eyes looked and he could just feel the energy rising up from him. Rudy could feel another sharp tug in his chest, a sharpness that spread throughout him, and he forced himself to give a small sigh, trying to drain at least some of the emotion out. He knew there was only one way to deal with his friend right now. He would hate himself for doing it, but it was a small price to pay to keep his friend from hurting himself.

Using what he had left of the white chalk piece, he draw a small dart filled with a fluid. He gripped it tightly as he made his way over towards the fallen zoner, who was still fighting against the ropes. Rudy knelt down beside him and grabbed onto him, trying to hold him still. Immediately Snap tried to bite him. Rudy dodged the attack before he quickly pushed the needle into his friend’s neck. He pushed the tip down and injected him with the fluid. Then he moved back quickly, avoiding another attack, and waited for the drug to take effect.

It didn’t take long before he noticed a change in Snap’s demeanor. The zoner began to slow down in movements. His throws and thrashes got weaker. His eyes had a hard time staying open, constantly closing. Snap was desperately trying to stay awake and Rudy could see the fear in his eyes when he realized he was slipping into unconsciousness. Rudy felt guilty for being responsible, but he did nothing as Snap collapsed limp on the ground, all sense of consciousness leaving his body.

Rudy let out a small sigh of relief as he realized that it was over...for now. Snap was not going to remain out cold like this for long and he also knew that trouble could always be right around the corner. He also need to figure out how he was going to protect his friend while simulteanously trying to deal with the current situation. He couldn’t carry him with; he would just be an easy target.

But there was something else that he could do.

Rudy picked up Snap and he carried him to a far corner of the room they were in. He sat him up, making sure that he could still breathe well, and he started to draw a cave wall around him. He did leave a small opening so that air could get in, but too small for Snap to get out. Soon the zoner was shielded inside of this thing.

He did feel bad for locking his friend up like this. But until he figured out a way to cure his condition, this was going to have to do. He turned his attention to Biclops, biting his lip as he wondered if he should do the same for him. There was the chance that someone could come in here and if they didn’t find Snap, Biclops would be next. He quickly agreed that it was for the best and he used whatever chalk that he had left to draw a wall around him, too.

Now he was chalkless. Rudy stared at his empty hands, feeling his heart pounding as he realized that he was without a way of defense. The White Chalk Chamber was close by, wasn’t it? But in his moment of panic and horror, Rudy couldn’t remember where it was.

And by the time he did, it was already too late.

Someone was coming.

Turning his head, Rudy could hear the sound of approaching footsteps. He could see a shadow forming along the wall. He gulped loudly and he turned himself around completely. He forced himself to move back, trying not to trip over himself. Rudy kept his eyes glued on the shadow that seemed to be creeping its way into existence.

Then, before he could say anything, he saw something flying at him. Rudy jumped back and he turned his head to see what it was. He gasped when he saw the sight of Bardot laying there. He had several deep gashes and his body looked as if it had been singed. He had flashbacks to that zoner skeleton from before, but at least Bardot appeared to still be alive at this point. Rudy listened to the zoner gasping for breath painfully before he stared at who was coming in.

Mr. Cosmo…

The man suddenly stopped in his tracks. It was as though he didn’t expect to see Rudy there. But regardless, Mr. Cosmo still gave a slightly twisted, mostly eerie smile when he set his eyes upon him. Rudy felt his body shuddering at the sight of this and he arched himself up in preparation for an attack.

But instead, all Mr. Cosmo did was stand there, watching Rudy carefully. His head turned left and right and the look in his eyes suggested that he seemed to understand that Rudy had done something here. But rather than comment on it, Mr. Cosmo chose to be silent about it. It was as if he was purposely trying to tease Rudy, making him go a little bit crazy from wondering what the man was thinking of. Rudy tried not to let this get to him, but he still couldn’t stop himself from shaking a little bit.

“Ah, Rudy… I’m a little surprised to see you so soon. I thought you would have….left much more quickly.” Mr. Cosmo cooed softly. He lifted his head up, jerking it to the side. “I see you decided to waste more time helping out these filthy zoners. I’m not surprised.”

Rudy stiffened up. How did he know that Biclops was here? He shook his head, trying not to get psyched out by this. He bared his teeth tightly as he growled, “Did you come to fight me…?”

Mr. Cosmo stared at him for a few moments before he gave a soft chuckle. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

Rudy narrowed his eyes further, feeling his body quake some more. “I know that you still want to deal with me. I know that you still want to get rid of me and that you aren’t going to pass up the chance to do that.” Mr. Cosmo cocked an eyebrow as he continued to watch Rudy, smiling. “Well if you want that chance, now you’ve got it! I’m not going to run from you any longer! I’m going to do whatever I can save ChalkZone from the likes of you!”

Mr. Cosmo was silent for a few moments. Then he started to make his way closer towards the boy. Each step seemed to take a long time and whenever they touched the ground, the floor seemed to shake with vibrations. Rudy could feel it in his chest.

When the man was a few feet in front of him, doing little to acknowledge the unconscious Bardot, he said, “Is this a challenge?”

Rudy took in a few shaky breaths. He hadn’t thought of it like that, but considering what happened before… Rudy bared his teeth as he took a step forward and tensed up his body, taking on a defensive posture. “Yes… How about it..?” Rudy started to bare his teeth in a twisted smile of his own, mimicking the man’s own. “You afraid of a little challenge? You seemed ready to give me a deal before. How about a new one?”

“Oh now this is interesting.” Mr. Cosmo said as he folded his arms together. “And what is the challenge this time?”

“It’s simple. We just fight each other until one of us falls.” Rudy tilted his head down a little as his eyes darkened a little. “The winner gets to live and continue on with their plans. The other...will be terminated.”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes flashed with shock before he gave a small chuckle. “Oh my, isn’t that a bit dark for you? I never thought I’d hear you say something like that. Are you proud of yourself? I sure hope so. You’re coming a long way from the weakling that you had been before.”

Rudy felt disgusted with himself, further punctuated when the man complimented him like that. He didn’t want to imagine himself being like this man and he didn’t want to believe that he was becoming something that he wasn’t. Killing was not something he loved to do, but Mr. Cosmo… He just… Rudy realized that the man was too far gone and if allowed to live, he would just find ways to torment ChalkZone.

No, the best way to deal with him, the only route that could be taken, was if he killed Mr. Cosmo. He was going to feel the burn of this later, he realized. But for now, he concentrated on the evil man standing before him. There was no turning away from this now and no hiding.

“Oh this is going to be fun, isn’t it, Rudy?” Mr. Cosmo commented as he lifted up his piece of black chalk. He paused when he looked over to where Rudy was, giving a slightly confused look. “And where is your chalk, little boy? Don’t you need one to face me? Or are you putting up a challenge for yourself? How interesting…”

Rudy felt another flash of coldness in his body when he realized that he didn’t have any white chalk with him. He had used the last of it earlier on protecting Biclops. He could see the look in the green-suited man’s remaining eye and he could see what the man was thinking. He was silently taunting him on using the last of his chalk for the sake of a ‘filthy zoner’. And for a few moments, Rudy remained locked in place.

Then he shook his head and he bared his teeth tightly. He wasn’t going to allow this to get the best of him. He wasn’t going to let his fears and sense of hopelessness override his attempt at stopping this man. There was always a way to win. It might seem useless now, but if he kept pressing forward, he would find something that would help.

And well, he did tell himself he was going to have to be brave, right? Well now is his chance.

Before he knew it, he took off after the man.

sss

No… No, this isn’t how things were supposed to go. Just how did they all fall so far down? How did things come to this? How could everything have just…

These questions and more pounded his mind as he struggled to think of what he was going to do now. Everything ached and his body felt like it was on fire. He could feel his body shuddering and he could feel a darkness encroaching on him mentally. He realized that he had some difficulty breathing, a byproduct of the fear that had him gripped.

Draow tried his best to keep himself standing up, feeling how limp his wings were and how it felt like he was forced to drag them. But there was nothing wrong with the wings themselves; he was just shot full of...something in his mind and his emotions, and after witnessing what happened, how could he not be in shock?

He couldn’t even tell how this all happened. He was barely aware of what happened during his last moment of consciousness, and then he recalled seeing Bardot and that was it. After that, just a flash of pain and nothingness. He had no clue just how much time had passed or what happened to anyone. All that he was aware of is that, the moment that he became aware again, he was standing over Bardot’s unmoving form. He wasn’t the one who had attacked him; he could see Mr. Cosmo standing there.

The bat wolf couldn’t bring himself to move towards his creator. There was something in his eyes that felt different. Like he had not only gained some untapped courage and determination, but there was something new that he felt for him. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it made him feel uncomfortable and he had to keep himself back.

It was just a guess, but he had enough suspicion to believe that Mr. Cosmo was the reason why he had snapped out of...whatever had happened to him. Was it because of Bardot? One of the pieces of red chalk nearby? Was it something else? Draow wasn’t sure if he would ever find out and the thought terrified him. What if it happened again? There was a good chance that it could, and if it did and he was unprepared, then…

Draow turned his head to see where those humans had gone off to. He recalled Mr. Cosmo had already left. It felt like he had just arrived, but his appearance made it seem like he had fought really hard really fast. It made him wonder just what his creator had to deal with.

And then those other two humans, they were just...gone. He could only guess that they probably fled down in one direction, maybe finding a way out. Or more likely, it was the red chalk that they held. Maybe after seeing their comrade defeated like that, the red chalk decided that it was better off cutting its losses and leaving, dragging the humans with it. Draow growled lowly as he realized that this meant that they were still on the loose and…

Well maybe he should do something about that, right? He couldn’t just stand there and do nothing, even if his mind was still muddied with confusion. He might not fully understand yet how things came to be like this. There may still be some pieces of the puzzle missing and that it would take time to get it all back. But for now, he did know of one thing that he could do to prevent something worse from happening.

And that was hunting down these humans who were trying to get away.

Draow took a moment to look at where Mr. Cosmo disappeared down in. He wondered where the man was going and why he took Bardot’s body with him. He furrowed his eyes for a moment and shook his head. Why did he care, anyway? If there was one thing that he did start to believe Bardot on, it’s that the man wouldn’t care about him after his use was up. He would get rid of him sooner or later. Draow could either accept this or do something about it.

He wasn’t one who liked to accept a fate that he did not agree with.

With his ears twitching a little and a slight snarl forming on his muzzle, Draow began to walk in another direction. His posture was that of a raptor going on a hunt, and his muscles began to tense every so often, testing their own strengths as he ensured that he would be ready to do this. His teal eyes stared out ahead and he waited until he was out of the Red Chalk Chamber before he tilted his head up to smell the air.

It hadn’t been that hard to catch the scent of those humans. He might have only caught a glimpse of them, but he did get enough of an idea to know where to go to find them. Considering it’s only been a few minutes at most, they weren’t that far. He hunched himself a little more, releasing a low guttural growl, and he began to move in that direction.

And as he did so, he could hear chattering in the distance, some grunting as well. His ears pricked forward and back as he picked up the sounds. His eyes widened a little before they narrowed further and he picked up the pace. He was going to make sure that his targets didn’t get away. The red chalk couldn’t be allowed to rise up. If that’s what caused him to go crazy, then no amount of freedom from creators was worth being controlled by some piece of chalk.

After he walked for what felt like several long moments, listening carefully to the sounds, watching the shadows on the walls with scrutinizing detail, Draow could soon see them ahead of him. He paused for a moment to stare at the situation going on, his mind silently deducing it.

The humans were running off still. Judging from the look of things, it wasn’t the red chalk doing it. Either the red chalk wasn’t trying anything or it wasn’t trying hard enough, or the humans were going in the direction that it wanted. Well regardless, they were obviously too busy to do anything about Draow behind them. They weren’t even aware of him.

Which meant that Draow could use this to his advantage. If he could get in close enough quietly enough, then he could deliver a blow to get rid of them before they had a chance to do anything. The red chalk wouldn’t be able to do anything with dead bodies, now could it?

Yes, all he had to do was get in close to…

He suddenly paused, his eyes widening a little. Was that a good idea? What if Mr. Cosmo found out about it? He knew how Mr. Cosmo was with zoners that hurt humans. The very idea of it made the man upset, although he was a bit of a hypocrite himself as he did use zoners to hurt humans and… But in the end, Mr. Cosmo did not order Draow to hurt them, and if he found out what he had done, he didn’t want to imagine what would happen to him.

Draow felt his body loosen a little, his speed slowing down. He started to think of just what he was going to do about this. He couldn’t just kill them, but he also wanted to stop the red chalk from doing anything. If allowed to escape, who knows what the red chalk might attempt? He pulled his lips back into a snarl as frustration began to seep across his mind. He wasn’t going to give up, but what could he do?

Then it hit him. There was more than one way to solve a problem. If he couldn’t stop the red chalk through killing its present hosts, then perhaps he could stop it if he maimed them instead. There was a quick and easy solution for that. The thought of it caused him to slowly lick his lips, almost salivating at the thought, like he was about to get some kind of treat.

Draow resumed his pursuit of the humans. He started to move faster and he let his mouth open up wide as he prepared to attack. All it would take is one quick movement, and it was all going to be over.

sss

A part of him wondered why he was even bothering to do this. It wasn’t like that this was a fair fight or anything. Not while one of them was chalkless. Perhaps he should postpone the fight until the boy found something more appropriate to fight with.

But then again… He was a little interested in seeing how long the boy was going to last without magic chalk. He had already attempted to attack earlier. It was an impressive, even if a complete failure, move that he didn’t see coming. He wouldn’t have thought that Rudy would have tried something like that.

This impressed Mr. Cosmo. It made him almost reconsider getting rid of Rudy. It was such a disappointment that this had to happen. Rudy’s given him reason not to trust him, but at the same time, he’s also displayed some qualities that he feel would really benefit his cause. He found himself torn between going through with his plan to kill him or going back to the old idea of trying to recruit him.

It was so hard to choose and he honestly wasn’t sure which one would lead to the greatest reward. He would lose a potential comrade if he just killed Rudy, although that would still save his plans from being stopped completely. But if he kept Rudy around and tried to force him to see things his way, then he could be a valuable ally. He could help him solve problems that he could never have dreamed of before. But that also came with a risk, that being that Rudy might still turn on him anyway.

Mr. Cosmo would try to think of something later. When the time came, when he finally pushed Rudy into the ground and made him surrender, if he decided that he was worth keeping around then, then he would take action then.

Until that moment came…

Mr. Cosmo could see Rudy coming in towards him, attempting to strike at him. Mr. Cosmo merely moved himself to one side, sidestepping at the last minute. This caused Rudy to try to attack him with a punch, but the force of the blow made it impossible for him to stop in time once he saw that there was a problem. Rudy tumbled forward and he just barely managed to keep himself steady. He soon looked over his shoulders to stare at where Mr. Cosmo stood.

“Y-You coward…! Why don’t you just stand there and fight?!” Rudy called out, forming fists with his hands. “You haven’t even lifted the black chalk once!”

Mr. Cosmo raised an eyebrow. “Well you don’t have magic chalk of your own. It wouldn’t be a fair fight.”

Rudy scoffed at this, giving a small snarl of disgust and contempt. “Since when the fucking hell did you ever care about fairness?”

Mr. Cosmo could detect the rancid tone of Rudy’s voice and he could hear the implications and accusations even if the male teen didn’t outright say it. Mr. Cosmo felt something jolting in his stomach as emotion started to rise up. Many thoughts raced through his head before he slowly narrowed his eye a little. He pondered Rudy’s words for a few moments before he began to slowly raise his black chalk piece. “Well if that’s the case… then..”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this for a moment, looking as if he regretted what he said. But he soon went on the defensive again and he started to rush back at the man. Mr. Cosmo didn’t hesitate to start swinging his black chalk down.

If Rudy wanted him to fight back, then that’s exactly what he was going to get.

There was little worry about the white chalk doing anything at this point. Mr. Cosmo felt somewhat embarrassed for fleeing from it earlier, but now that wasn’t something he needed to consider. Rudy was without a piece of white chalk, and despite what he said about it not being fair, a part of him did think that this was for the best. The white chalk was obviously trying to pull him in, to brainwash him, and if he hadn’t backed up when he had, then this would have happened.

Mr. Cosmo tried to push aside the chilling feeling that he got when thinking about that and he turned his attention back to Rudy. The teenager was walking around him slowly, as if trying to find a perfect spot to rush in at him. Mr. Cosmo was impressed once more at Rudy’s tenacity. It didn’t seem like a missing piece of chalk was going to stop him.

But at the same time, this could get really annoying. He furrowed his eyes deeply as he tried to think of what he was going to do about this. He started to move around slowly, watching Rudy carefully. He couldn’t let himself be caught off guard. But he also didn’t want to end this too quickly, either. He really wanted to see what Rudy was capable of without magic chalk. He imagined that the boy had some kind of trick up his sleeve that he hadn’t yet shown. He wanted to be there to see it himself.

Rudy finally stopped walking around, taking a hunched, defensive posture a few feet away from him. His head was lowered as if he was going to charge at him like a bull. A bit disappointing, but perhaps he should wait to see where this goes. He watched as Rudy’s foot moved slowly across the ground. Rudy’s eyes seemed to flash a bit of fear at first, as if he was starting to reconsider his options. But much to Mr. Cosmo’s glee, Rudy still charged towards him. The man stood there and waited to see what Rudy would do next.

When the teenager got close enough, he pulled back his fist and tried to punch at him. In the seconds that it took to move out of the way, the green-suited man had time to roll his eyes. This was pretty pathetic. Was this what Rudy was going to try to pull off? Just trying to hit him and hope that it would work? He was going to need to try harder than that if he wanted to…

Then without warning, he could feel a kick to his shin. In his focus on the punch, he failed to realize that Rudy still had another weapon on hand. He felt the tip of the boy’s foot ram into his shin, causing a cascade of pain to rush up and down his leg. It wasn’t enough to make him fall down or anything, but it did cause him to limp a little and move back from the boy. Mr. Cosmo looked at his leg and rubbed it gingerly. He then lifted his head up to shoot a glare at Rudy.

And that was the exact moment that the fist struck against his face. The man let out a cry of pain as he was pushed back, his feet slipping a little on the ground as he tried so hard to avoid falling down. He put his hands to his face and seethed in pain. For such a scrawny little boy, he packed quite the wallop.

And it seemed as if Rudy was going try hitting him again. This time, Mr. Cosmo was prepared. He glared at the boy through bloodshot eyes through a small space between his fingers. When he saw that Rudy was trying to get him again, he struck forth with his hand and grabbed onto Rudy’s fist before it could hit him. He could hear a loud smacking sound as he grabbed Rudy’s hand and he started to dig his fingernails into the skin. This caused Rudy to freeze a little, pain keeping him at least somewhat at bay.

Mr. Cosmo seethed through his clenched teeth, his chest inflating and deflating slowly. His eyes glared intensely at him and he could feel his lip curling into a small snarl. He could feel his mind burning and spinning inside of his skull and it felt like he was about to explode.

And then he just smiled. He looked into Rudy’s confused eyes and he gave a small bit of laughter of his own. He felt something close to pride swelling up in his chest and it made him regret the decision to kill Rudy even more.

“Oh if only it didn’t have to be this way… If only you were to just listen to me..” Mr. Cosmo spoke. His voice was silent, filled with genuine regret and sadness. “I had only wanted to save you, Rudy. I wanted to protect you and to help others. I just didn’t want them to suffer the fate that I had.” He could feel Rudy squirming to get away, trying to pry his fingers from his hand. Mr. Cosmo sighed at this. “But you just don’t understand, do you?”

Rudy hesitated for a few moments. Then he said, “I’m not against your plan because I don’t want anyone to be safe. That isn’t the reason. But I don’t agree with how you’re going about it. You have this black and white view of how things are, and you can’t seem to accept that not all zoners want to rip you apart.”

Rudy eventually stopped struggling, but he wasn’t done speaking. Mr. Cosmo just narrowed his eyes as the boy continued his little speech.

“Look, I’m sorry about what happened to you, okay? I can’t really offer any explanation because I wasn’t there and I can only guess on what happened. It might have just the black chalk trying to dupe you or maybe it really was the zoner.” Rudy took in a few breaths as if to refill on oxygen. He gave Mr. Cosmo a look that was sort of the cross between sympathy and anger. “But that doesn’t mean that you have the right to treat zoners like they’re the same. It doesn’t give you the right to kidnap people and force them to do what you want.”

Mr. Cosmo hissed softly, “Sometimes difficult decisions need to be made for the good of others.”

“Oh yeah? And what do you think will happen when the public finds out what you did? And no, I’m not talking about the zoners this time.” Rudy narrowed his eyes slightly. “What will they think about how you kidnapped me and tried to have my friend killed? What about Ms. Saffron and Mr. Wilter? You had them killed just for ‘being in the way’. And before you say that you can blame it on Draow, you were the one who still gave the orders. If presented with proof of this, do you think that anyone in the Real World is going to side with you?” Rudy paused for a moment, his body trembling. His free hand formed into a fist of its own as he tried to struggle with his emotions. “All they’re going to see is a monster.”

“I.. You can’t just…” Mr. Cosmo struggled to say something. But no matter what he tried, nothing could come to mind. He felt as though his head was filling up with a block of something, hindering his ability to think of anything. He eventually just snorted out, “You don’t know anything, kid…”

Rudy raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh I don’t? It seems like you don’t know anything either. You haven’t been able to give me a straight answer. And you want to know why?” Rudy pointed his finger accusingly at the man. “It’s because you don’t know, do you? You don’t know how you are going to make sure that everyone sides with you and you don’t know how you’re going to explain yourself away if they do find out.” Rudy paused for breath. “In the end, even if I don’t stop you, others will! They aren’t going to tolerate this sort of behavior! Even if you remove how you treated zoners as if they are the plague and your personal servants, you still can’t justify all of what you have done!”

Mr. Cosmo could feel his body shaking at this. He could feel the rush of emotion surging through him as the teen’s words echoed in his head. He formed a tight fist but he couldn’t bring himself to strike Rudy with it. He just stood there, grinding his teeth as his head and body started to burn slowly. He tried and tried, but he really couldn’t think of a good comeback.

A part of him did realize that Rudy had a good point. People might not be so easily convinced. They might see his actions as monstrous, no matter how good intended that they were. They might even spout of that stupid ‘the road to hell is paved with good intentions’ bullcrap in order to drive the point home further. He might be able to find some people who agree with him, but then there would be dozens more that might try to have him arrested or something. Or they could react in an even more negative fashion than he could predict and it could lead to something far worse.

But on the other hand, was he really going to let this slow him down? Was he going to let the boy psyche him out like this? He realized that this was likely exactly what Rudy had in mind and if his plan was to distract him, he did a good job for a little while. But Mr. Cosmo could always figure out something later. There was always a way to mold the crowd into his favor. It might be trickier than he thought, but it wasn’t like impossible or anything.

He didn’t bother answering Rudy’s statement. He merely tightened his grip on his hand instead and started to pull him forward. Rudy fought back against this, squirming about and trying to make the man let go. Mr. Cosmo soon yanked Rudy towards him, and he put his face close to his. Rudy tried to move back. Mr. Cosmo caught him, wrapping his arm around him and putting them both in an awkward position. But he didn’t care about the awkwardness. He just wanted to make sure Rudy was close enough to understand what he was saying and to know that he’s being completely serious.

“I will figure out something when the time is right. I promise you that things will go well for me, once I find the right solution. Now as for you…” He tightened his grip a little more. Rudy yelped at this and yanked back hard. It was not enough to free him. “I do believe that we have a duel to finish and since it’s to the death…” He smiled. “..and I have you right here…”

Rudy’s eyes widened in horror.

“Why don’t I take care of that now? And be done with this? I’ve been having too many conflicting feelings on this, Rudy. I think that it would be best if I just finished this up.” Mr. Cosmo pushed Rudy into a nearby wall, his arm pushing up against his neck now, causing him to have trouble breathing. “Just hold still and I will make this quick.”

As Rudy struggled, Mr. Cosmo did pause for a moment to think about what he was about to do. A part of him still didn’t want to go through with this, but he reminded himself that it was for the best. Exhaling deeply, Mr. Cosmo raised up his black chalk, the tip still sharpened, and he positioned it at Rudy’s neck. With only slight hesitation, he started to apply pressure.

sss

The thing had come out of freaking nowhere. He couldn’t react to it. He couldn’t even plan any sort of move. All that he knew is that, before he realized what was happening, the small cave tunnel he was traveling through had suddenly erupted with the loud screams of his comrade. He jerked forward at the sudden sound, nearly tripping over his own feet, before looking back over and seeing her on the ground, a pool of blood forming around her, and something large and furry standing over her.

Mr. Malcolm could feel a range of emotions surging through his body as he stood there and stared in shock at the beast. Draow’s expression indicated that he hadn’t meant to hit the woman that hard, but it was also plainly evident that he wasn’t going to just walk away, either. His teeth were gritted tightly, snarling softly, as he moved in closer, spreading his wings a bit outward as he stared intently at the body before him. He lifted his foot up and gingerly pushed the woman onto her side. It rapidly became clear that the zoner was looking for the red chalk.

Mr. Malcolm wanted to do something, but he remained frozen in shock. He could feel how hard it was for his thoughts to move through his head. It was as if something locked in place, preventing him from doing anything. He could feel his feet trembling and his palms grew sweaty. He thought he could feel the red chalk slipping from his hands, but he knew that this wasn’t the case. He wasn’t sure which path would have been worse.

“Save…”

“Protect…”

The man jerked at these sudden voices. He whipped his head from side to side as he tried to see where it was coming from. But he couldn’t see anything. Then he felt his hand starting to move on its own. Before he knew it, he was yanked towards the large winged zoner.

His eyes widened in fear as he was forced to face the massive creature. Draow had taken notice of him coming over and he let out a low, guttural growl. The first thing the man noticed is that Draow was no longer red-tinged. He wasn’t being influenced by the red chalk anymore. So why was he still acting this way? Well, he was snarling at the red chalk and…

Mr. Malcolm’s eyes widened in horror. It suddenly became very, uncomfortably clear to him exactly what Draow was intending to do. He started to take a few steps back, or at least he tried to. But the red chalk wouldn’t let him. It forced him to raise his arm up in preparation of a fight. Mr. Malcolm let out a few small cries and grunts as he attempted to pull himself back, to run and get away from here. But it was clear that the red chalk was not going to let him leave.

“Must save comrade…”

Mr. Malcolm could feel the chalk in his hands glowing a brighter red. He could feel it starting to draw something, the line just starting to get formed…

...only to get kicked in the side by Draow’s large foot. The huge talons crashed against his side, making him open his mouth up and let out a pained cry. The man could feel himself twisting about in the air and on the ground. He crashed and rolled for several seconds before finally coming to a stop on the ground. He let out a few small groans as he started to climb back up. The red chalk ‘assisted’ him by yanking him up straight in a painful fashion.

Draow was already coming back towards him, his ears lowering against his head. He opened his mouth up wide and a low growl emanated from his jaws, drool dripping from his pulled down lips. Mr. Malcolm bared his teeth tightly and he got ready to make a run for it. Then he realized that the red chalk was not going to let him leave. If he still had the black chalk…. Just what happened to it anyway? He must’ve dropped it earlier. Of all the fucking times…

Mr. Malcolm’s train of thought was interrupted when Draow suddenly started to rush towards him, his feet pounding the ground. Mr. Malcolm tried to run, but his arm was glued in place, too rigid to do anything now. If he kept yanking and pulling like this, he was going to tear it straight from his socket. He could only look on in fear and horror as Draow opened his jaws even wider, showing off his rows of sharp teeth.

The red chalk attempted to respond. He could feel it trying to draw something to protect itself with. But just like last time, it got interrupted. It wasn’t with the same method, and Mr. Malcolm wished this were the case.

Instead, he could feel the teeth sinking into his wrist.

“Aaaaargh!” Mr. Malcolm screamed loudly as Draow forced him up from the ground. He felt the beast shaking him from side to side, causing him to scream more. “Aaargh! Help! Somebody, help me!”

Draow bit down harder on his wrist, causing blood to form. Draow did flinch a little, indicating that this was hurting him. But he didn’t stop. Whatever determination he had in that skull of his, it was more than enough to keep him going on like this. He was being driven to do this, as evident by how he was biting down even harder. And something told Mr. Malcolm that he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

Seering pain raced through his wrist, causing hot tears to move down his cheeks. He let out a series of small cries and a few sobs as he felt the bones and tendons being ripped open. His fingers flexed in response, the sweat moving over the red chalk that was still attached to his palm. There was a loud, resounding crack, he gave a sharp involuntary gasp, and then Draow ripped his head away.

And he took his hand with him.

Mr. Malcolm collapsed into the ground. He curled up into a tight ball as he clutched his now handless arm to himself. He stared at the stub where his hand was torn from, seeing the exposed bone and blood vessels and flesh, blood pouring rapidly from the wound. He trembled hard, the shock and pain unbearable. It took only seconds before the dizziness of blood loss came over him.

He laid on the ground, his body growing too heavy to move. The pain twisted around him and the only hint of relief was the encroaching unconsciousness that was starting to descend upon him. This brought about more terror to him, as he would be utterly defenseless if he were knocked out here. He lifted his head up and he stared at the large winged zoner pleadingly.

But it was clear that Draow was not interested in mercy. He was still glaring at him, his teeth exposed in the horrific snarl that he was giving. He didn’t show any sign of remorse or concern about what he had done. Because why would he? He was a zoner, and Mr. Cosmo had warned them all about zoners. Those words echoed in the man’s head as Draow came in closer, likely getting ready for another blow.

Despite his efforts to stay awake, Mr. Malcolm could feel his eyes burning as his lids struggled to stay open. He could feel them growing increasingly heavier, resulting in him shutting his eyes more and more. Each closing felt like relief, as if the fire was being put out. He kept flickering in and out like this and soon he just couldn’t handle it for any longer.

The last thing he saw before he shut his eyes completely was a very dark, dimmed view of Draow reacting to….something. Before he could see what it was, his vision was filled with dark blackness.

sss

Oh no... It couldn’t end like this... He needed to figure out a way to get out of this and fast. Within seconds, this black chalk piece was going to slit his throat open. Oh gawd...oh no... Why hadn’t he tried to fight back harder?

Rudy could feel tears moving down his face as he started to feel the sharp tip of the chalk start to penetrate his flash. Everything was going so slowly around him. It felt as if Mr. Cosmo was deliberately taking his time, wanting to watch him squirm and writhe in his grasp, wanting to make sure that he endured every second of this pain.

Rudy tried to squirm free. But it was useless. There was no way that he could do much of anything in his current state. All that he was going to do was make things worse for himself. Too much squirming would surely cause the chalk to penetrate through his flesh. The thought caused his heart to race. The man had pushed the chalk’s sharp tip against where his jugular was. If that got ripped open....

He stared up at the man pleadingly, his vision watery and distorted as caused by his tears. His silent begs didn’t seem to reach Mr. Cosmo. If anything, they just seemed to cause the chalk to be pushed into his neck faster. He needed another way to escape. But how...?

His mind raced faster as things around him slowed down further. This was of little use to him; not like he could move any faster than he could right now. Even when energized by adrenaline, there was just...nothing that he could do. But that didn’t stop his mind from struggling to find a way, and that was when instincts took over.

Before he realized what he was doing, Rudy opened his jaws wide and he bit down onto Mr. Cosmo’s arm. He could feel his teeth penetrating the arm’s flesh and he could taste the man’s blood in his mouth, a realization that made him want to gag. He pulled his head back as Mr. Cosmo released him, staggering back as he rubbed his arm to examine the damage.

Rudy flinched when he could see Mr. Cosmo glaring right at him moments later, his teeth growing bared. Rudy tensed up his body as he prepared for an attack that he knew was coming.

As he did this, he happened to glance at Mr. Cosmo’s arm. He couldn’t believe the damage that he had managed to do with that one bite. The skin was darkened a purplish color and he could see the red blood that lightly coated it now. He stared at this for a couple of seconds before his attention was flipped back to Mr. Cosmo.

The man wasn’t attempting to speak with him. It was as if the rage that boiled inside of him was preventing this from happening. As Rudy stared on, he could see the man raising up the black chalk to try to draw something. Or perhaps he was getting ready to charge at him with the sharpened black chalk again. Either way, he still tried to prepare himself. He couldn’t let a spare moment go by. If Mr. Cosmo managed to kill him, then it was game over for ChalkZone.

There was a stare down between him and Mr. Cosmo. It only lasted a few seconds, but they were long and grueling seconds, making it feel as though they were dragging on for several longer minutes. He could feel the man’s remaining eye drilling into his soul and right into his heart. He couldn’t dare to bring his own eyes away from him and he couldn’t stop himself from shaking.

Yet despite his fears, he knew that he couldn’t give up just yet. Too much counted on this. He stood there, his back hunched and his hands spread outward, fingers arched, and he waited for the man to charge.

And that was when he saw something come out of nowhere. A colorful flash of something smacked into Mr. Cosmo. There was a loud thud and a cry of pain. Then there was silence.

Rudy stood there for several moments, his arms slack in shock and his eyes widened. He stared at the one responsible for this sudden attack and he still find his mind swirling as he saw just who it was. He couldn’t even say the name. All that would leave his lips were, “Y-You...?”


	70. Intervention

Rudy continued to stare in shock, his mouth open and breathing heavily. He could feel his mind’s gears turning faster and faster. He could feel his head aching and he was struggling to keep himself standing up. He couldn’t stop staring ahead, couldn’t stop thinking about what just happened. He was silent for several moments, struggling to think of what he was going to say. He slowly licked his lips and then he whispered softly under his breath.

“B-Biclops…?”

The giant zoner stood in front of him, or rather, balanced to the best of his ability. His leg was not redrawn, forcing the giant to use one of his hands like a leg, making him look rather awkward. But there he stood, bravely facing off against Mr. Cosmo despite his pain.

Rudy could see that he was covered in scrapes and small remnants of rocks. It would seem that he had broken out of the shield he had drawn for him. This both impressed and horrified Rudy. He had put him in there for a good reason. Why had he gotten out? And just how did he wake up? He almost had to wonder if someone had deliberately come over to…

Well there were those other humans that were still lingering around… Perhaps one of them had…

Upon seeing what the giant was doing, Rudy could feel himself shout out, “B-Biclops! Y-You’re hurt…! You need to rest…!”

Biclops stopped what he was doing. He had been trying to move towards Mr. Cosmo, as if to try to attack him or at least force him into submission. But Rudy refused to allow that. He had already lost a few friends to this madman. He wasn’t about to lose someone else. He could see how Mr. Cosmo was positioned. He looked ready to tear into Biclops and finish him off. No, not this time. Rudy would make sure that Mr. Cosmo never got the chance.

Biclops looked at Rudy with some kind of expression that made his body shudder and go stiff, a sharp chilling sensation moving through his body. He gulped and swallowed hard, drawing in a heavier breath than normal. He found it difficult to look away as Biclops stared at him like that. It was almost as if he was accepting of this dangerous fate, and it did little to cheer Rudy up.

“I...u-u-understand y-y-your concern, Rudy T-Tabootie.” Biclops’s voice was weak and scratchy. His eyes looked like they had trouble holding on, and his whole body trembled from weakness. Rudy was surprised that he hadn’t yet collapsed. “B-But you n-n-needn’t worry about me. Y-You have…” He paused for a moment, flinching and sucking in a deep breath through his clenched teeth. “You know what you need to do.”

Rudy gritted his teeth tightly as he fought against the tears forming behind his eyes. Though Biclops didn’t say much, he understood the meaning of it all. He didn’t want to accept it. He didn’t want Biclops to have to...do something like this. Why couldn’t he just get out of the way so that he could try to do something about Mr. Cosmo? Why did he have to put himself in harm’s way?

But he did understand why in the end. Biclops needed to protect the Chalk Mine no matter what, and he did have unfinished business to deal with regarding Mr. Cosmo. It seemed like, in the giant’s mind, this was the best way to go about it. Just charge at danger head on and do whatever he could to stop it.

Rudy slowly narrowed his eyes. That didn’t mean that he needed to die for it. No, he was going to make sure that Biclops survived this. He wasn’t going to stand idly by while Mr. Cosmo got ready to kill his friend. He turned to glare at Mr. Cosmo, his fingers folding into a tight fist, breathing heavily through his clenched teeth. Mr. Cosmo might not be paying attention to him right now, but soon, he will be.

Without hesitation, without continuing to speak to Biclops, Rudy made his dash towards Mr. Cosmo.

“R-Rudy T-Tabootie… Come back here..!” Biclops called out. Rudy could hear him coughing behind him. He flinched at each sound. But he didn’t stop. Biclops grew frantic at this. “G-Get back now! B-Before…. Ugh..!”

Rudy felt bad for making Biclops get so desperate that he tried to make a move towards him. He could hear and almost feel how much this was hurting the giant zoner. Rudy wanted to stop himself and turn back to him. But he also realized that if he allowed Biclops to face this man alone, he might… Rudy shook off the uncomfortable sensation as he forced himself to just keep on running.

Mr. Cosmo was already tensing up and preparing for Rudy’s oncoming attack. He had his hands spread out, the black chalk having been knocked from his hand. Rudy hadn’t noticed this earlier and he realized for a moment that he probably could have let Biclops do something. There wasn’t an immediate danger right now. But he had already committed to this and he wasn’t going to back down, So he just continued on forth, moving himself faster and faster, accepting Mr. Cosmo’s reverse challenge.

After a few seconds, Rudy could feel himself colliding with Mr. Cosmo. He could her him grunting, his own voice spilling out from the sheer force of the blow. The two of them toppled towards the ground and they began to roll across the ground, struggling and wrestling with one another. As this hadn’t been the first time, Rudy felt more well versed in this and he managed to keep Mr. Cosmo from pinning him down.

And this time, it was Rudy’s turn to be on top. He held onto the man’s shoulders tightly and he glared down at Mr. Cosmo, seething through clenched teeth. The two humans glared at one another for several long, grueling seconds, before something finally happened.

Rudy’s eyes widened when he felt Mr. Cosmo kicking him in the stomach. He staggered back, falling off from the man’s body. He felt himself hit the ground, and he had to hold himself up with one hand while the other held onto his stomach. He slowly turned around and his eyes widened when he saw that Mr. Cosmo was coming at him again. This time, he was holding something flat and sharpened, perhaps a small sharp stone that was nearby. Though it was made of chalk and would be affected by his internal fluids, Rudy couldn’t help but look on in horror. He turned to try to escape, but by that point, it was too late.

Rudy would feel a sharp pain shooting through his body, his pupils shrinking into tiny dots. The chalky stone penetrated his flesh, cutting deep into his right thigh, cutting through the sensitive nerves there. He bared his teeth for a moment and he fought against the sheer agony. But he no longer could take it and he pulled his head back and he let out a scream of agony.

“Aaaaah!”

“R-Rudy T-Tabootie…!”

The male teenager collapsed into the ground, curling up into a small ball as the pain echoed throughout his body. He took in shuddering, pained breaths, each one more difficult than the last. His eyes remained wide open and he could feel the blood oozing out of the gash that now adorned on his leg. Through tear-filled eyes, he looked up to see Mr. Cosmo coming at him again.

Rudy lifted his left hand up to defend himself, hoping to catch the man’s wrist before he could strike down again. But Mr. Cosmo grabbed onto it instead. Rudy felt a pang of horror in his stomach when he realized that he just made a huge mistake. He turned his head to look at where Biclops was, hoping the giant would be able to help him.

But became very clear that there was little that Biclops could do. His initial attack was guided by adrenaline and he couldn’t move very well. It also didn’t seem like he could stay awake for much longer. Rudy really was alone right now.

Rudy felt searing pain in his hand when Mr. Cosmo jabbed the same sharp rock as before through his palm. It sliced all the way through and stuck out the back part of his hand. Rudy let out another scream as Mr. Cosmo twisted the sharp rock in there before yanking it out. Rudy remained there for a few seconds, staring in shaking horror at the gaping hole now present in his hand. Then Mr. Cosmo slammed his foot into his side and caused him to roll across the ground painfully. Rudy came to a stop, his body trembling in pain, blood creating a small puddle around him.

“I do hope that you aren’t going to try to foolishly blame me for this, Rudy.” Came Mr. Cosmo’s cool voice as soon as the man saw the glare that Rudy was giving him. He lifted his head up, keeping his eye on Rudy while wearing what looked to be a calm demeanor. But Rudy could just feel the emotion boiling underneath him. “You should have known consequences would have been about if you continued to get in my way. You had led me on more than once and you have consistently broken your promises. Don’t try to make me out to be somebody worse.” He folded his arms together. “I have a better track record than you.”

“Y-Yeah right… L-L-Like the time that you ‘promised’ to leave the z-z-zoners alone if they stuck in the c-city..?”

Both Rudy and Mr. Cosmo stared over at the giant in surprise and confusion.

Biclops gave a weak smile. His breathing was shaky and airy and light. Yet despite that, despite how light his voice sounded, he still managed to speak. “Don’t act like you d-d-don’t know, T-T-Teddison…” He sucked in a sharp breath and continued, “E-Even though the zoners...d-d-did stay in the city bounds.. Y-Y-You s-s-s-still tried to hurt them… You still killed them… Wh-Who is the promise b-breaker now…?”

Rudy could feel his gaze turning to Mr. Cosmo. Nothing about what Biclops said surprised him. That did sound like the exact sort of thing that Mr. Cosmo would try to pull. But it still burned his blood into a charred state. It just provided further proof of how untrustworthy this man is. And he dare to try to criticize him for not keeping his end of the bargain?

But of course, Mr. Cosmo’s expression indicated that it was Biclops whom was the offending one. Rudy didn’t need to hear the man speak to know exactly what he was thinking. The man was glaring at Biclops as if the giant had done some terrible crime. Rudy bared his teeth and he struggled not to say anything. He realized that the man could attempt something against Biclops, even without black chalk, and ‘get even’ with him. He forced himself to stand still, listening to whatever bullcrap spewed out of the man’s mouth.

“H-How dare you bring that up…” Mr. Cosmo’s voice was low, nearly reaching a growling state. “You know why it had to be done.” Mr. Cosmo moved towards the giant, his hands forming light fists against his sides. “You know very well that the zoners weren’t going to stay put. They were pushing their boundaries.”

Biclops narrowed his vertical eyes. “Th-They were just leaving their homes to do errands and….”

“Exactly! When I told them to stay put, I meant not just in the city, but in their own homes!” Mr. Cosmo shouted. “They would have been fine if they had just done that!”

Rudy’s eyes widened at this. “Y-You were forcing them all under house arrest?!” Rudy exclaimed. “H-How were they supposed to get food? Water?”

Mr. Cosmo gave a small scoff, rolling his eyes. “That wasn’t any of my concern. The only thing important to me was that they stayed in their homes at all times so I wouldn’t need to fear them attacking me. They should have listened to me. At least they would have survived.” Mr. Cosmo looked towards the ground, grinding his teeth together. There was a slight shake to his body as he seemed to be recalling this event. “They forced my hand… They kept leaving their homes and I had no choice but to take swift action.” He raised a hand up towards himself, looking at his arching fingers. “It was their fault that it happened.” He closed his hand up firmly. “I had no choice.”

Biclops took in a few heavy pants, staring at the man with an expression mixed with horror and disappointment. He didn’t seem particularly surprised by what the man said to him. Whether or not this was because he had already known about it himself or if he really didn’t find this too surprising was unknown. But it didn’t matter. The end result was still the same.

“Oh T-Teddisson… How f-f-foolish you are…” Biclops said softly. “You see enemies everywhere… a-a-and yet you f-f-fail to see that the b-biggest threat...is yourself.”

Mr. Cosmo replied, “You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re just a….”

“Y-Yes, I’m a zoner. I am y-y-your creation and I c-can’t deny it. B-B-But I… I still…” Biclops had to pause to suck in a sharp breath of pain. It appeared to be getting harder for him to stand up, yet he kept going. “I-I-I-I am n-n-not g-going t-to….stand...idly by… wh-while you tear everything apart…” He took a step forward, somehow managing to keep himself from falling forward. “Y-Y-You never gave me a p-purpose. I gave...m-my self one. A-And my purpose is… t-t-to keep you from restarting your plans from y-years ago.”

Mr. Cosmo snarled at this. “Who said I was going to do that all over again?”

“I-It’s very evident.” Biclops chuckled bitterly. “Y-You don’t...ch-change… You always fall…..back on….the s-s-same ideas. Y-Y-You might say you w-w-won’t harm z-zoners this time, but you a-a-already have, and how long do you think you’d last later on? Interacting with...more z-z-zoners? Y-You’re so afraid, Teddisson. I-I can...see it in….y-y-your eyes. Y-Y-You won’t tolerate...z-z-zoner presence. You’ll….only d-delay it… And then you’ll s-s-strike. The z-z-zoners won’t survive. N-Not with you a-a-around.”

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at the large zoner, but he didn’t say anything to counter what he said. This was more or less a confession to what the giant said. A confirmation that he really was planning something, even if he wasn’t meaning to. Rudy knew Biclops was correct. Mr. Cosmo’s irrational fear of zoners was going to make him hurt them no matter what he said. Mr. Cosmo might be genuine with his words and he might be able to help zoners instead of hurt them.

But so long as he was under the control of the black chalk, this wouldn’t last. The black chalk would make him continuously paranoid, making him more and more likely to attack, to find reasons to see ‘zoner treachery’, as was the case with wanting zoners to stay in their homes. The only way that Mr. Cosmo could possibly be able to keep his promise was if…

...his bond with the black chalk was broken.

Rudy paused at this thought, his eyes going wide open. He stared out ahead at nothingness, his mouth partially open as the thoughts swirled around his head. He could feel something pounding against the inside of his skull as he slowly made the connection.

Yes, his problems would be solved if he were to just...break the bond with the black chalk from Mr. Cosmo, right? But...how would he even pull that off? It did sound intriguing. It may help the man open his eyes and see what’s actually going on around him. But at the same time, it might not be easy to pull off or even worth it. He had no idea if the black chalk could simply ‘reattach’ itself to Mr. Cosmo or not. And he didn’t know just how easily broken the bond could be.

No, he would have to think of something else. There had to be another way to deal with Mr. Cosmo. But what could that be? Rudy narrowed his eyes slowly. He might not know what to do right now, but he would need to figure out something. If he allowed this to continue on… If he wasn’t careful, Mr. Cosmo might… Rudy shuddered at the thought and he tried not to let himself get too delved into it.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud thudding sound. Rudy felt the vibrations echo throughout the ground and he thought he was flipped up into the air. He wobbled a little from side to side before he managed to regain his footing. He shook his head and he looked over to see what happened. His eyes immediately widened.

“B-Biclops!” Rudy called out as he rushed over towards the giant zoner. He stopped several feet away and looked the giant zoner up and down, his hands reaching out and trembling. “Biclops, you have to get up… Wh-What’s wrong with you? I-I…”

“So it seems that he finally couldn’t handle it any longer.” Mr. Cosmo hissed softly. There was no remorse or concern in his voice. But at the same time, there was also no happiness. He was just….completely neutral on what was happening before him. “He tried and tried but even he couldn’t stay up forever.”

Rudy tried to ignore the man’s words. He tried to focus on finding a way to get Biclops to get up. He ignored his own throbbing pain as he attempted to push at the zoner. Biclops wasn’t moving and his breathing… Rudy couldn’t detect it. He felt his blood turn to ice with this realization but he attempted to calm himself down by telling himself that it was likely just shallow. Biclops was still alive but he was badly hurt and needed help.

“Stop wasting your time on him. It’s not going to change a damn thing.”

Rudy flinched at this cold voice seeping into his body. He turned to glare at the man for a brief moment before forcing himself to look away. He kept his eyes on Biclops, scanning him up and down once more, looking for any signs of life, any signs that the zoner was going to get up. He didn’t see any, but that didn’t stop him from remaining put and waiting.

Rudy felt so many things flashing all around him, mostly inside of his head. He took in a few deep breaths, exhaling slowly, feeling his teeth grinding against one another. He tried to force himself to swallow, but it was like he had a hard lump in his throat. All he could do was just stand there, licking his lips slowly. He didn’t know how long he just stood there staring. He could feel his limbs shaking a little, emotion rushing through his body, and he desperately tried control himself, but he just…

He let out a yelp when he felt something grabbing onto his shoulder. He was forced around and he could see Mr. Cosmo glaring at him. Rudy didn’t have much time to say anything before he felt the man’s knees against his stomach. Rudy let out a grunt of pain and he dropped down onto his knees, holding his stomach tightly. A few tears dripped down his face. Gritting his teeth, he looked up to glare at the man.

Mr. Cosmo stared down at him with his lip curling up into a snarl. He was glaring at him with a level of contempt, something that made Rudy shudder as he tried to wriggle himself free. But the man just put more weight on him, keeping the boy pinned on the ground. Rudy could feel his shoulders aching from how the man was pressing his fingertips into them. He felt the pain searing through his limbs and he thought he could feel his injured leg setting on fire.

“It seems your chance of escape has passed. You should have run while you had the chance, boy.” Mr. Cosmo said in a cooled voice. “And now you will have to pay for the consequences of your decision.” Mr. Cosmo paused to lick his lips a little. The sight of it made Rudy shudder and his heart pounded. But despite that, he still held still as he glared at the man above him. He was not going to let his fear dominate his mind. Mr. Cosmo was not going to…

He wasn’t able to finish his thought when he felt another sharpness in his body. His eyes bulged and he let out a small cracked sob from his quivering lips and open mouth. He felt something pushing against his stomach and he realized that the man had stabbed him there as well. Rudy’s whole body went stiff, giving off a few shakes, before he collapsed to the side, his eyes wide open and his mouth struggling to draw in a breath.

Mr. Cosmo moved back and stared at him in silence. “It’s a shame it had to end this way, Rudy.”

The male teenager couldn’t say anything. He could feel blood caking in his mouth as he lifted his trembling head up to glare at Mr. Cosmo. He wanted to at least show some defiance before he could… He flinched in pain.

Mr. Cosmo just stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head slowly. It looked as if he was going to add something else. But it would seem that he had decided against it. The man picked up his foot and he moved it towards Rudy. The teen flinched and turned his head way. But instead of kicking him like he feared, Mr. Cosmo just put his foot on him to hold him down. Rudy looked up at him with one eye, seeing the blooded sharp rock that the man had used to hurt him. Though the rock looked a bit distorted by his blood, it was still very much usable, much to his horror.

Mr. Cosmo slowly raised his magic chalk and held it over Rudy’s body. The boy looked up at him, giving a defiant glare that soon melted in something more fearful. Rudy gave a small, strangled whimper, as he laid himself down and waited for the blow.

Then his eyes reopened up and he could feel himself releasing a small growl. Was he really going to let this man get the better of him like this? Was he really going to just lay here and allow himself to get hurt? He was the one in charge of his destiny, not Mr. Cosmo. He could feel himself shaking and burning up inside and a renewed sense of determination overwhelmed him.

And with a burst of energy, Rudy launched himself at Mr. Cosmo. He knocked the man off of his feet and into the ground. As Mr. Cosmo struggled to get up, he managed to grab onto the man’s sharpened rock and hold it up. He could see Mr. Cosmo freezing as the two stared at one another. And then there was just silence.

sss

Mr. Cosmo stared out in front of him with his tongue nervously licking his lips and his body stiffened. He realized too late that he hadn’t acted quickly enough. He had been a bit too focused by Biclops and making sure that he didn’t get in the way that he hadn’t noticed that he was pushing Rudy a little bit too far. He had realized that the boy’s adrenaline would kick in for one final blow.

And now here he stood several feet away with Rudy pointing the sharp rock at him. He himself was defenseless, the black chalk having rolled away, and Rudy looked like he was ready to charge him. Unlike before, Rudy had a weapon this time. He could try to jam it into his stomach to defeat him that way. Or he could try something else to get rid of him. Either way, Mr. Cosmo was pushed up against a wall with nowhere to go. He could easily outrun Rudy, but he still felt locked into place.

Rudy just glared at the man, his lip curling up into a snarl. He trembled and shook, his emotions obviously running throughout his body. He was making it very transparent how he was feeling right now and Mr. Cosmo knew that the boy wasn’t going to just let him leave easily.

Gritting his teeth, he silently wished that he had done away with Rudy when he had the chance. He could have just grabbed onto him and stabbed him or something, instead of just delaying it. He had many opportunities to get rid of him, and now those missed chances are going to come back and bite him in the ass. He moved a few steps back, but he doubted it was going to lead him anywhere safe. Rudy was right there, poised to attack, and it didn’t seem like his wounds were going to make him stay put for long.

As he stared at Rudy, he did start to feel something off to the side. He could not quite put his finger on it and he could feel himself still hesitating a little. He didn’t want to look away from Rudy. He didn’t know how long he could stay here, staring or not, before Rudy would make his move.

But that sensation… He couldn’t just ignore it. It was almost...pleading. As if calling out to him for help… Mr. Cosmo felt a warm familiarance with tit and he couldn’t help but be drawn to it. He was still a bit hesitant and rigid with his movements, but he did slowly walk towards where the sensation was coming from.

And that’s when he noticed the black glow wafering in the air. He immediately sped up at this realization.

He ran in one direction as quickly as he could. Everything around him seemed to slow down, coming to a crawl. He didn’t stop for anything. He couldn’t. He had to keep going and get to this before Rudy could get him. The boy was slow. The leg wound was slowing him down. He was almost there. All he had to do was reach over and grab it and….

There it was. He could see it on the ground. That beautiful black stick laying on the ground for the taking… Calling for help.. Mr. Cosmo could feel himself starting to smile at the sight of the black chalk. Any sense of fear was gone as he reached over to take the chalk piece.

But it would seem that Rudy was not going to make things easy for him. Before the man could take the chalk piece, he could feel a sharp pain in his side. He could feel blood moving down and he let out a cry of pain before he could stop himself. He turned himself around to see Rudy standing there. Mr. Cosmo took advantage of his injuries and kicked him in his thigh. Rudy let out a pained scream and stumbled back in response. This gave the green-suited man more time to grab the black chalk.

Feeling it in his hands, Mr. Cosmo started to feel powerful again. It felt as if he was reunited with a lost part of himself. It was a weird thing to explain but that’s exactly how it felt. He couldn’t help but smile at this realization before he turned his attention back to Rudy. The young teenager had halted himself the moment that he realized that he was warmed again. Rudy’s facial expression remained distorted but there was a hint of fear in those eyes now. It would seem that he was afraid once more.

As he should be.

Mr. Cosmo could feel his sly smiling returning, a sense of triumph coming over him. He easily switched the situation out and now it was Rudy who had something to fear and worry about. It was Rudy who needed to back away, limping as he did so, staring at the man with a sense of horror. This is how it should be and he was going to make sure that Rudy didn’t get the chance to turn things against him so easily again.

Instead of bothering to say anything, like a rant or whatever, Mr. Cosmo realized that his best bet was to just draw something now to finish him off. There was no need to hesitate. Rudy was injured and slow and couldn’t defend himself well. Mr. Cosmo knew that he shouldn’t keep delaying this. He knew what he needed to do.

He had to kill Rudy Tabootie.

It was still a shame that it had to come to this, but he did understand that at times, sacrifices had to be made. He either had to get rid of the boy or he would continue being a problem. And he wasn’t about to let him interfere again. Drawing in a deep breath, Mr. Cosmo raised up the black chalk and he began to draw swiftly, knowing that he had to make this count. And in seconds, his new weapon would fall into his hands and he would…

Suddenly, he heard a loud scream off in the distance.

“Aaaahhh!”

The sound seemed to echo over and over again, repeating the same thing several times. The whole thing caused Mr. Cosmo to freeze, his head immediately turning in the direction of the scream. His mind went alive with many thought as he tried to figure out just who that was. It seemed familiar. Was it his employees? Had they run into trouble? Did it have anything to do with….

He wasn’t able to finish his thoughts before Rudy suddenly rammed up against him. Mr. Cosmo felt the boy’s weight push against him and try to topple him down. Though Mr. Cosmo did lose a bit of footing, he did manage to keep himself from tripping over completely. He shook his head a little before he turned to glare at Rudy. He snarled at his interruption and he felt his hand forming into a tight fist. The boy just loves getting in the way, didn’t he?

Mr. Cosmo didn’t waste too much time on Rudy, however. He merely grabbed him and shoved him into the ground. He wasn’t much of a threat without magic chalk, anyway. As he glared at Rudy on the ground, he silently wondered just what he thought he could do to him. He was chalkless and as a result defenseless. He would never stand a chance against someone with chalk and Mr. Cosmo was not going to let him get the upperhand like before. He snorted at him before he tilted his head, capturing the sound of the screams. Then he moved his head and stared down the hallway, wondering just what the fuck was going on.

Well, he got his answer a few seconds later. Intermixed with the screams was a loud roar. He recognized that roar anywhere and he realized that it was Draow. It was easy to make the connection that Draow was the cause of their distress and he felt his eyes narrow deeply. Just what the hell did Draow think he was doing?

There was no time to keep wasting on that, though. The sounds were too distant and he did have something to take care of first. Draow’s punishment could always come later. Shifting his head, he went to address Rudy himself.

...that is, until he could feel the boy’s arms wrapping around him tightly. At a glance, it almost looked like the boy was giving him a hug. But the man knew better. He had to twist and yank himself free before Rudy had a chance to stab him again with that sharp rock that he stole from him.

“Pesk little brat…” Mused Mr. Cosmo. “You just can’t make this easy on me, can you?”

Rudy took in a few shuddering breaths. Though pain was evident in his voice, Rudy did not show any signs of submission. He was doing a relatively good job with suppressing his fear as well. “Do you think...th-that I’m going to just...let you g-g-get me that easily…?” Rudy gave a bitter chuckle at this statement. “C-Come on, you can’t be that stupid!’

Mr. Cosmo felt his remaining eye twitch at that insult. But he managed to keep his cool. It was rather easy to do so when he was the one with the upperhand at the moment. All Rudy could do was just stand there and try to act tough. With his own chuckle bellowing out, Mr. Cosmo replied, “Of course not. I shouldn’t have expected less from you. But I have to wonder…” He leaned in forward and gave a light smirk. “Do you think you can do better than your precious aunt?”

Rudy’s eyes flickered, registering this statement. He released a soft growl. “I’ll make sure of it…”

Mr. Cosmo could only just smile at this. He highly doubted that Rudy could do much in his state. If anything, this battle would be over very quickly. He just needed to finish drawing that weapon and then he was golden. Or…. hmm, he could always make it interesting and hold back a little, just enough to let Rudy try to get at him again. He wasn’t going to let him get far, but it would be fun to see what Rudy would try to pull off.

As such, the man just stood there and waited to see what Rudy was going to try doing next. There wasn’t much he could do except charge right at him. But Mr. Cosmo raised his black chalk threateningly, silently showing Rudy that he was not going to get out of this mess so easily. He needed to show him that he was going to need to think of something more clever than what he was already doing.

And it seemed Rudy understood this. The boy wasn’t attempting to charge towards him or anything. He was sort of just standing there, glaring at him hatefully, a small snarl forming on his lips. Despite being determined, that was not going to get the teen far and he seemed to realize this. It all depended on how well he executed his next plan. Was he going to charge in blindly? Or was he going to pull off some kind of trick?

He just had to wait and see.

When several minutes passed, or what felt like it, and there was still not any kind of response from Rudy, Mr. Cosmo could feel himself start to grow a little bit impatient. Why hadn’t the boy attacked him yet? Well granted, there probably was a good reason. Rudy likely realized that he was in trouble and was hesitating to move. But Mr. Cosmo didn’t want to just stand here and stare at him. So he began to move to take some kind of action.

It was then that he realized that there had been a reason for Rudy’s silence. He had seen the boy’s eyes flicker. He had seen the way that he moved his hand, as though to signal to someone or something. But just whom could Rudy be making this towards? His stupid blue friend was nowhere in sight and Biclops was out cold. So who could Rudy possibly have as an ally that would…

He could feel a hand wrapping around his neck. He gave out a small gag as he was lifted up. He could feel a tightening at his throat where the hand squeezed and he gasped for air. The sight of mismatched eyes meeting his own caused him to freeze. It wasn’t hard to recognize what this thing was.

It was that jellybean zoner.

His head immediately filled with several questions. Just where did this zoner come from? Where had he gone? How long had he been standing there? When did Rudy realize he was there? Why was this thing even listening to Rudy? Was there something that he had missed when…

Mr. Cosmo’s thoughts were interrupted when Skrawl, the jellybean zoner, pushed him up against a nearby wall. There was a glare stretched along his face, his yellowish teeth bared. From the looks of things, it didn’t seem like he was actually siding with Rudy at all. Perhaps this was more for himself. Perhaps Skrawl had his own reasoning for going up against him that he hadn’t considered. But just what did Skrawl want to do with him, and why? Well other than the obvious, of course.

There was a bit of uncomfortable silence at first. Mr. Cosmo spent all that time looking into Skrawl’s mismatched eyes. He listened to the zoner’s low growls. What was actually a few seconds felt like it was lasting much longer. He could feel his blood cool down a little, but he struggled to control himself.

“Don’t let him scare you…”

“Remember, you are the one with the chalk…”

Yeah, that was right. He was the one with the chalk and the one who had bigger control over this than the stupid jellybean ever would. Mr. Cosmo tried his best to push aside his fear as he raised up his piece of black chalk to quickly draw something. And as soon as he created it, he pointed it right at Skrawl.

“Hold it right there…” Mr. Cosmo snarled. “You should have known better than to try to take me on, zoner. You should know who the superior species is. You have some nerve in trying to go up against me and now…” Mr. Cosmo put his finger on the trigger. “You’re going to pay for that.”

Skrawl started at him, blinking slowly, before he began to smile. “Well honestly, I’m well aware I can’t go up against a creator on my own….” He drolled a little bit. He gave a few small chuckles, which caused Mr. Cosmo to flinch. “I mean, do you think I would believe I would stand a chance?”

Mr. Cosmo tilted his head to one said. “Then why the hell did you bother to…”

Skrawl’s eyes flickered and seemed to almost glow. “Did you think that I came alone….?”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes started to widen at this, rapidly realizing the zoner’s implications. That was when he happened to look to look over the zoner’s body and he could see that something was moving in behind him. Mr. Cosmo immediately sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the group of four zoners coming towards him.

sss

There was no telling how much time he had left. If he wanted a chance to get a piece of white chalk now, this was the only time that he could do it. He didn’t know why Skrawl came back, but he was grateful that he had. This would give him a bit of time to head on over to the White Chalk Chamber and..

Oh shit, just where was it? He couldn’t tell where he was in the mines at the moment. He didn’t know if he got turned around due to Skrawl’s sudden appearance. He didn’t know if he had made a wrong turn due to not remembering. But whatever the case may be, he still continued on forward. There was little else that he could hope to do.

Rudy could feel his chest heating up and nearly bursting into flames as he kept on running, trying to move his feet as quickly as possible. He could feel the sweat pouring down his face. He could feel his mouth opening up wider in order to take in a few deep breaths, hoping to keep as much oxygen in his blood as possible. He stared out ahead of him, seeing the blurry mess that he knew were the tunnels, and he hoped that he was going the right way, or it would present itself to him.

But something told him that he may have taken a wrong path. The thought filled him up with anxiety and he realized that this meant that he’d need to turn around. But that would not work out so well for him. There was little room for him to do that; he knew Mr. Cosmo was still there and he had no idea how long Skrawl was going to last. It was better that he just keep going and hope that something would come of it.

He blinked a little when he noticed there was some kind of opening at the end of this sloping path. He could feel his body moving forward a little from the gravity and he had to force himself to slow down a little. He couldn’t risk tripping up and smashing his face, after all. He continued on forward, and eventually he could see the opening right before him, clear as day.

It appeared to be a bit of a broken arch, a sharp chip in the middle of it. The opening itself was narrow as well. It looked more straight, as if a giant claw had opened it up. It didn’t look like anything he’s seen before. It didn’t have the same exact feel as the Red Chalk Chamber or the Black Chalk Chamber, that’s for sure. But this wasn’t enough to make him go in. He still found himself hesitating, biting his lip.

Should he really be doing this? Should he be going into some place that he had no idea what it would…

But did he have a choice? He needed to do something in order to press on and he could either ignore this door or more on. And he knew that, if there was any magic chalk in here, his best bet was to go inside and see what it was all about. It wouldn’t take long. He just needed to go inside and then…

Within moments, Rudy could feel himself entering the room. He took a moment to look around inside of it. Massive and kinda stretched out, clusters of magic chalk hanging up on the ceiling. And they were all white chalk.

Rudy could feel himself sighing with relief. Then he froze slightly as he recalled that magic chalk usually had just one chamber. At least, that’s what he recalled. That’s how it was for the red and black chalk, as well as the other types that he knew existed but didn’t know the powers of. So why was this even here? Why was there a second White Chalk Chamber?

Well, he couldn’t stand here and ask questions like that. It was just going to waste time. For all he knew, Mr. Cosmo might already be on his way to get to him. He was going to need something to defend himself with. So he made his way towards the nearest cluster and began to reach for a piece of chalk.

Then he stopped himself. He stared carefully at the white chalk cluster before him. He was familiar with the sparkles of the white chalk and how colorful they usually were. This..was more or less the same, but he thought that he could detect something a little different about it. Something about it didn’t seem one hundred percent what he was used to. Maybe a few colors were missing? Or it was sparkling a little faster than usual? It was so minute yet it he could easily notice it. And it made him start to wonder if..

Nah, he was just being silly. He was acting paranoid just because he was in a hurry and knew that he had a dangerous opponent coming for him. He brushed off his initial fear and he pushed himself forward, making his arm stretch outward and grab the piece of white chalk. He yanked it once and it easily came undone.

Perhaps a little too easily…

Rudy shook the thought out of his head as he turned around to look at where he had come from. He could just go after Mr. Cosmo himself right now, or he could just wait instead. Hmm, waiting might be a better option, actually. It would give him time to prepare for Mr. Cosmo’s arrival and it would ensure that he would have the upperhand. Mr. Cosmo might not even know of this chamber and when he eventually found him, he could not prepare so easily.

Rudy narrowed his eyes in determination. Yes, that’s exactly what he’d do. He soon just stood there and glared at the opening before him. He clutched the white chalk piece in his hand tightly and he waited in silence for Mr. Cosmo to arrive.

Then he looked around slowly, a small smile spreading along his face. But before Mr. Cosmo would arrive…

sss

She.. She had to get out of here. She had to keep running. Faster and faster her feet carried her, and she didn’t dare look back. Not even the agonizing pain shooting up her leg was enough to make her stop. How could she? With that thing right behind her…

Ms. Teelar tried not to let the past events replay in her head. She tried not to remember how Draow had ripped off Mr. Malcolm’s hand or how Mr. Malcolm himself had collapsed into the ground. She tried not to let the anxiety and horror twisting in her stomach slow her down from what she needed to do. She just carried on, moving herself as fast as she could. She would get out of here. She would survive. All she needed to do was…

“Rawr!”

She could feel her blood turning into ice when she heard Draow right behind her. She wanted to turn around and look, but she feared that this would put her in a more vulnerable position. She bit her lip firmly and she swallowed hard. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest and it felt like it was going to break through, spilling out everywhere. She put her hand to her chest and she seethed through her gritted teeth as she kept going.

She could feel herself hitting against a wall as she desperately tried to go faster. She let out another seethe as she rubbed her shoulder, trying to make the pain go away. But given the other pain she was already feeling, from the wounds that Draow had given her, it wasn’t going to make much of a difference anyway.

Ms. Teelar looked over her shoulder to see where Draow was. She didn’t want to, but she felt compelled and before she knew it, she could see the shadows along the rocky walls. She cringed at this before she kept going. She had no idea where she was headed nor was she aware of her exact position. All that she knew was that she had to get the hell out of here before Draow managed to get his claws on her.

Everything became nothing but a blur. All the sounds became distorted. She could feel herself starting to spin. The ground itself felt was if it was moving about. She felt like she was being forced to jump throughout an ever moving maze. The images around her were stretched beyond recognition. Her mind could not longer tell that she was even in a cave or if she was outside or what. She was only aware of her own breathing, her own pain, and her own movements.

And then after an indiscernible amount of time had passed, she could feel herself skidding to a stop, her mind just barely registering what was before her. She came to a halt, the sudden stop causing her body to bend forward a little. She had to flap and move her arms to keep herself righted up. And when she was, she turned her head to stare at the room around her.

The first thing that she saw was the portal.

Ms. Teelar stared at it wide-eyed, a sense of relief washing through her body, making her feel like she wanted to collapse into the ground. Her legs wobbled as she struggled to keep standing up. She never thought that she would see this again. She had to resist the temptation to kiss the portal.

Reminding herself that she needed to get into the portal and shut it down before Draow comes in, she immediately headed towards it. A part of her did feel a little bad in locking the others humans, whoever was still alive, into that dangerous, horrendous chalk world. But they could find another way out, right? And besides, keeping Draow out of the Real World was more important. Now, where was the switch for this…

The woman suddenly froze in her tracks. She put her hand to her face and she struggled to breathe, to move, to do anything, as she stared out on the ground. The smell of iron already filled her nostrils before she could identify what this was. That part didn’t take her long.

Bodies… Torn up bodies everywhere… All strewn about and bloodied… A pool of blood, a few of them actually, were sprinkled everywhere. As she looked around, she had to put her hand to her mouth once again to keep herself from vomiting.

She couldn’t even recognize who these people were anymore. All that she knew is that they had been killed. She could see their looks of death on their faces, how their eyes were glassed over and lost all sparks of life. She could see their desperation in trying to get away from their attacker, only to get dragged down by...something.

Ms. Teelar scrambled to get back, her heart racing. She felt herself slip and she fell down, sliding up against the wall. She held onto her head as she brought her knees forward. She breathed in and out through clenched teeth, her heart pounding and struggling to get out. She pressed her fingertips against her fingers and she bared her teeth. Tears moved down her face as she let out a series of small whimpers and cries.

Oh gawd… What had happened here…?


	71. Ending With A Blood Stain

“You and I…” Skrawl hissed as he brought his claw over to tap the bottom of Mr. Cosmo’s chin. “...have a lot of things to..discuss…”

Mr. Cosmo looked at the jellybean with widened eyes. Skrawl could see the fear that radiated from them. He enjoyed the sight of this. The man’s fear of him and his Beanie Boys was preventing him from doing much of anything to defend himself. It was clear that Mr. Cosmo wanted to do something, but he was just locked in place, frozen with fear rattling through his body. This was going to make this so easy…

Perhaps a little too easy. At least Rudy Tabootie would be fighting back.

“P-Please… I-I’ll do whatever you want…! J-Just let me go…” Whimpered Mr. Cosmo. He clutched at Skrawl’s hand and tried to yank it off. Skrawl hardly needed to do anything to keep him from succeeding. A simple growl was enough. “Please, have m-m-mercy..”

“On you? Mercy?” Skrawl turned his head to one side. He raised his lip into a small snarl as his eyes blazed. “Why should I do that with you? Look at what you’ve done to me.” He pointed at his forehead where the nail had been put in him not so long ago. “Even I would not be this cruel…” He lowered his hand down and pointed his claw towards Mr. Cosmo. “So tell me why I should consider letting you go.”

Mr. Cosmo let out a series of small whimpers and cries, unable to bring himself to answer. All he could do was just struggle pathetically in the zoner’s grasp. Skrawl just glared at this display, shaking his head slowly. He had hoped for more of a fight. Instead, he just got a big baby. Perhaps Mr. Cosmo was not that much of a threat after all.

He turned his attention to the nearby Beanie Boys. They weren’t doing much of anything. He hadn’t even ordered them to do anything to Mr. Cosmo. They were primarily here to give him some backup just in case and to intimidate the stupid man. Perhaps it had worked out a little too well, but he didn’t see much of a reason to tell them to do anything to him. He could handle it himself.

But perhaps…

Skrawl motioned to one of his Beanie Boys. He watched as they came on over slowly, watching him carefully and looking silently for orders. Skrawl didn’t need all four of his Beanie Boys to stay with him. He could send one out to find a certain someone. After all, it wasn’t just Mr. Cosmo that he wanted to deal with. And it wasn’t Rudy Tabootie. He would deal with him later.

“Go out there and find Bardot for me.” Skrawl told the Beanie Boy in a low, hissing voice. He struggled to control his shaking. A part of him still couldn’t believe that he had fallen for the yellow zoner’s tricks. “I want to ‘speak’ with him as well.”

The Beanie Boy immediately saluted him. “Yes, Skrawl, sir. It will be done.”

Skrawl growled softly. He wasn’t interested in the formalities right now. He just moved his hand forward and flicked it a little. “Just get going already!”

Without a word, the Beanie Boy immediately turned to flee, heading in whatever direction they decided as best. Skrawl watched them leave in silence, making sure that he was actually following his orders. Only when the zoner was far enough gone did he turn his head back towards Mr. Cosmo.

“Now where were we…?” He asked in a low, growly voice.

Mr. Cosmo shook his head in desperation, clenching his teeth tightly. “C-Come on now… W-We can work something out, r-r-right…?” Mr. Cosmo gave a weak smile and chuckle, as if thinking that was going to pacify the massive zoner before him. Skrawl just raised an eyebrow a tad bit. “R-Rudy did try to t-t-tell me that zoners were...not always v-v-vicious. M-Maybe we could work something out?”

Skrawl blinked once at this before he gave a smile. Not one of welcoming warmness or anything, but one to show him as looking more sinister. “Rudy told you that?”

Mr. Cosmo gulped loudly at this. “I-It’s true, isn’t it…?”

Skrawl chuckled, “Well sure. A lot of zoners can be...negotiated with. “He held his hand up in gesture at this. Then he brought it down and showed the man his claws. “But that doesn’t include all of us…”

“P-Please...there must be something! I…” The man squirmed a bit more in the zoner’s tight grasp. Tears were evident on his face and desperation wreaked from his body. It was almost enough to make Skrawl feel bad for him. Almost…. “I-I-I’m sure there’s something else more worthy of your attention! J-J-Just name it and I’ll….”

“Why should I listen to you?!” Boomed Skrawl as he put his face close to Mr. Cosmo’s. The man trembled at his sight. Skrawl snarled at him, “I can’t believe you’d be foolish enough to try to ask me such a thing! I know what you’re going to do! You’re just using this as a distraction to save your pathetic little hide!” He listened to Mr. Cosmo whimpering as sweat and tears moved down his face. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t rip you apart…”

Mr. Cosmo looked like he was struggling to speak. He looked like his voice had been ripped from him. It was a really pathetic thing to see and Skrawl could no longer find himself being amused by this. If anything, it’s overstayed its welcome and he just wanted to be rid of him at this point.

Skrawl slowly raised his other hand up. He held it above the man’s hand, getting ready to strike. Mr. Cosmo looked up at him pleadingly, shaking his head in desperation. Skrawl just narrowed his eyes. He was not interested in hearing this man whimper and cry any longer. With his arm muscles tightening up, he got ready to strike down.

That is, until something made him freeze.

sss

Getting to where she needed to go wasn’t easy. She was moving at a much slower pace than what she was used to. She would have been there by now had she been using her usual mode of transportation. And of course, being tired from the anesthesia certainly hadn’t helped her.

But here she was, groggy for the most part, struggling to keep her eyes open, being moved along in a small carrier. She felt like she was some kind of canary being taken to some unknown destination. The thought of it made her cringe and she desperately wanted to escape. But no matter how much she flapped her wings, she knew that she wasn’t going anywhere.

But perhaps, if these people were being honest, it was going to be worth it.

“You are sure that you will let me go if I do this?” Asked Spy Fly carefully. “You promise that you will let me leave if I show you where Mr. Cosmo is most likely going to be? And where I believe Snap had gone?”

The zoner that held her, whom she didn’t bother getting the name of, nodded his head curtly. “Why yes, deary... “ The zoner said, giving off a weird chuckle. “Just show us where they gone off to, and we’ll let you go.”

Spy Fly frowned a bit at this. She wasn’t sure how much she could trust this zoner. She appeared to be some kind of witch, complete with the green skin and scraggly black hair. But she also knew that she couldn’t judge someone just by their cover. There was a bit more to a person than that. Cliche, she knew, but sometimes she really did have to remind herself of that. This green-skinned zoner just might do what she said she would do. She had to give her the benefit of the doubt.

Besides, she could always try to figure out something else just in case. She wasn’t sure what yet, but she was confident that, despite her grogginess, she would think of something eventually.

The insect zoner was snapped out of her thoughts when her cage was shook a little. She could feel herself wobbling back and forth and she had to steady herself. She held onto her stomach, a nausea feeling coming over her. It would seem that she had a long way to go to recover from the anesthesia. She put her hand to her mouth and wrenched a little bit before clearing her throat and raising her head up.

“Now now, deary, don’t be day dreaming. We’ve got a someone we need to find. So please pay attention, will you?” The witch zoner said in an eerie calm voice. She appeared to be smiling, but how much of that was genuine wasn’t certain.

Spy Fly wanted to glare at the witch zoner, but she soon thought better of it. She might have some sort of tie with Snap and if she said or did anything wrong, she might be in for...quite the retaliation. So all that she could do was just smile and nod slowly. She knew that this zoner could be her best ticket out of here.

“Okay, just keep going this way.” Spy Fly instructed. “I’m pretty sure that this is the right path.”

“Pretty sure?” The witch zoner raised an eyebrow. “I thought you said you…”

Spy Fly nodded her head. “Yes, I did. But because I’ve not yet fully…. Well you know with the anesthesia…” Spy Fly made a few looping motions with her fingers. “I would have to apologize ahead of time if I make any dumb mistakes.”

The witch zoner frowned. “Are you trying to back out of the deal?”

“Of course not! Just trying to warn you.” Replied the insect zoner. “Perhaps you all shouldn’t have taken me into that room and knocked me out if you wanted me to help you find that little blue runt.” Spy Fly froze for a second at that statement, wondering if it made her look a little too…. Nah, the zoners could just write it off as the drugs still affecting her.

“You know why that needed to be done. I don’t think I should have to repeat myself to a person like you.” The witch zoner moved a little bit faster. She held out the small carrier holding the tiny zoner out in front of her and she said, “Now keep telling us where to go, you little bugger.”

Spy Fly growled at this, but she was in no condition to be doing much to fight back or retaliate. She couldn’t break through this herself without getting hurt and she knew that the witch zoner wasn’t alone; she had brought with a few other zoners, a couple of them doctors, to help her with finding Snap and Mr. Cosmo’s location. Spy Fly had accidentally revealed she knew something of that man, but though the zoners didn’t figure out how connected she was to him, it was still something to be concerned about. She had no idea how she was going to reconcile this with Mr. Cosmo and of course these zoners were going to make it harder for her to…

But how much did she care about Mr. Cosmo at this point, anyway? The man did basically leave her to be killed by that one vicious zoner and she was lucky to be alive. She wasn’t even sure how she lived; she just recalled waking up in the hospital. Had she flown herself there and just forgotten? Or did someone take her there? A part of her was almost grateful but another part was just simply annoyed.

But she tried not to think about that right now. She licked her lips slowly and swallowed hard and she tried to refocus her attention on giving directions. She would worry about the details later. All that mattered was giving these stupid zoners what they wanted.

And then she was out of here.

sss

“Do you understand what we’re saying?”

“Yes, officer, but I…”

“Then you know that there’s consequences for this.”

“Please, if you would just listen…”

“We will have to discuss this later.”

It felt as if her whole world was crashing in around her. She felt frozen in place, unable to move or think. She could only just stare at the man before her, licking her lips nervously, struggling to think of some way that she could respond to this. But there wasn’t much that she could say. She knew that she had fucked up and she couldn’t just try to lie about it. She could only lower her head.

Mrs. Sanchez wasn’t sure what she was going to at this point. She felt as if so much was happening at once. Her daughter, Rudy, his parents and her friends….and that damned woman and her business partner… Mrs. Sanchez felt her teeth grind against each other. If she saw either of those two again, she’ll…

“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to come with me after your daughter is released from the hospital.” The officer stated, cutting her out of her thoughts.

“C-Can’t it….” Mrs. Sanchez started to say.

The officer furrowed his eyes deeply. “I’m already stretching it by giving you more time. Normally I’d have you taken in right now. But given the circumstances, I’m being more lenient than I should be. You should be grateful for that.”

Mrs. Sanchez turned her gaze downward once more. “Yes, officer.”

The man folded his arms against his chest and gave off a small huff. “I still can’t believe you thought it was a good idea to not report your daughter missing and on top of that, you let her go off with a complete stranger. I would have thought that you, as our town’s best local vet, would know enough about responsibility to…”

“Yes, I know I went and goofed up! You don’t need to rub it in my fucking face!” Snapped Mrs. Sanchez. She squeezed her hands into small fists as she trembled hard. She closed her eyes as hot tears moved down her face. “Y-You don’t need to remind me of how much I f-f-failed as a mother… I’m suffering enough knowing that Penny was...and it was my fault for….” She couldn’t speak for any longer after that point. Her voice distorted and she just started to breathe in and out heavily with broken sounds.

If she was hoping for any sympathy from the officer, she didn’t get it.

“Whatever, lady. You screwed up and you must pay the price for it.” The officer scribbled something on a piece of paper. He then tore it from the packet that it had come in and she shoved it against the woman’s chest. She gave a small grunt as she was pushed back a little. She looked at him with narrowed eyes before she turned to stare at the piece of paper in her hands. Before she had time to read it, the man said gruffly, “That’s our appointment. I gave enough leeway for your daughter’s sake. Be there and we’ll chat more.”

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t have time to reply before the officer disappeared from view. He was already heading down the hallway, likely to his next assignment. Not that it bothered the woman that much. She didn’t know if she wanted to really deal with him for any longer. She just snorted as soon as the man was out of view and she forced herself to turn around and walk away.

There wasn’t much reason for her to stay here right now. The last doctor that she spoke with said that Penny wasn’t going to be ready for a visit until a few more hours. The woman didn’t think that she could handle staying here for too much longer. She couldn’t handle all the accusing glares she had been getting ever since she accidentally revealed her folly. She realized that leaving might also make her look bad as well, but she needed a break from all of this. She needed a bit of breathing room so she could relax. She didn’t want Penny to be affected by her negative emotions.

Without hesitation, the woman turned and began to walk away slowly. She felt a little guilty about doing this, but she silently promised Penny and her two friends that she would be back for them later. She wouldn’t leave them high and dry. She just...needed a bit of time was all.

sss

What in the world had been happening around him..? He couldn’t really remember too much other than he was feeling really groggy and uncomfortable right now. It was as if something had slapped him in the face and he didn’t know how exactly to respond to that. And this weight that was pushing down against his chest… Ugh…. What had gone on here?

Mr. Tabootie felt a burning sensation around his eyes. He felt a dizziness clouding around his head and it was like he hadn’t been sleeping for days, or he had been sleeping for too long. It was a really weird combination that left him feeling a bit sick. He had to rub his stomach a little bit, but doing so aggravated something that he couldn’t yet identify. He couldn’t even tell where he was; his vision was darkened and blurred heavily.

Mr. Tabootie tried to take a good look around him, blinking slowly. He turned his head from one side to the other, scanning the area carefully and he looked for any signs of...well...something to help him figure out what was happening here. He couldn’t really note anything except everything here seemed a bit….white for some reason.

His eyes widened very slowly and weakly. There was a small surge in his stomach that lasted just for a few seconds. It was long enough for him to register that it didn’t look like it was his own home. But then he felt too weak to respond much to that and he ended up nearly collapsing once more.

He took in a few deep breaths as he attempted to recover from what had just happened. He didn’t think that he was going to experience such a sudden drop in energy like that, let alone a quick burst of it. He tried his best to keep himself under control, slowly licking his lips as he tried to look around once more and get some sort of information from his surroundings. But he just didn’t think that he could. He felt so tired and so hungry and so weak and he just….wanted to go back to sleep.

The only thing that prevented him from doing just that right then and there was when he started to realize that a particular set of blurred colors began to look more and more like…

“M-Millie..?” Mr. Tabootie croaked a little. His wife didn’t respond, but as hs vision cleared, he was able to tell that this was indeed Millie. And she was sleeping on some kind of a bed. One that didn’t look very familiar and yet somehow did. How could this be?

Then it slowly dawned on him. It took a little while for the full impact to hit his mind. But he soon realized just why he was in this weird room that he didn’t recognize.

It was a hospital specifically.

Something must have happened to him and Millie.

The realization didn’t bring to him much comfort. If he weren’t so exhausted right now, he would be panicking as he tried to figure out just what had happened. He still felt some burning anxiety chipping away at his stomach and he could feel his head aching as the emotions spread to his head. It never got worse than a bad headache at the moment, but he did realize that, as he woke up some more, it was going to tear him apart.

And he wasn’t sure if he could deal with that. Not right now. Not after all this confusion going on. Perhaps he was just better off going back to sleep and maybe… No, that would only make things worse. He had to try to stay awake and just brace himself for whatever was about to come.

He just needed to hold on for a little while longer. One of the doctors would come in soon and explain the whole thing to him and his wife. He didn’t know if he could handle playing the waiting game, but he did understand that it would be worth it in the end. And hopefully his anxiety would vanish once he understood what went on and what to prepare for. Then all of this could be put behind him and…

Wait… There was something that he had nearly forgotten about, a fact that made him sick to his stomach. How could he have forgotten about this?

Just who was watching Rudy…?

And where was he..?

Mr. Tabootie clutched at his chest as he felt his heart speed up, the monitor beside him beeping a little more to indicate the change. He took in a few steady breaths and tried to force himself to calm down. But the adrenaline rose inside of him and he felt dizzy once again. Then came the sweaty palms and he began to grow increasingly unaware of his surroundings.

sss

At first, Mr. Cosmo was very confused as to why Skrawl had stopped moving like he had. He was getting so close to making the final blow to him. Why in the world would he just stop like this when he had the chance to get rid of him? That just didn’t make any sense to him. Not that he was complaining, but…

Wait a minute, that look in his eyes.. Was Skrawl in pain?

Mr. Cosmo looked at the jellybean zoner up and down and he took note of his injuries. He hadn’t noticed them in his panic, but he was swiftly reminded that he had electrocuted Skrawl earlier, did he not? And he had hurt him badly enough to knock him out. It seemed that what was going on is that Skrawl’s body was catching up to his mind, and letting him know firsthand the trouble that he was actually in. The realization made Mr. Cosmo smile.

Indeed, Skrawl did look like he was having a hard time. He was wobbling a little bit and he was a tad bit shaky. He swayed forward and back and he looked as if he was going to drop down onto the ground any time soon. He was clearly struggling to keep himself righted up, his hand going to his forehead and rubbing it, seething through clenched teeth. Skrawl shook his head and rubbed it a bit harder before turning to glare at the human.

“I’m going to make sure that you…”Skrawl couldn’t finish his sentence. What seemed like a sharp wave of pain came over him, causing the jellybean zoner to let out a cry of pain and stagger back. His grip on the man loosened up. “Gah!”

Mr. Cosmo took full advantage of this. With a simple twist and yank to one side, he managed to free himself. He flinched as the claws scratched him up a little. But it was not really that bad. Just a few minor scratches. He rubbed his hand around his neck a little, soothing the pain rapidly, he stared intently at the large zoner before him.

Now what was he going to do with this zoner? He could just finish him off. Make him regret ever setting his hands on him. He could make him cry out in pain and watch him suffer. He could do all sorts of things just to get his revenge on him. He didn’t have as much inhibitions with this zoner as he did with Rudy. After all, Skrawl was a zoner. Why should he care if he got hurt or not? There were plenty of other zoners that would do the trick just fine for what he wanted and he could make sure that they were more obedient. Skrawl was just too rambunctious and was just not worth the control.

But he could also just leave. Skrawl, despite appearances, wasn’t too large of a threat right now. He was weakened. Him calling for his companions’ help was not just to intimidate him; it was because he actually needed the help. He might deny it to himself and to anyone who asked. But deep down, they both knew the reason for this. And it was going to bite him back in the ass big time.

Slowly, Mr. Cosmo raised up his black chalk piece. Already, the fat floating zoners were taking action. He could see them moving in towards him, holding out their grubby little hands, trying to grab onto him to protect their master. Mr. Cosmo smirked at this, releasing a small chuckle.

There was a brief moment of fear, which did cause him to freeze up a little. But in the end, he managed to force it out of his system long enough so that he could begin to draw something with the black chalk. The floating zoners did move faster at this, but they weren’t really too swift. They were obviously not created to be a particularly agile type of zoner. This made it way too easy to draw something before they had a chance to get close to him.

Using his newly drawn net, Mr. Cosmo twirled himself around like some kind of ballerina. Not a smart move considering things, but it did allow him to scoop up the stupid fat zoners into the net. The electricity immediately activated, shocking the zoners into submission. He then pushed the net down into the ground and stepped on the handle, using his weight to hold the three roundish zoners to the ground. He soon used both feet to do this. The zoners squirmed around frantically, but they slowly became subdued as the electricity continued to zap through their bodies, robbing them of their strength.

“Hey! What do you think you’re doing?!” Skrawl shouted, apparently having recovered from his momentary trance. He pointed a claw towards Mr. Cosmo and called out, “Release them at once! They’re my…”

“Yes, I know. They’re your little minions, whom I’m sure do a lot of your dirty work, right?” Mr. Cosmo asked with a smile. “They are nothing more than tools to you.”

Skrawl curled his lip up into a snarl. “Don’t you fucking dare try to lecture me, you little hypocrite!” Skrawl took a step forward, his mismatched eyes glaring right at Mr. Cosmo’s singular eye. The man could almost feel the zoner’s breath on him. “You were using me like I was a fucking toy!”

Seeing Skrawl this close and this angry did cause some fear to dwindle in Mr. Cosmo’s chest. But he still managed to hold his ground, showcasing a face of courage and determination. “So it’s fine for you to use other zoners. But it’s not okay for you to be used as well? Isn’t that so ironic and pitiful….” Mr. Cosmo tilted his head slowly to one side. “What exactly makes you so special?”

Skrawl looked like he was going to respond. But it was clear that the man either had him stumped or made him realize that there wasn’t anything that he could say. So all the jellybean zoner could do was just hold still and glare at him, snarling softly.

Mr. Cosmo couldn’t help but chuckle at this. It certainly was helping him with start to control his fear of zoners a little better. It wasn’t a miracle cure but he was noting that Rudy was right in a way. His zoner phobia was indeed impairing some of his decision making. Well he can rectify that as best as he could with Skrawl here. He could try to force back his fear enough so that he could do something other than…

Skrawl suddenly leaned forward. Mr. Cosmo felt a bone chilling fear striking him as the large zoner tried to swipe at him. He staggered back as he just barely managed to avoid getting hit. He ducked down, feeling the claws swiping above him. Then he leaned himself away and he could see Skrawl trying to hit his stomach. Mr. Cosmo did manage to escape the blows and he still managed to keep standing on the net, the three zoners trapped underneath it. Mr. Cosmo remained frozen there for a few moments before he narrowed his eyes at Skrawl.

“Is that the way you’re going to be?” He asked coolly. “I wish you wouldn’t make this so difficult. But I should expect this from a hypocritical zoner like yourself.”

Skrawl opened his mouth up to speak. But he wasn’t able to say anything. Any attempts ended in failure. It was clear that he didn’t have much of a response to that statement. Was it because he knew that he was right? Or was it because he was just frustrated? Whatever, it didn’t matter at the end. At least he managed to make the zoner a little bit...dumbstruck by his words. The thought made him smirk softly.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t make another move just yet. He tried to figure out how he should best handle this. He didn’t want to waste too much more time on them. They weren’t his primary target. He had something else in mind and something else that he wanted to take care of. Hmm… His mind began to float around a little in deep thought.

Well, it did seem obvious that Skrawl wasn’t interested in doing business with him. He had already attempted it. The jellybean had not only declined, but seemed really angry that he ‘dared’ to ask. He feared that if he were try to pull something like that, then he was only going to anger the zoner even further. That was not something that he could afford right now. He was painfully aware of how awry his own internal fears could get and it didn’t matter how much that he prepared for them. Something could always happen.

But there was always a way to getting what he wanted. There were always workarounds. He didn’t reign supreme in ChalkZone, as the others put it, for that long without knowing a few tricks. There was always more than one way to slice a cake.

Mr. Cosmo began to smile softly, letting his teeth show in a grin. “Skrawl… Do you really think that helping Rudy is beneficial to you…?”

Skrawl growled at this. “Who said I was helping him? I’m doing this for myself!”

Mr. Cosmo chortled. “Yes, yes, but you still helped him escape. Tell me, will that benefit you in the long run?” He tilted his head to one side. “Will that grant you anything that you haven’t had before? Do you think that Rudy is going to be true to his word and be any better than me?”

“You seem to have gotten something mixed up.” Skrawl seethed through gritted teeth. “You act as if he and I struck a deal. We didn’t. I am letting him go...for now.” Skrawl moved in closer, staring intently at the human before him. “Right now, you’re the one on my agenda. You’re the one that I care to deal with. You’re all that matters to me right now.” Skrawl showed his claws to the human, though he did not take a step closer. Did he really care about his minions that much? How adorable… “I know that if I try to work out any sort of deal with you, then it’s not going to end well for me. At least with Rudy, I know the brat will keep his word.”

Mr. Cosmo couldn’t help but smile at this statement. He gave a bitter chuckle, his mind sorting out the memories, fresh and recent on his mind, of how Rudy had backstabbed him more than once. If Skrawl was going to try to convince him that Rudy was trustworthy, he was barking up the wrong tree.

But okay, he supposed he could try to play that game. Not like there’s anything else he could do to move things along. Well except just killing them. But like he tried to tell Rudy, he wanted to avoid that unless absolutely necessary. If these zoners had something they could do for him, he would much rather have that. Not that he would be too worried if he did have to get rid of them, though. After all, they were just drawings.

“So..are you going to give them back or not..?” Skrawl growled softly. There was a certain tone to his voice. One that suggested that he was willing to take action if he didn’t comply. “Because I would appreciate it if you let them go.”

“Oh you’re asking me politely now? Is it because you’re too afraid to get them yourself?” Spoke Mr. Cosmo. He chuckled when he saw how Skrawl growled at this, looking as if he had just did him a great offense. Mr. Cosmo kept his single eye on the large zoner, that hideous monster who thought that he had some kind of control or say in any of this. He was such an idiot, wasn’t he? However… “This brings me back to the question of Rudy. Why do you think he is more trustworthy than me?”

“You really need to have that explained to you? And I thought you were supposed to be clever.” Skrawl commented with a small sneer on his face.

Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this. But though he could have let this anger him, he instead let it roll off of his back like it was nothing. Just like a zoner to try to get him worked up so easily. Tilting his head upwards a little, he said, “But has Rudy always fulfilled what you believed he would? Had he never let you down?”

“Of course he…” Skrawl suddenly stopped, his eyes widening a little bit.

Mr. Cosmo continued to smile. “A little birdie told me he did...something to make you upset. Now I don’t really know how bad it was….” Skrawl lifted his head up a little as he continued watching him in silence. Mr. Cosmo continued speaking, holding his hand up in gesture. “But I’m sure Rudy had a good reason, right? He always seems to have a good motivation for what he does, am I correct? Or am I just barking up the wrong tree?”

Skrawl still didn’t respond. His mind was likely going a million miles an hour, struggling to think of something that he could say or do in response to this. But the more he tried, the more silent that he became. The sight of this made Mr. Cosmo smile even more broadly. This was going better than he thought it would. Well wasn’t that just simply delicious..?

Mr. Cosmo folded his arms behind his back and hunched himself forward, making himself look both awkward and intimidating at the same time. He gave Skrawl a small smirk and chuckled, rather enjoying the zoner’s uncertainty and confusion. He would have paced around to complete the image, but he didn’t want to let these zoners get away from him. He wanted them to hear this as well.

“So what you are implying to me is that Rudy has not only hurt you, but you’re still willing to help him? That’s the reason you don’t want to help me. Aren’t you being hypocritical?” Mr. Cosmo waited to hear if Skrawl had something to say. Of course he still didn’t respond. He just released a low growl. Mr. Cosmo said, “Or if you would like, care to tell me exactly why this makes sense?”

Skrawl immediately took a step forward, curling his fingers into a small fist. “Well of course I would! You spineless idiot!” He raised his claw upwards, as if to lecture the human. “It’s because….” He immediately froze. But despite that, he struggled to speak, forcing words out of his mouth as though he were trying to wrench.

And Mr. Cosmo was enjoying the sight of this pathetic display.

sss

“Gah…!” Rudy hissed to himself as he put his back to the wall and slid down slowly. He could feel himself touching the ground moments later, seething and trying to ride out the pain that he was feeling in his...well multiple places. The adrenaline had worn off and now he was feeling the full impact of pain from his wounds.

The agony radiated throughout his body, concentrating on here the injuries had been. He could feel it in his hand, in his stomach and his side. He could feel the blood seeping down from the injuries, warm and sticky, and the droplets fell into the ground. The smell of iron invaded his nostrils, causing him to flare and snort. He attempted to rid himself of those smells but no matter how hard that he tried, it only seemed to get worse.

He would have tried to draw himself a bandage of some kind. But there was nothing that he could do about it. No matter how much he would try drawing something with the white chalk, it would dissolve with his blood. That option was out of the window for him and he couldn’t do a thing about it. He could try using his own clothes, but that might just give him an infection or something, and that would most certainly make the situation far worse than it already is. He had no choice but to wait.

Rudy tried to control another bout of pain that struck his body. He resisted the urge to clutch at his wounds and he tried to keep his left hand as still as possible. He also tried to keep quiet, but that was much harder to do. He could feel himself starting to whimper softly as the pain continued to eat away at him. It was all catching up to him and he could feel himself practically dripping with regret. He should have….

But he realized that, even if he could figure out a way to stop the pain, there might not be much time. He didn’t know when Mr. Cosmo would show up. He needed to focus on that first. If he dared to miss a beat, he might end up getting swallowed up by the man’s determination. He knew that, without a doubt, Mr. Cosmo would take advantage of his condition. And that was not something that he could afford right now.

Yet he also couldn’t just stand around and do nothing but wait. He already wanted to try to draw some traps around here, to set things up to give himself some level of defense or when the man arrived. But how could he do that when he was in excruciating pain? How could he hope to accomplish any sort of preparation if moving around hurt him? He had his doubts that he could just ignore the pain just like he had before. No, that would be asking for too much.

Hmm...but what if he were to create just one trap? One thing that he could use to gain some sort of upperhand? He could just make one big trap that he could use to keep himself safe to some degree. It would allow him to get an edge over the man as soon as he walked into this room. Yes, that just might be his best option.

But shit….how was he going to move? Could he really handle all that pain? Could he just stagger and limp about and try to act as if nothing was wrong? He needed to be able to carry himself long enough to draw some kind of trap and make sure he did it quickly enough so that Mr. Cosmo could not see it. Would that be possible? There was a chance that it would be, but also the chance that… But he had to at least try, right?

There was something that he could try. It might not help him feel completely better and he would likely still limp. But perhaps if he made himself some kind of split, positioned where it wouldn’t touch the blood, that might help support him long enough to draw something before Mr. Cosmo arrived. It was the only thing that he could think of to do. He would have to give it a shot now, as he had no idea how long that he had left.

He rose the piece of white chalk in his hand and stared at it for a few seconds. He drew in a deep breath and he sighed. Well, here went something.

Rudy flicked the chalk upwards a little, beginning to draw rapidly. He looped the chalk around, moving it up and down, and soon materialized something stiff and flexible that dropped into the ground. He could hear it clanging, metal against metal, scraping along each other as it fell completely down. Rudy stared at it, taking note of the size and thickness. He hoped that he had managed to draw this right. He reached over to…

“Yeowch!” Rudy whimpered loudly as he clutched his leg. He had stepped forward a little too quickly. The weight easily irritated his limb. He had to freeze and back up and try to calm himself down. He had to take a few quick breaths for several long moments before he felt any sort of difference. He shook his head once and shuddered, trying to usher the pain out of his body. Then he moved on.

He leaned in towards the item and reached down to grab it. He held onto it with his fingers and stared at it before he attempted to put it on his leg. Doing so with just one hand took painfully long. His left hand was too damaged to hold anything anymore and he couldn’t just shoot himself full of adrenaline again to make that happen. But despite it being slower than usual, he could at least manage it. Now all he had to do was tighten this strap here and…

He froze when he heard a distant growl. He couldn’t tell if it actually came from a zoner or a human, and he didn’t even know if he heard it all. He might just be hallucinating. But whatever it was, he couldn’t get himself to move, with his neck muscles becoming hard and rigid. He remained in this spot for what felt like several minutes before he could get himself to turn his head.

Just as he thought. There was nothing there. No one. It was just his mind playing tricks on him again. He growled softly. A part of him couldn’t believe that he had been that stupid. Well he was certain that worst things could have happened, right? After all, he really could have been in trouble and had very little time to do anything about it. Giving a soft snort, he resumed securing the brace on him.

In a matter of seconds, it was hooked up to his leg. He tightened it a little and secured it as best as he could. He moved his leg up and down a little to test it. But the real moment of truth wouldn’t be until he tried to step down on it. So very carefully, taking his time, he placed his foot on the ground and began to apply pressure to it.

Geeze, it still hurt. It wasn’t as bad as before. He was at least able to walk a little more steadily. But the pain still jolted up and down his leg, tearing into him painfully. He released a few small whimpers as he tried to cope with the pain the best that he could. He took a few more steps to test himself out more, and then he decided to just press on with what needed to be done.

He headed towards the entrance of the chamber. He stopped a few feet in front of it and looked around a little. He studied the immediate area to try to figure out what trap would be the best to draw for this. Surely there had to be something that would...

Hmm.....yes, that just might work. He would have to figure out a way to modify it, sure, but it just might be what he needed in order to trap Mr. Cosmo and prevent him from going anywhere. And even if it was only temporary, even if Mr. Cosmo could get out of it, it would still buy him enough time to draw something else to hold him still for longer.

Well, here goes nothing.

Rudy had to go slow and steady, much to his chagrin. But it was either that or he would just constantly trip over himself from the agony. So he opted to move as fast as he could without hurting himself. Which..wasn’t a lot, but it was better than an absolute snail’s pace. He held up the magic chalk and he began to draw as quickly as he could.

The teenager started with drawing something along the ground. He dragged himself along carefully as he tried to make a perfect rectangular shape. He moved it around completely and soon he was finished. He could see the glow flashing momentarily, letting him know that it was all set in place. But he wasn’t yet finished. He moved to the side as he tried to figure out where the rest of this stuff was going to go. Then he began to flick the magic chalk once more, getting everything ready and in place.

Attaching to the thick structures on the cave walls were chains, made to be as clear as possible, almost invisible. They hooked up to the door he had set up below him, right in the front that pointed at the exit. Rudy tested it out by tugging at the chains, taking note of their strength. Then he had it lifted it up and he peered underneath. He still needed to work on what kind of trap this was, but at least he had the basics down.

Leaving the lid open, Rudy went to work rapidly drawing something. It was tempting to do something painful. After all, that evil man did deserve it. But instead he just opted for something simple yet affective. A thick tar pit was put into place, bubbling and almost sizzling. It should be strong enough to prevent the man from trying to escape and if he fell down, well it was game over for him. Would it be painful for him to get out? It was likely; he imagined that it would be like a rat trying to escape a sticky trap.

A bit cruel anyway, but Rudy was getting desperate. And this man did deserve to feel some of the pain that he had caused others. Mr. Wilter and Ms. Saffron were just a couple examples of the people that Rudy wanted to avenge. He might not have been able to fully reconcile with them, especially Ms. Saffron, but he would at least see to it that their deaths weren’t in vain. He clutched his right hand into a fist to show his determination.

After rigging up a frontal trigger, a simple button for Mr. Cosmo to step on, Rudy felt it was ready. Maybe putting on a bit of dirt to cover it, but provided the man came in quickly enough, the trap should be triggered.

Now all he could do was wait.

Of course, there was no telling just how long he would have to wait. He didn’t know when Mr. Cosmo would arrive. He didn’t even know if he would get here at all. Perhaps he should do something to make sure that Mr. Cosmo would come this way? Some kind of lure, that would be rather easy for him to draw.

But not a sound-based one. The walls here would make it echo too much. No, he should use something much more visual based. Something that had bright colors on it that would be hard to miss. Then just program it to find one particular human and lead him back to one other certain human. It likely wouldn’t be completely flawless, but it would be something at least.

Moving as quickly as he could, Rudy draw a small beacon, complete with four flashing lights of different colors, rapidly moving around like a searchlight, and he did a few more quick things with it before he allowed it to go off. He started at it for a few moments before he lifted it up with his right hand. He then raised it up into the air and he could feel the tiny blades twirling around, going faster and faster, until it began to lift off into the air. He could feel the small gust of wind as it went, moving around into the air and it began to move off in the direction that it had been programmed with.

Rudy looked around the cave room behind him and he tried to figure out a good place to stand. He needed to be a little obscured, but he also wanted Mr. Cosmo to see him. Being around the center seemed like a good choice, but that might throw the man off. So perhaps moving towards the side was better, to make it look more like he was trying to hide.

Hmm, this pillar seemed like a nice spot. It was located above a large cluster of overhanging white chalk, which made even better and more convincing. Of course Mr. Cosmo would be able to believe him to hide in a place that gave him some sort of advantage. And what better way than near some white chalk? It would motivate Mr. Cosmo to rush in and get him before he managed to grab any more white chalk pieces, and it would make it much easier for him to activate the trap and get stuck inside the tar.

It was perfect.

With no further hesitation, Rudy went over, limping a little, towards that spot. He moved himself underneath the cluster of white chalk above him and leaned against the edge of the rocky, twisted pillar. It wasn’t the most comfortable place to put himself, but it would have to do. Rudy tried to sit down without aggravating his injuries. He ended up putting his left hand on the ground by mistake, though, and he let out a cry of pain. He yanked his hand back and gently rubbed it with his uninjured hand before staring out at the entrance, silently waiting.

And as he did so, he thought he could hear more distant sounds. He swallowed hard and he tried to keep himself focused. He tried to control his rapidly beating heart, increasing in speed, as the time ticked away slowly. It became rapidly unbearable and he wasn’t sure how long he could stay calm before...

There was also something else. What of Snap? He was still out there. If Biclops could escape from his protection, who could say Snap wouldn’t try? And if he was, would there be anything that he himself could do to help him? What if Mr. Cosmo tried to…

Rudy’s train of thought stopped when he could hear another distant sound, one that seemed closer. Was it Mr. Cosmo? The boy huddled down, unable to do anything except just...wait.

sss

Ugh… Why did everything hurt so badly…? Waking up alone was bad enough, but to do so while in so much pain…. He gritted his teeth tightly. All he could do was just press on.

Bardot growled softly as he forced himself to be dragged along the ground. Every part of his body was aching, almost set on fire. He wasn’t sure if he had any bruises or not, but it certainly felt that way. He could feel his head pounding, as if a drill was being put up against it. He tried to rub his head but moving his legs like that hurt him too much. He was reduced to only crawling along the ground like he was some kind of a pathetic creature.

Bardot began to silently scold himself. He could have managed to escape all of this if he had just skipped all the formalities in the past and just...taken care of what he wanted to do. He should have gotten rid of Mr. Cosmo instead of just toying with him. He could have been able to destroy him. He had gotten out of his cage many times and messed with his workers. He could have messed with him instead and manage to break him and then finish him off. Oh why had he decided to take the slow route?

And now because of his stupidity, it was just...all gone. He doubted the red chalk would forgive him for not handling things as well as he should have. The red chalk had those humans, anyway, so he was no longer required. And without them, he didn’t have a way to defend himself. It’s not like there existed any sort of magic chalk that a zoner could use. He chuckled bitterly at the thought. That would have been something, wouldn’t it?

He seethed sharply as he felt pain in his leg. He lifted it up and shook it, trying to make the pain go away. Of course, that didn’t work and he never believed that it would. It just made him feel a little better that he was trying something. He put his foot down and, fighting against the pain that was still present, he moved forward slowly.

Bardot turned his head left and right, trying to gauge his surroundings a little. There wasn’t too much familiar around here. At least, he wasn’t able to recognize anything here. Just another winding tunnel taking him to another part of the Chalk Mine, away from the Red Chalk Chamber. He could go back, but would he even be able to reach the old location from here? He had been wandering a bit aimlessly, just struggling to get to some distant location that he didn’t even know about. Just...anything was better than sitting around and doing absolutely nothing to improve the situation.

Bardot wondered where Teddisson could be. The thought of that human’s name made him growl softly. He normally thought of that name with humor. But now it just served as a reminder that he had goofed up with getting rid of him. He thought of himself as clever, but if he were, he would have just killed Mr. Cosmo the first time he had gotten out of his cage.

Perhaps that’s why Mr. Cosmo didn’t take him as seriously as he would have liked. Sure, he was still afraid of him, but not to the point that he himself would have preferred.

Bardot shook the thoughts out of his head as he pressed on. He was only going to think himself in circles if he continued like this. He continued walking ahead, a few times limping and twitching, the pain still dominating his mind. He was going to find a way out of this. He just needed to…

He suddenly caught a whiff of something in the air. He tilted his head upwards and turned it left and right slowly. There was some kind of smell that wafered through his nostrils. Familiar smell, but it wasn’t anyone that he wanted to find. He couldn’t identify the individual, though. He only knew that it was someone that he had run into before. That...didn’t narrow it down by far. Regardless, he followed the scent.

Bardot lifted his head up some more and he sniffed loudly, continuously, refusing to do anything to stop. He moved forward slowly and took each step deliberately. He scanned the area with his eyes, shining of determined green, at every detail around him. He didn’t see any signs of anyone here, but for some reason, the small just kept getting stronger and stronger. And as he moved himself to go a little faster, heading right towards a circle of shattered rocks and a smaller one, it got to its highest point he had experienced.

And yet, there was nothing here. No matter how much he looked around, he saw nothing. It was just a blank area. Bardot scratched the side of his head in confusion. What the fuck was going on here?

Bardot moved towards the large rock. He walked around it slowly, staring at it up and down, trying to examine it. He couldn’t tell what it was, outside of just being a rock. But there had to be a reason why it was covered in these smells. Perhaps there was something else here that he was missing. Maybe that person had just rubbed themselves all over the rock and that’s what he was smelling. Well whatever it was, he just…

He heard a small sound. Scraping almost, and a small, very faint cough. Bardot blinked at this before taking a step forward and putting the side of his head against the rock. He listened intently, his ear struggling to take in any sound that he could. And that’s when he heard it.

“I-Is anyone there…? P-Please help me…”

Bardot yanked his head back and stared in shock. Was that...Snap…? What was he doing in there? How the fuck did he even manage to… Nevermind, he just needed to get him out of there. He raised his thick sharp claws up and he began to strike at the object again and again. Rocks slowly crumbled down, his claws scraping loudly. But he knew it was going to take repeated effort before he could…

“You there! Bardot!” A voice called out from behind. “Stop what you’re doing and turn around!”

Bardot felt his body stiffening at this sudden cry. His fur raised up a little and he could feel himself releasing a low, guttural growl. He slowly turned his head and he began to glare at the zoner who had dared to intervene.

Some sort of round, fat zoner that could somehow fly? Well that was certainly different. But he couldn’t let himself get distracted by this fact. With himself releasing another growl, Bardot started to make his way towards the zoner. He raised his tail straight up, swishing it from side to side. His eyes did not leave the zoner’s face and he looked for any possibility of an attack. He wasn’t about to let this thing get the best of him.

The zoner was glaring right back. But there was some kind of...hesitation in his eyes. It was hard to tell if he was afraid of him or just simply didn’t want to waste his time on this. But whatever the case might be, it was still pretty interesting to see this reaction. It just might help him overcome this zoner before he could do much of anything. With a small smirk spreading along his face, Bardot took a few steps closer.

“Oh hello there...are you lost?” Bardot asked. He realized that he was lost as well, but he wasn’t about to let this zoner catch wind of that. He raised his paw up and he began to lick it slowly and rubbed it against his face, looking almost feline-like in mannerisms. “You certainly seem that way to me. Do you need any assistance?”

The large floating zoner just gritted his teeth. He still seemed hesitant, even as he pulled his sleeves up a little more, exposing his thick arms, and flexed his fingers as he got ready to grab onto him. Then he began to approach, getting steadily closer.

Bardot raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what this zoner thought he was doing. Did he really think that something like this was going to work? Feh, he had no idea what he was attempting. Perhaps he didn’t know who he was? Or if he did, well…. He would believe him to be stupid. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch, honestly.

Bardot merely sidestepped when the zoner tried to grab onto him. He looked over at him, continuing to watch him with some level of confusion. “You really are something, aren’t you? So persistent…”

“Sh-Shut up…! You’re coming with me…! By orders of Skrawl….” The zoner began to say.

Bardot’s eyes widened slightly. “Whoa, whoa…. Wait a minute!” He waved his paw up and down quickly. “You’re with Skrawl?!”

The zoner nodded his head. “Of course I am! Haven’t you ever seen a Beanie Boy before?” He pointed his thumb to himself. “We’re loyal followers of Skrawl. And you..” He pointed at the four-footed yellow zoner and added, “...are whom Skrawl told me to fetch! He wants to deal with you right now.”

“Oh he does now?” Bardot chuckled. “I don’t ever see the reason why he would.” He turned his head to the side and gave a small snarl. “Doesn’t he have anything better to do than just chase me around? Is he really that attracted to me?”

The Beanie Boy stared at Bardot with a shocked expression, making it clear that he wasn’t expecting that kind of response. But he didn’t let it slow him down for long. He narrowed his eyes more deeply and he released a small growl. He held up his fist as though that made him look intimidating and he took another step towards the yellow and red zoner. “If you don’t come with me right now, I’ll…”

Bardot shrugged his shoulders. “Did you ever think of how you were going to do this? Did you think this far?” Bardot lowered his paws back to the ground as he gave a small sneer to the zoner before him. “I think you might have wanderd yourself into a tricky situation. I wonder how much Skrawl has told you about me. If you knew anything, you would have known to be a little more cautious with me.”

“Is that some kind of a threat?” Hissed the Beanie Boy. “Because if it is…”

“Take from it what you will.” Bardot said dismissively.

This was just a giant waste of time. Bardot wasn’t interested in standing around here and just chit chatting with this guy. Nothing was going to get done this way. So instead of engaging this zoner any longer, Bardot merely turned his back on him and he began to head on over where Snap was.

“H-Hey! Don’t you walk away from me, pal!” The Beanie Boy cried out. Bardot still ignored him and just kept walking away. The Beanie Boy began to sound clearly upset, more so than usual. “I’m not leaving without you! So either you turn your fat ass around or I will make you! And you won’t like it if I have to make you!”

Bardot didn’t even spare the zoner a glance. Why should he? There were other things on his mind right now. If that zoner was really that serious or dangerous, he would have done something by now. He imagined that he was just trying to sound tough to make him feel intimidated. Well it wasn’t working. If anything, all that zoner was doing was embarrassing himself.

Now about Snap… Bardot still didn’t know how he was going to get him out of there. And he didn’t even know how it happened at all. Did Rudy do this? It did seem like it was drawn and maybe Rudy was trying to hide him. Or maybe Mr. Cosmo did this. Well whatever happened, he just tried to focus on getting Snap out of that small pocket of rock before he…

“Bardot!” Shrieked the Beanie Boy. “I’m going to….!’

“That’s enough, Beanie Boy!”

The two zoners suddenly froze at this new yet familiar voice. They swung their heads behind them and they could see the large, roundish zoner coming towards them, his remaining feelers dripping forward almost as if he needed them for…

Their minds trailed off when they took notice of Skrawl’s face.

The Beanie Boy let out a sharp gasp as his hands were brought to his mouth. He seemed to have forgotten all about Bardot as he moved in a little closer to the jellybean zoner. “S-Skrawl! Wh-What happened to your…”

Skrawl raised his claw up, stopping the Beanie Boy. His other hand still coverd his face, blood dripping from where his eyes would be. The extent of the damage could not be seen, but the sign of blood and the amount of it gave Bardot and the Beanie Boy a good idea of what had happened. After a few heavy pants and seethes, Skrawl growled, “There’s been a change in plans…”

The Beanie Boy and Bardot glanced at one another, both silently wondering what Skrawl meant by this.

sss

It hadn’t been too difficult dealing with the jellybean zoner. Mr. Cosmo hadn’t found it too hard to lure him into a false sense of security, or at least as much as possible from an already suspicious zoner, and striking. Granted, he did think of doing things differently and he had not actually planned on attacking the zoner. But the black chalk did make it clear to him that Skrawl would have backstabbed him in the end. Yes, this was better.

He didn’t know if the zoner survived the blast or not. As soon as he had let it loose, he had ran off as fast as he could. The fat zoners didn’t attempt to go after him and instead they had stayed behind to help Skrawl. Mr. Cosmo was absolutely certain that they were going to go after him if he stayed there for much longer, so he just kept on going.

His feet pounded the ground heavily as his tongue hung out. He took in several deep breaths, his voice sounding like it was cracked and draining. He could feel his head spinning in circles, something like a rock moving about and irritating him. He didn’t attempt to look behind him, fearful that doing so would slow him down too much and then he would be caught. He felt himself take in another sharp breath as he forced himself to turn, nearly hitting against a rocky wall in front of him.

How far into the mines had he gone? Was he close to the exit or entrance? He wasn’t sure. He just knew that, in his panic, he wasn’t able to recognize anything here. He could feel his vision blurring a little and he forced himself to keep moving forward. His speed had slowed down considerably, but he still attempted to keep up a good pace.

At least he could no longer hear the sounds of Skrawl behind him. But was that a good thing? What if Skrawl was just tormenting him mentally? What if he was just waiting until the right moment to strike? That was still rather possible and he didn’t want to think of what would happen if he…

No, none of that. Just keep going, he told himself. There had to be something that lay out ahead of him. He just needed to keep going and…

He stopped himself when he noticed that, down this hallway, there appeared to be an opening. It was difficult to tell from his angle from before. It was only due to moving his head just right that he could tell that there was something here. He licked his lips slowly as he pressed on forward. He took slow, steady steps as he watched the opening. It was kind of arched in a way and it almost reminded him of the Red Chalk Chamber. But there was no door. Not too surprising. The White Chalk Chamber didn’t have one either, even though it, out of all the chalk, deserved it the most.

Mr. Cosmo soon positioned himself just right beside the door. He stared at it intently with slowly narrowing eyes. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He had no idea what to expect here. It could just be an empty room. But then again, it could also be some kind of trap set up by some zoners. He might look in and see that there were dozens of zoners waiting to rip him apart. The thought caused his heart to pound rapidly in his chest and he could feel his breathing causing his chest to inflate and deflate at a rapid pace.

“It’s all right…”

“Just keep going…”

“We will keep you safe…”

Mr. Cosmo felt some level of reassurance as the black chalk tried to soothe him. It wasn’t enough to completely push back the fear, however. The emotional response still ate away at his chest and stomach and left him feeling both anxious and nauseous. But he did realize that he had to press on. He would never know what’s there until he actually went.

So here goes nothing.

The man pressed his fingers on the side of the curved, slightly jagged wall and he peered his head upwards. He hated having to do this as it still exposed him no matter how careful that he was. So he tried to make this as quick as possible. He looked over slowly, carefully, and once he managed to get something in his sights….he pulled back, drawing in a few deep breaths. He thought he saw something familiar, but before he could look over again, he tried to control his heart rate, beating rapidly and uncontrollably.

Upon looking again, he saw that there was someone over there. Crouched and huddled in a corner. Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened in shock when he realized that it was Rudy. What in the world did he think that he was doing there? Then Mr. Cosmo gritted his teeth. Well did it really matter? At least he found the little brat. Now he could….

Wait, was this white chalk…? Mr. Cosmo’s eyes filled with horror and dread as he looked all around. White chalk hung from the ceiling, dangerously close to the ground in some cases. And Rudy was huddled near one such bunch. He was likely brainwashed by the white chalk to move towards it. Now the boy had a way to defend himself. Mr. Cosmo seethed at this realization. Now what was he going to do?

Hmm… Well he did realize that charging forward would be the best option. There was a straight shot to the boy, though a bit angled to one side. If he were to be careful and if he timed this just right, he might be able to reach the teenager before he could use that white chalk against him. Perhaps now would be…

Hmm….something did seem a little wrong here. Mr. Cosmo stared out ahead, tapping his finger to his chin. What was it about room that felt off to him? Aside from the white chalk, that is. Something felt a little….strange. And it related to how things looked when he stared ahead at certain spots. It was like….they were slightly wobbly and distorted. But that wasn’t possible, was it?

Unless…

Oh fuck… That teen was a clever little brat, wasn’t he…?

Mr. Cosmo quickly realized that he had been right before with his thoughts of someone trying to trap him. But it was not a zoner trying to do it. No, it was that brainwashed little human. Of course the white chalk would use him to do something like this.

It was incredibly faint, but he could see enough wobbly detail to realize that there was something hanging there. He wasn’t sure what the item was specifically. He just knew that something was hanging there, dangling and hooking up to something on the ground. He slowly lowered his gaze to what was on the floor and he tried to stare intently to figure out what sort of trap this was. That’s when he noticed the very faint, almost invisible outline around on the ground, creating a door… A trapdoor specifically. There was no telling what was underneath but Mr. Cosmo had seen enough to realize that Rudy was trying to bait him.

He smiled, resisting the temptation to chuckle. He didn’t want to give himself away just yet. He wanted to take a moment to draw in the fact that Rudy was trying to be clever and devious. He had tried to trick him into running forwards. This was all deliberate. It made him all the more disappointed that he would have no choice but to kill him. That is what they agreed upon, right? He didn’t want to lose such talent. But at the same time, he realized what a threat Rudy would be. If he could reject the black chalk’s attempts to clear his mind once, he could probably do it again.

And he remembered what happened the last time someone had rejected the black chalk…

Mr. Cosmo turned his head left and right as he studied the room here. He soon realized that there should be a way for him to walk around along the edge to the one side and he should be able to get around without Rudy seeing him. He just had to be really careful and avoid touching the...whatever things that they were holding the trapdoor, ready to pull. Slowly but surely, Mr. Cosmo headed forward.

He kept his back up against the wall as he went. He moved slowly and carefully. He kept his feet as close to the edge as possible. He realized that Rudy must have rigged the ground with some kind of button for him to press. He should be safe as long as he stuck to the wall; it was unlikely that Rudy would have realized he would do this.

Or perhaps…

He shook the thought out of his head as he kept on going.

He made slow, painstaking progress as he slid along the wall. He kept his eyes and ears open as he made sure that Rudy hadn’t noticed this yet. It didn’t seem like it. He wasn’t hearing anything in particular that would give make it clear that he was giving himself away. But he still pressed on slowly, knowing that it would just take one slip up to give himself away.

As soon as he thought that, he could hear Rudy giving off a small sigh. He froze and watched the boy’s shadow carefully, listening for any movement. At first, it did seem like Rudy was about to make some sort of move. But then he just relaxed and stayed put, resuming his previous posture it would seem. Mr. Cosmo resisted the urge to sigh with relief. He continued on his way and he gradually got closer.

When he was right around the bend, that was when he knew that he should draw something to take Rudy out. He would have preferred to speak to Rudy and make him realize just how big of a mistake he had made. But then he realized that would only just give the teen more time to fight back. So instead, he opted for something that would just kill him quickly. He didn’t have Draow with him to make it easier, but he could try something himself this time. All he needed to do is draw something long and sharp.

And with that, he rapidly drew a spear. It was made out of carved stone with a very sharpened edge. He held onto it tightly and he moved in closer, slowly walking around as he prepared for another the strike. He just needed to aim it properly. Going right for the neck would be a good spot. Or maybe through the spine so that he was paralyzed, unable to move in case he was still alive after that.

Rudy still wasn’t aware of his presence. He was lifting his head up every so often, looking over at where the entrance was. This provided all the evidence for Mr. Cosmo to confirm that Rudy had been the one to try to trap him. Mr. Cosmo smirked to himself. The boy had failed and he didn’t even know it. Oh well, might as well get this over with.

Mr. Cosmo moved in as close as he could without creating a large enough shadow for Rudy to notice. He looked directly at Rudy’s neck, which was presently exposed enough for him to make a blow. He licked his lips and bit his tongue lightly. He raised his spear up and he took a step forward. Mustering up as much strength as he could in his arm muscles, tightening them up and ready to spring them loose, he started to throw the spear.

Suddenly, a bright white light shined in his eyes. The whole area filled with the brightness, making everything stark white. Despite this already happening to him before, Mr. Cosmo was not prepared for this. He stumbled back and raised his arms to shield his eyes. He let out a small scream as he continued backing away, doing whatever he could to protect his eyes.

Unfortunately for him, he had given himself away.

“Mr. Cosmo?!” Rudy’s shrill voice called out. “How did you manage to get past the… I-I mean…” Rudy cleared his throat and then he tried to sound a bit more authoritative. “I knew this was going to happen.”

Bullshit he planned this, but Mr. Cosmo wasn’t interested in correcting the teenager right now. He instead wiped at his face as he struggled to get the bright white light out of his eyes. He could feel them burning even though the light had toned down by now. After a few more attempts and a few times feeling his nails poking at his skin, Mr. Cosmo seemed finally content with opening up his eyes.

Everything had a higher contrast to it at this point, but it was still enough for him to see Rudy standing before him. The male teenager was glaring at him, taking a defensive stance. There was a mixture of emotion in his eyes, one of them he recognized as pain. Rudy could try to hide it all that he wanted to, but his wounds were plain as day to see them. All Mr. Cosmo needed to do was complete the task. He didn’t other giving Rudy a chance to say anything else nor did he grant him any sort of response himself. Raising his spear up, he charged at Rudy.

The teenager attempted to move back. His leg, even in a stilt, still wobbled and was difficult to move. Rudy wasn’t able to make a quick attempt at an escape and instead he could feel the sharpness of the blade in his side. It was nothing more than a mere graze, but it was enough to cause Rudy to stumble and cry out in pain. He examined the small wound before he stared back at Mr. Cosmo, his eyes wide in terror.

Mr. Cosmo just smiled at this response. He would have flaunted a little bit, especially since his ability to judge distance is impaired with just one eye. A part of him was a little surprised by this and he wasn’t sure if it was just sheer luck or the black chalk helping him. But he didn’t focus on that too much as he walked in a wide circle around Rudy. He studied him carefully as he tried to figure out the next place and time to attack.

Rudy still tried to look like he could handle another attack. He still acted brave and determined. But he couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes, which grew steadily stronger. It was clear that Rudy had been banking on Mr. Cosmo falling into that trap. Since that failed, the boy just...didn’t know what to do.

Now wasn’t this just delightful..?

“I-I am not going to give up…! Do you hear me?!” Rudy shouted at the man, obviously trying to sound more threatening than he actually was. The sight of this made Mr. Cosmo chuckle in amusement. It was hard to believe how determined this teenager was. “I-I’ll make you pay for what you did!”

Mr. Cosmo merely smiled at this. He took a step closer. The very act of doing this caused Rudy to tense up, as though he expected an attack immediately. Mr. Cosmo watched him flinch as he scrambled to move back. He simply continued to smile as he said, “I would love to see how well you can fight against me. Especially like this.” He motioned his hand towards the young human. “But alas, I don’t have time for that. I’ve wasted enough time on you.”

Rudy seemed to shudder, but he still held his ground. He narrowed his eyes slowly. “I recall you acting like this earlier and you didn’t…”

“Perhaps I did, but I wasn’t thinking straight. Too distracted by….thoughts.” Mr. Cosmo admitted. “What thoughts they were….that’s none of your business.” Mr. Cosmo gritted his teeth, letting some of his pent up emotions to rise up inside of his chest. He felt something burning like adrenaline shooting through his body. “I really am done toying with you in these games. That’s why I just want to do...this!”

Mr. Cosmo struck forward with his spear. Though he missed the teenager, he could still hear him yelping in pain. Looking over, he could see Rudy clutching at his leg and side and his left hand was shaky. Rudy had aggravated his injuries with that swift motion, it became clear. Upon seeing this, Mr. Cosmo let himself sneer more broadly as he moved in for another attack.

“It is so sad that it has to be this way. But I know I’ve repeated myself enough. You know what I mean. ”Mr. Cosmo moved towards Rudy quickly. “Now prepare to accept your own bargain!”

Within seconds, he kicked his foot against Rudy’s side, causing the teen to scream as he hit against the ground painfully. Rudy shook his head and looked over at him. He curled up slightly as he tried to shield his side. He wobbled a little as he managed to get up to his feet. All the while, that expression never left his face. It was enough to make Mr. Cosmo laugh.

“Oh don’t look at me that way. You know what I was saying!” Mr. Cosmo looked at his free hand, flexing his fingers a little as he examined them absentmindedly. “You were the one who wanted this to be a duel to the death.” He lowered his hand as well as his head as he stared at Rudy intently. He moved in slowly, like a predator ready to strike. “I can see that you’re weak. There’s no way that you’ll win. My only option is to just get rid of you. That was our deal.”

“I-I… I take it back!” Rudy wailed, a bit of fear clinging to his voice. “Don’t…Gah!”

Mr. Cosmo heard the boy let out a sharp, pained gag when he reached over and grabbed onto his throat tightly. He rammed him up against the nearby wall. The force was enough to make Rudy lose his grip on the chalk. This left him defenseless.

But that didn’t stop him from trying to escape. The boy twisted himself about, trying to squirm himself free. Mr. Cosmo narrowed his eyes at this. With a growl of frustration, he immediately struck against Rudy’s side wound. This attack caused Rudy to stiffen up like a statue, a wave of pain likely hurdling through his body like a laser. Rudy screamed in agony as his boy quivered. He eventually became loose and looked as if he was about to collapse to the ground. He slowly lifted his head up and he stared back at Mr. Cosmo with a wide-eyed expression filled with various emotions.

Mr. Cosmo just glared at him with contempt. It would be easy right not for him to snap his neck apart and be done with it. But something held him back from doing that just yet. Instead, he leaned in closely to Rudy and he hissed under his breath, “There are no take backs, little Rudy….” He looked into Rudy’s frightened eyes as he struggled. He tightened his grip on his neck as he continued, “We had a deal… and no Great Protector backs out of deals…”

Rudy gagged at the tightening around his neck. But he still managed to choke out, “B-B-But you’re no p-p-protector…”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at this before he smiled darkly. “You’re correct, Rudy. I am not…”

He went silent for a few moments as he watched Rudy squirming underneath him. Rudy stared up at him with wide eyes, as though he didn’t think that he would say that. Perhaps he thought that he was going to give a speech on how he was trying to keep everyone safe. But Mr. Cosmo got bored of saying that. And besides, it was nothing more than a ploy by Rudy to make him stall himself so that he would have more time to attack. He was not going to fall for that.

Mr. Cosmo lifted his head up and looked around as he tried to find something that he could use to deal with Rudy. He thought back to that trap and he felt his eyes twinkle. Hmm yes, that would be a good thing to try to deal with Rudy on. What better way to deal with him than by using his own trap against him? He chuckled darkly at the thought, letting himself smile more broadly. He smirked at Rudy before he lifted him up higher and began to carry him towards that trap.

Rudy attempted to escape once more. He couldn’t see where h was going, but the look in his eyes suggested that he had a feeling of what Mr. Cosmo intended for him. Rudy clawed at the man’s hand, digging his fingernails into him. At least, his right hand. His left was too damaged to do much of anything. Mr. Cosmo flinched at the feeling of the boy’s fingernails being pressed up against his flesh. But he ignored him, handling the pain in stride, as he kept on going, refusing to stop.

And soon he arrived at where he knew the trap was. He glared at it up and down, scanning the area briefly to figure out how he was going to do this. Then he moved in closer and he reached down and grabbed onto one of the clear chains. He yanked it upwards, causing the platform to rise up a little bit. But it wasn’t good enough. It would seem that he wouldn’t be strong enough to lift it himself. Would he have to…. No, the boy had set up a way to trigger it. Perhaps he should activate it himself.

Mr. Cosmo walked out in front of where the platform was. He scanned the ground carefully with his eyes, trying to see where this activation was. Surely it couldn’t be anything that complex. And it turns out that it wasn’t. Just as he thought, there was a small, raised button on the ground. Very difficult to notice unless you knew where you were looking. Mr. Cosmo chortled to himself. The boy was clever, he’d give him that.

Without wasting another moment, he walked forward and he raised his foot up. He pushed his foot down on the button, causing the flap to rise up immediately, the chains pulling back and actually holding it in place. Exposed was what appeared to be a thick layer of tar. Mr. Cosmo almost felt disappointed in this, but oh well, it would do just fine. He looked down at Rudy, giving him a dark smile, before he dragged him over. Rudy of course struggled, but he could do nothing to stop Mr. Cosmo from throwing him into the tar pit.

Rudy immediately began to struggle in the tar, attempting to lift himself up. The tar gripped tightly at his skin and clothes and hair, pulling him down with it. The boy’s pain made it even more difficult to pull off. He kept screaming in pain whenever he accidentally aggravated himself. The tar seemed to hold onto him more firmly and get stickier the more that he struggled. Rudy fell against the tar multiple times, creating thick sloshing sounds, before he eventually just gave up and laid there, staring at Mr. Cosmo with a mixture of anger and fear.

“Oh don’t you dare look at me like that, Rudy…” Mr. Cosmo commented. “You were the one who wanted this and you were the one who had to keep making things hard for me. Had you just….” His voice trailed off as he felt a bit of burning anger in his stomach. He struggled to push it away as he said, “Well you only have yourself to blame right now.”

“Wh-What are you going to d-do? Let me sit where and squirm while you get your weapon ready? Are you going to try to kill me when I’m at my lowest point?” Rudy growled through clenched teeth. It was humorous listening to him like this. It was utterly clear how helpless he must be feeling right now. “I-I won’t let you...!”

“Oh dear boy, I don’t know why you’re upset...” Mr. Cosmo folded his arms behind his back as he moved a little closer to the tar pit. He stopped a few inches from it, his smile still boring through Rudy’s face. “You agreed to this, remember? You can’t have your cake and eat it to, or whatever that lame expression is.”

Rudy tried to twist himself from side to side. “As soon as I get out of here, I’m going to go over there and then I’ll...!”

Mr. Cosmo interrupted the boy with a dark laughter. He stared intently at Rudy with his one eye, sparks dancing around it, almost glowing. “Oh little Rudy...you don’t get it do you....” He took another small step closer, his sneer spreading along his face. “You’re not leaving this place.”

sss

His heart pounded loudly in his chest. He could feel his muscles tensing up as he tried to think of what he was going to do. Everything around him ached and he felt sick. He kept on struggling to get himself free, but it seemed like it all tightened around him more securely, preventing him from getting anywhere. He soon collapsed back down, hitting his chin against the tar.

His mind whirled with many thoughts. He could feel hot tears forming in his eyes. He didn’t want to believe that this was possible. He didn’t want to think that it was all going to end like this. The thought made him want to cry and he struggled not to show his tears in front of this evil man. He wanted to remain determined and hopeful. He wanted to believe that he would be able to escape out of this place and beat this guy and then everything would be okay. After all, he had defeated other obstacles in the past. Why should this be any different?

But in the end, Rudy realized that he was just trying to deny the inevitable. He could see the position that he was in. He could see where he was and how he was trapped. He had no magic chalk and he couldn’t even stand up. The tar around him, the same kind that he drew himself to be the perfect trap for Mr. Cosmo, now seized at his body and held him down. He could feel it sticking into his wounds, further irritating them. It made him want to struggle more, but doing so just made them hurt more. It put him in what felt like a vicious, endless cycle and he didn’t know what to do. He ended up going between struggling a little and trying to hold still.

All the while, Mr. Cosmo just smiled at him from the side. The man’s blue-grey eye leveled to him, staring right at him with amusement. He wasn’t trying to do anything to him at this point. There was no telling how long that was going to last, but it was apparent that, if Rudy didn’t do something, he could end up…. This could be….

No, he had to keep trying. He had to show this man that he wasn’t going to be so easily thwarted. He was going to show him that he was going to keep fighting back. He attempted to stand up once more. He twisted and he pulled against the tar, trying to tear away the stickiness that clung to his arms. He did manage to break something off, but it tore off a small piece of his flesh, causing him to scream and clutch his arm.

The resulting action caused him to splash back into the tar pit. He could feel more tar hitting against himself, wrapping around his arms and making its hold ever more tighter. He soon began to feel as though some sort of sticky snake had wrapped itself around his body and there was nothing that he could do about it.

“Why do you keep trying to fight it, boy? You know that you’ve lost.” Mr. Cosmo inquired. He took a few steps forward, his arms folding behind his back. “Why don’t you just accept it now? It will make things easier for you in the end. And for me.”

Rudy glared at Mr. Cosmo. But he kept himself silent. It wasn’t like he was going to listen to anything he had to say. So he tried to keep his focus on trying to free himself. He struggled a bit harder, ripping and tearing at the tar that held onto him. But he realized that, the more that he would break it off, the more that it would just...grab onto him. More would come. If one snapped, three more would return in its place. Oh fuck, why did he have to make this so secure….?

Rudy twisted himself around in the tar pit, struggling to do whatever he could to free himself. He had no idea if he would even succeed, but he would rather at least try. And it did seem like Mr. Cosmo was going to wait until he exhausted himself before he tried to make his final move on him. If that’s the case, then he wanted to delay that from happening. And maybe, just maybe, the next move would free him and then he could defeat Mr. Cosmo once and more all.

But what would he do? Would he kill him? Would he try to have him arrested? He hadn’t thought that far yet. He realized that it was going to be a problem if he did manage to get free. It was possible that…. He shook his head. He tried to refocus on escaping. He could worry about that when he got there.

After a few more seconds of struggling and collapsing, aggravating his injuries further, he could hear Mr. Cosmo letting out an exasperated sigh. He whipped his head and he glared at the man, wondering just what else he was going to say.

He didn’t need to wait long.

“You’re just embarrassing yourself, Rudy. Really, it’s best if you just give it a rest already.” Mr. Cosmo paced around the edge of the platform and stared down at Rudy like he was some sort of disappointing catch. “You are going to die today. Accept it with dignity.”

“Oh fuck you!” Rudy snarled as he continued his struggling. He could see how close the man was and a part of him wondered if he should try pulling him in with him. He soon dismissed it as too risky.

Mr. Cosmo smiled broadly at this and chuckled. “You really are a determined piece of shit, aren’t you? Even your stubborn aunt knew when to quit.”

Rudy felt a sharp pain in his stomach as the man dared to bring up his late aunt. “You’ll get your comeuppance for that.”

Mr. Cosmo blinked at this before he tilted his head to one side. “Boy, you have quite the active imagination. You still treating me like I’m the villain here.” He put his hand to himself, smiling broadly but also shakingly. It was as if he were struggling internally to keep himself under control. “I’m not the one who goes around frolicking with those filthy, no-good zoners. I’m not the one who prioritized their safety over the safety of my fellow man.” He pointed his finger at Rudy. “You did all of that.”

“At least I’m not a slave to the black chalk!” Rudy shouted.

“I’m no slave, Rudy.” Mr. Cosmo shook his head slowly. He looked almost sad. “It’s so depressing seeing you acting like this. You fail to see how the white chalk has turned you into a puppet.” Mr. Cosmo raised his arms and hands up into the air, motioning them outward as if to indicate everything around them. “You’re not seeing what I do, kid. You aren’t seeing reality for what it truly is. You’ve blinded yourself to the obvious. I wish it didn’t need to be this way, but sometimes, it’s just better to put someone out of their misery.”

Rudy felt his eyes widen at this statement. He could see Mr. Cosmo raising his black chalk to prepare to draw something. Rudy felt himself starting to panic. He tried to struggle harder, tried to do whatever he could to get one of his limbs free, just any one of them. But he constantly failed.

He could feel hot tears burning through the back of his eyes. He didn’t want to believe that it all came down to this. He found it hard to digest the fact that, just a few days ago, everything had been fine. They had been celebrating Snap’s creation day and then just…. He ground his teeth together, anger coming to the forefront of his mind, as he recalled when it all started to go downhill.

The moment that he had first seen Draow…

And the moment that he had seen Mr. Cosmo in that classroom…

How Ms. Saffron was dragged along to help capture him and….

Rudy shook his head firmly as he glared at where Mr. Cosmo was. He could see him holding up his gun, pointing it right at him. He could see the glare on the man’s face and he realized that there was no going back now. Rudy puffed up his chest and tried to look as threatening as possible. He wanted to be defiant in the end. But he couldn’t stop his heart from exploding when he saw the man’s finger on the trigger, getting ready to pull it.

“I am really sorry about this.”

Rudy growled softly. He knew that it was bullshit, but there was no point in trying to reply.

Mr. Cosmo’s expression softened up. “I do hope your family is more understanding than you.”

Rudy felt incensed about this damn statement. He wanted to say something to the man, but then he felt himself freeze when he saw that the gun was being steadied so that it was pointed right at his skull. All thoughts of retorting against the man diminished and he could feel his life starting to flash before his eyes once more.

“Hold still and it’ll be over before you know it. You’ll feel a flash of pain for a second, and then you’ll feel nothing at all.” And with that, Mr. Cosmo began to pull the trigger. Rudy flinched at this, shutting his eyes tightly and waiting for the end to come.

Suddenly, there was a loud, guttural sound that ripped through the area, causing them both to freeze solid, the primal rage permeating their very souls.

“Rawr!”

There was the loud pitter patter of footsteps behind them. Rapid and pounding and fast, followed by the heavy breathing of some kind of wild animal. There was a blur that zipped along the ground, heading right for Mr. Cosmo. It all happened so fast, Rudy wasn’t able to keep up. Before he knew it, something rammed against Mr. Cosmo, onto his back, and the man started to fall forward.

Rudy just barely had time to realize that it was Bardot before the beast zoner bit down on the back of Mr. Cosmo’s neck. The man let out a scream of pain and of horror as he started to scramble across the ground, frantically trying to make the zoner let him go. In the process, he accidentally pulled the trigger. A loud bang run out as the bullet began to ricochet off the walls. Rudy ducked down, barely missing getting hit by it. The bullet continued bouncing along. Rudy kept his attention on the scene before him.

Mr. Cosmo tried to grab onto Bardot. Fear was hooked in his remaining good eye, sweat obvious on his hands. He was trying so hard to grab onto the zoner, to rip him off and make him leave him alone. But Bardot just bit down harder on his neck, making the man’s body quake with agony. His claws dug into his body, tearing up his flesh. It was so gruesome to watch. It shocked Rudy that Mr. Cosmo still wanted to fight after that.

And then came the moment that Rudy did not see coming. The bullet hadn’t gone down into the tunnel system like he had thought. It had begun to come back this way. Bouncing all around, sparking as it hit against the rocky surfaces, it headed right for Mr. Cosmo. The bullet hit against Mr. Cosmo’s stomach, tearing right through it. Blood splattered everywhere and Mr. Cosmo began to spill blood out of his mouth.

Rudy did not have the time to take in this horrific sight. He felt himself being pulled down by the weight of his emotions, mostly raw terror, as Bardot appeared to finish the job. He bit down harder on Mr. Cosmo’s neck. There was a resounding crack, a shudder from Mr. Cosmo’s body before it all went limp and silent. Slowly Bardot released the man’s neck and shifted his gaze to Rudy. The teenager remained in stunned and horrified silence, unable to digest what had just happened here.

sss

When she started to feel her eyes opening for what felt like the first time in years, she was immediately struck with an overwhelming sense of dizziness and confusion. There was a sharp, horrible pain in her side and she nearly arched herself to grab onto it. When she felt herself touching the bare flesh, she seethed and pulled her hands back.

And that had only been just the beginning. She became aware of pain snaking through her body even more and her eyes blinked rapidly, but were not able to figure out anything. She felt so wet and thought that she had been sleeping underneath a hot light for hours. And everything around her was just so...blurred and confusing. She could see images flashing left and right and she could see the differences in light and shadow. But for the most part, she was lost in confusion. A bundled up wave of sound and images that she could not discern dominated her field of vision.

She tried to move again, but this time, she was still. Or had she even been moving at all? What if it had been someone else touching her and it hurt and she only imagined herself squirming away? She wasn’t sure how much she enjoyed that option. She didn’t know how horrified she should be at the prospect of being paralyzed.

And just...why was everything so white? Why did she feel as though something was pushing down against her with a sharp brightness that could tear right into her? She gave a small shudder at the thought and she gritted her teeth tightly. Or so she tried. Even her jaws seemed like they were glued in place. Slowly, the realization that she couldn’t move leaked into all of her mind, bringing about an icy, washing effect, and she could feel her heart pounding hard in response to it.

She began to hear words around her. Panicked-sounding words that rang against the walls all around her. She couldn’t tell what they were saying exactly. Only that they were terrified of something and they were trying so hard to do….something, and it seemed to tie in with her speeding heart. Were they trying to calm her down?

At this thought, she began to recognize a few words. Mostly simple ones that didn’t tell her much, like “more” and “stable”. Nothing that would explain to her what was going on. All that she was aware of for certain were all the panicked voices all around her and the fast-moving speed of their blurred bodies. And the fact that they were huddled all around her like vultures, towering over her and staring down at her with eyes that she could not see.

What were they trying to do with her? Were they attempting to help her? Were they trying to keep her down? Should she be afraid?

These questions and more dominated her groggy mind. She felt her mind literally slipping in her head as she attempted to think about all of this while her mind was still loopy. She attempted to move, to struggle, anything to defend herself. Had these people chained her down with something? She didn’t feel anything on her body that would restrain her. Did they do something else? She tried to make the effort to move so hard, but she only ended up feeling a burning sensation in her joint that she tried to maneuver.

Then she could feel something pushing up against her face. She wasn’t able to move her face out of the way. She could feel it pushing up against her skin tightly, creating what felt like a vacuum on her face. She then could feel some kind of strange sensation, like air pumping against her skin. She attempted to wriggle, her groggy mind telling her that this was bad and that she needed to get away.

Then ever so slowly, she could feel her heart rate slowing down. She could feel everything around her becoming dark once more and it felt like someone was turning out the lights in slow motion.

Then she was back in the silence.

sss

“What do you mean she woke up during surgery?!” Shrieked Mrs. Sanchez. “Don’t you idiots know how to do your job?!”

Mr. Tyreek flinched, his face contorting slightly as the woman yelled at him. He held up his hand, signalling for her to stop talking. “Listen, we know how frustrating that this must feel for you. But we assure you, your daughter will be fine. The surgeons adjusted the amount of anesthesia she was getting and she has been put under again. The surgery will have its end time delayed, but everything should be fine.”

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t know how much of this that she wanted or could believe. She felt her teeth grinding together, unable to fully let go of her anger. That was her daughter in the surgery room and she would have thought that these people would know how to…

...but then again, anesthesia is not a perfect science and sometimes mishaps happen. Should she continue to remain angry at these people even after they had done what they could to reverse the issue? They did at least fix the problem before it got worse and Penny was back into having the surgery.

But still, with all that’s happened already and this added on top of that…. Mrs. Sanchez put her hand to her head and gently rubbed it, trying to fight off the headache forming. Just what more could happen?

“Would you like a glass of water?” Offered Mr. Tyreek.

Mrs. Sanchez didn’t have the energy to resist at this point. She exhaled softly and said, “Yes… That’ll be great. Thanks.”

As the man walked away, Mrs. Sanchez leaned back into her chair. She could feel her thoughts moving about, trying to understand what all was going on. Her head felt full to bursting, as though she had dropped too many rocks inside of it. She had gotten too exhausted mentally to be figuring out all of this stuff. As a result, she just wanted some rest right now. She felt that some of her symptoms were soothed when she closed her eyes lightly.

Yeah, that was all she needed. Some rest, and everything would be just fine.

sss

It hadn’t taken long for him to get something for that woman to drink. It felt like he had just been in the hallway, getting a cup and putting it against the fountain’s tip, before he already headed back. He didn’t think that it would be such a short trip. Or perhaps his mind just made it seem that way. Well, it was better to just get this done and over with. He needed some time to himself.

He had already given the cup of water to the woman. She needed something to calm her nerves with. Especially after what happened with her daughter. Knowing that one of your own woke up during surgery....it’s not the easiest thing to tell someone. And he could only just imagine what she must be going through. He was not sure how much water was going to help in this case. But it was still better than nothing.

He had been polite as possible as he handed her the cup. She didn’t try to yell at him, at least. He was still half expecting it to happen. It was always hard to tell how mothers would respond and just because they seemed calm, that didn’t mean something wouldn’t happen.

He was still glad to be out of that room. He never thought that he would see the day that he would prefer the hustle and bustle of a busy day over dealing with one person. But here he was.

He immediately began to head into the lobby room. He needed to give himself a break. He wasn’t needed in the surgery, anyway; he had just been the doctor sent to inform Mrs. Sanchez about her daughter waking up. A bit of a risky move, he thought. Why not wait until after the surgery was over to tell her that? Then again, if he were in the same situation as Mrs. Sanchez and his child had that happen to them, he’d want to know as well. So he couldn’t really judge the rules like that.

He made his way down the hallway, knowing that the lobby wouldn’t be too far He should make it in a few minutes, be able to grab something, and then return before his next assignment. He shouldn’t be gone too long. He...

“So are you sure you want to be doing this....?”

Mr. Tyreek jolted at this statement, feeling his heart eating a million miles an hour. He put his hand to his chest as he breathed in and out rapidly. He turned his head over to see just who had said that. He wasn’t at all surprised to see Ms. Ghadir standing there, her arms folded to her chest.

“Please don’t scare me like that.” Mr. Tyreek commented as he rubbed his chest firmly. He curled his lip up slightly. “You know that you give me heart attacks like that.”

Ms. Ghadir just kept her arms folded and her eyes narrowed at him. “I’m not sure how much longer you want to keep this up.” She held her hand up in gesture. “Don’t you think he will start getting suspicious?”

Mr. Tyreek went silent for a few moments. Then he said, “I couldn’t just let them suffer like that.”

“Uh huh... and what do you think will happen if Mr. Cosmo finds out what we did? Do you think he’ll be happy?” Ms. Ghadir inquired. Mr. Tyreek just stared at her. She narrowed her eyes a little further, obviously not happy with the silence. “You know that I don’t like this anymore than you do. But we also both know that Mr. Cosmo doesn’t take kindly to traitors.”

At this, Mr. Tyreek frowned. “We stopped working for that asshole years ago.”

Ms. Ghadir nodded her head. “But he doesn’t know that.”

Mr. Tyreek froze at this statement. He couldn’t really argue with that. It wasn’t like he and Ms. Ghadir ever said anything about quitting to Mr. Cosmo. They just requested ‘outside work’ and just be outside of the company. Mr. Cosmo likely still believes, even after all these years, that they worked for him. Ms. Ghadir brought up a good point. If the man did find out that he helped remove black chalk essence from two humans, he...was not going to be very happy.

But at the same time, should he really let fear get in the way of what he knew needed to be done? He knew that this was all risky. And Ms. Ghadir here knew it was risky going on. She might be more of the skeptical, pessimistic sort, but she could not deny what she had gained when she backed off from that man.

But there was still more that needed to be done. He and Ms. Ghadir would need to take the appropriate actions to make sure that Mr. Cosmo did not find out what had happened. And they needed to make sure that he doesn’t figure out that Mr. and Mrs. Tabootie ever had black chalk in them to begin with. That meant running some.... ‘scans’ for a lack of a better term. But it was necessary in the end.

Mr. Tyreek raised his finger up and motioned to Ms. Ghadir. “Come on, we should prepare those ‘tests’ for later on. You know, to make sure that....”

“Yes, I understand.” Ms. Ghadir replied.

With that, the two doctors headed down.


	72. One Down One To Go

Silence fell upon the room, permeating anyone that still remained in it. There were no words spoken and nothing that would help anyone figure out the time. It was just a solid block of nothingness and it was like time was lost in here completely and utterly.

Well that is, except for the sounds of breathing and heart beats that echoed here. They thudded against the wall, rising up and down, and almost creating a choir of some kind. This was the only thing that gave any sense of time here. They created something close to a rhythm, a beat that made it obvious that seconds were going by.

But they were slow, painful seconds that made everything feel like it was coming to a crawl. Things felt slower, more clogged up than they likely were. It felt like hours were going by, as if an eternity were befalling on this place. There was a sense of nausea that almost seemed to echo everywhere, making anyone in the room feel uncomfortable.

But despite all that, Rudy still couldn’t bring himself to move.

The young male teenager remained still in the tar pit, his mind going a million miles an hour, and then just stopping like a slab of concrete struck him. He took in a few shaky breaths as he stared at Bardot, noting the zoner’s expression and wondering if he was going to go after him next. Rudy didn’t bother to struggle. There was no way that it would save him from this. He would not be able to get free from what was going on. He was trapped.

Rudy’s eyes looked down on Mr. Cosmo’s body. He couldn’t tell if he was still alive or not, but he had his doubts that he was. He could see how still and prone the body was. He could see the face locked onto something that expressed pain. And he could still hear that horrific cracking sound reverberating off the walls around him.

As he listened to that sound echoing off in his head, he could feel his hand involuntarily moving towards his neck and grabbing onto it. He squeezed his neck firmly, imagining the pain that Mr. Cosmo felt shooting through his own neck. He could feel his heart rate speeding up just at the thought of it, a sense of burning and acid settling down in his stomach. He licked his lips and tasted the bile that was spilling out inside of him. He might have wanted Mr. Cosmo to pay for what he did, but he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted something like this to happen.

And all the while, Bardot just stood there, watching him carefully and silently. He didn’t attempt to speak any words or try to make a move. It was like he was contemplating on what he himself should do. He might be thinking of ways to get rid of Rudy himself, the thought freezing Rudy’s blood. It made him want to struggle more, but he just could not bring himself to do anything. He just felt locked in place.

Now Bardot was starting to head over towards him. He was moving slowly and deliberately, and he only stopped once he reached the edge of the platform. Rudy could see his blood-stained jaws more clearly now and he could see the bit of steam rising up as the blood ate away at his mouth. Bardot didn’t seem to mind or pay attention to this, his eyes focusing squarely on Rudy. He let out a small snort before he started to raise his paw up. Thinking that the zoner was going to attack him, Rudy immediately shut his eyes tightly and looked away.

“Grab my paw.”

Rudy looked over, blinking in confusion. Why hadn’t the yellow and red zoner attacked him yet? He looked down a little and saw that Bardot was reaching his paw out towards him. Rudy, however, hesitated, biting his lip and being unsure of how to react to this gesture. He kept looking from the paw, to Bardot and back. He still expected the zoner to strike him at any moment.

And Bardot took notice of this. He raised his head up and he tilted his head to one side. “Why are you just gawking at me for? Just take my head, you idiot!”

Rudy shook his head at this startling shout before he felt compelled to do what the zoner told him to do. He started to struggle forward, yanking and twisting himself about, trying to get an arm free. He would feel his right hand raising up and he tried to get it close to where Bardot was. He tried so hard to pull it over, and he could see Bardot straining to grab his hand as well. But instead, there was a snapping sound and his arm was pulled back down, creating a small splash.

Rudy took in a few heavy pants, his tongue hanging out, as he said, “I-I can’t...reach…”

Bardot put his paw down and frowned at this. “I see. Well that’s going to be a problem, isn’t it?”

Rudy didn’t answer. There was nothing to add to that statement. He couldn’t really figure out how he was going to get out of here. He made this tar way too sticky and he had a feeling that being yanked out was only going to make it worse. But what could wash away tar? He wished that Penny were still here to help him. She might be able to help him out. For now, all he could do was just sit here and remain silent.

He had no idea what Bardot really planned on doing. He didn’t know if he could trust him or not. He didn’t know what Bardot ultimately had wanted to do with him. Was he still going to kill him when he got out? He couldn’t say.

But staying still wouldn’t solve anything either. He needed to figure out how he…

“I think I might have an idea.” Bardot spoke up, cutting Rudy from his thoughts. The zoner had walked a bit away from him and was looking at something in particular. Rudy couldn’t tell what it was. But he could tell that it really got Bardot’s attention. “Wait right there.”

Rudy rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “It’s not like I could go anywhere, anyway.”

Bardot didn’t reply. He just scampered off in some direction that Rudy could not see. He remained as still as he could, listening carefully to whatever the zoner was doing. He tilted his head forward, keeping his ear focused as much as he could, trying in vain to figure out what Bardot was attempting. But all he could succeed in doing is hearing some kind of scraping sound and some crumbling. But nothing that really revealed what he was actually doing.

Then he could hear the sound of something cracking loudly, snapping in half as though sliced through like butter. Rudy gritted his teeth as this was soon followed by high-pitched scraping, dragging along on the ground and making his hair stand up on end. He fought against the feeling of tears forming in his eyes as this happened. He wanted so badly to cover his ears, but he feared that he would get himself further entangled if he did that.

Soon, he could see Bardot returning. He was dragging something on the ground as if he were a dog. Slowly, the item in question came into view. Rudy felt his eyes widen when he saw it was a pillar made out of a section of white magic chalk. Somehow, Bardot had managed to get it down. He didn’t know how this was possible, unless he just found a weak spot. But either way, this looked..uncomfortable to use and Rudy wasn’t sure how he would feel about it. And there was still the thing about the stickiness holding him down. How was this going to help him?

He watched as Bardot brought the thing over towards the ledge. He exerted an amount of strength that Rudy didn’t even know that he had. But when he considered that this is the same guy that broke Mr. Cosmo’s neck with his jaws, somehow, this strength did make some sense. It was enough to make him shudder in fear.

Bardot pushed the broken branch of white chalk against the tar. Rudy was barely missed, the weight of the object hitting beside him. He could hear something almost cracking beside him and it made him realize that parts of the magic chalk were breaking off here. This made his eyes widen. How did this zoner think that this was a good idea? How was he supposed to hang off of something like this?

Bardot rose up onto his hind legs and pressed himself against the back second. He pushed down and it became clear to Rudy that he was trying to offer some support. The yellow zoner turned his head towards Rudy and he cried out, “Okay, try grabbing on and pulling yourself out!”

Rudy shot a glare at the zoner. He wasn’t sure why in the world that he would think that this would even work. He had already tried to pull himself out before, right? And it wasn’t working, correct? So why the fuck would Bardot even consider that this would be a grand idea?

But oh well, whatever. He didn’t care at this point. He just wanted to find a way out. And he might as well give this a shot, right?

He tried to wriggle himself as close as he could to the structure that fell into the tar pit. He reached out with his right hand and he grabbed onto some of the pieces of white chalk that still clung to the hinge or whatever he was called. He yelped when he felt a brief sharpness in his hand, likely caused by moving his fingers against some kind of crack. He soon held on tightly and he looked over at Bardot to see what he was doing.

It was almost comical watching the little zoner trying so hard to push down on the front of the cluster platform. He did have an amazing show of strength before, but now it seemed like this was all gone, vanished. He licked his lips slowly and still held on just in case. But he wasn’t going anywhere. Bardot’s attempts to push down were only raising him up just a tad.

Eventually Bardot did have to stop. He moved himself partially off of the structure, leaning against it with his one paw. He panted heavily as he struggled to get his breath and recover from exerting all that energy. Then he looked around, as though to find something else.

Then his ears pricked up. “Hold on, I have something even better.”

Rudy noticed the zoner raising his paw up and blowing against two of his claws, somehow making a loud whistle. Rudy flinched a little at this, hearing the high-pitched sound echoing inside of his skull and grinding his teeth almost in unison with it. At least it mercifully stopped shortly after and all remained silent.

At least, for a few seconds, before Rudy could hear the sound of someone approaching.

Wait, was that….?

“Skrawl…?” Rudy whispered softly. It was hard to take his eyes off the large zoner. It hadn’t been that hard with figuring out what something more happened to him. He could see the blood on his face covering his eyes, and he realized, with his heart feeling a sharpness in it, that Skrawl had been blinded. Temporary or not, it was hard to tell, but it still made him shudder. Had Mr. Cosmo done this to him?

“Okay, remember that one favor you said I could ask you for? This is it.” Bardot said. “Help me get the boy out of the tar pit.”

Skrawl gave a low gruff, “Master Tabootie, I presume?”

Rudy remained silent as the scene before him played out. He wanted to say something, but what could he say? He didn’t really fully understand what was going on and he kept asking himself just what happened to Skrawl himself. He only knew that he was attacked, but if it wasn’t by Mr. Cosmo, then... 

His thoughts trailed off when he could hear the sound of Skrawl lumbering over towards him. Given that he still had those injuries and couldn’t see on top of it, it was incredible that he was even able to pull this off. He wondered how it was possible. Did it have anything to do with the antenna that remained on his head? Yeah, that was probably it. The main thing slowing Skrawl down right now was the pain itself, but that he appeared to be powering through just fine.

And then the zoner arrived at the cluster of white chalk. He imagined that Bardot helped out quite a bit, since the yellow and red zoner had stuck to his side the entire time. Then afterwards, the two zoners began to push up against the platform’s tip, outside of the tar, just like Bardot had before. But with the addition of Skrawl’s strength, there was a noticeable change.

Rudy could feel more of himself being pulled out. He didn’t quite snap himself free, but he could still feel the tar clinging to his body. He struggled to hang on as tighlty as he could. The zoners were pushing down harder and he could feel himself being lifted up more forcefully. More tar yanked at his skin and he could feel a bit of pinching pain spreading along his flesh. Then he could feel his injuries becoming even more irritated as the tar began to pick away at them, Then he felt something tear a little and he let out a loud yelp of pain, tears forming in his eyes. But despite that, he still held on tightly.

There was a loud grunt and a single hard push, the two zoners working together for one final attempt, and Rudy felt himself being lifted higher and faster than before. The sheer force of this motion was enough to tear apart the tar and Rudy felt his body being freed.

Along with parts of his flesh.

“Aaaargh!” Rudy screamed as he was flung into the hard, unforgiving ground. He felt his body flipping about, doing a half somersault, before crashing into the ground. He landed on his back and he laid there for several moments, groaning in pain.

“Wow, that sounded like it hurt.” Skrawl chuckled softly. There was some bitterness in his voice. Rudy tried not to let that get to him. “Do that again, chalk boy. You looked like you had some fun.”

Rudy remained silent as he struggled to get himself up from the ground. He let out a small groan as he put his hand to his face and rubbed it up and down. He then straightened himself up a little, only for the pain from the raked up skin to get to him. He yelped and staggered back down. He felt his body curling into itself as he shuddered in pain.

With the sound of footsteps approaching him, Rudy lifted his head up and he could see Bardot staring right at him. Their gaze was held for several long seconds before Bardot repeated the action that he had done previously.

He offered his paw to him.

“Come on, your friend is waiting for you.” Said Bardot.

Rudy froze at this. “What do you mean by….”

Skrawl growled softly. “Exactly what he said, Master Tabootie.” He motioned towards Rudy, or rather where his voice had come from. He said, “You will be happy to know that I sent your friend to the hospital with my Beanie Boys. You’ll find him at…”

“B-But..the red chalk…” Rudy started to say.

Though Skrawl was confused, it was obvious and not surprising that Bardot wasn’t. He reached over and nudged Rudy with his paw, catching the boy’s attention before he fell too far into his emotions. “Your friend doesn’t seem to be acting crazy anymore. I don’t know what happened, but I guarantee you that he seems to be free of whatever happened. And he’s at the hospital now, or at least he should be soon. So why don’t you go to him?”

Rudy wasn’t sure what to say at this. He didn’t know how he should respond. He didn’t know what to think. Should he be grateful or suspicious? Should he accept their help or be cautious? What would be the best course of action to take?

Whatever he decided to do, he needed to figure something out now.

“I….still don’t know why you’re all doing this.” Rudy finally said after being silent for a little too long. He hadn’t meant to be that quiet, but he just...couldn’t help it. Everything around him was just so confusing. “Are you going to… Why aren’t you…” He wasn’t able to finish his sentences.

Skrawl let out a small, growling sigh. “I’m still a bit confused about this as you are, Master Tabootie. But I’m sure we’ll both clear this out later. And besides, I was mostly interested in getting even with a certain someone.” Without working eyes, Skrawl could not look at Mr. Cosmo, but Rudy had a feeling that was whom he was talking about. “As for you, I can always wait. Maybe I could find something better that I could do before…”

“Okay, I think that’s quite enough talking for now.” Bardot interrupted the two. He put himself between them, looking back and forth with them, making sure that they could tell that he was staring at them. After he was certain that he had their undivided attention, he said, “Let’s not waste any more time. Rudy…” Bardot gave the boy a sideways glance. “Just go after Snap, okay? I think you would rather focus on him right now, correct??

Rudy licked his lips slowly and nodded his head. But he still could feel questions circulating in his head. They pushed against him and he felt an ache echoing throughout his head. He swallowed hard and he said, “Y-Yes, b-but I… I still don’t know why you…”

Bardot gave a small chuckle. “Well, don’t think I’m finished with you. But I am rather exhausted right now. I don’t think we need to continue making this runaround, right?” He raised his paw up in gesture. Let’s just...forget about this for now. We all need regrouping, relaxation, and recovery.”

Rudy couldn’t really argue with that. The hybrid zoner did make a good point. Did they really need to keep fighting if all of them were exhausted and tired? They all could use some time to calm themselves down and regroup. Both Bardot and Skrawl looked like they had seen enough. There was little that they could gain if they kept going like this.

Yeah, Bardot did seem correct here. Mr. Cosmo wasn’t a threat anymore. Even if still alive, he couldn’t hurt anyone like that. And Snap probably would want to see him. He might be scared and frightened and confused. Right now, he should be focusing on him and not…. He didn’t finish his train of thought before he gave a slow nod to Bardot. He could feel his legs already dragging himself out of the room, Bardot and Skrawl supporting him. It was a weird feeling, but Rudy did not struggle against it.

None of them noticed what happened as they left the room.

sss

Snap couldn’t stop shaking. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t even in the hospital yet. It didn’t matter that he was far away from….that place, and wasn’t any longer dominated by horrible shadows distorting his vision. That did nothing to ease the pain that circulated through his body, making him grip his chest tightly and struggling to resist the urge to throw up.

The fact that he had been escorted over by a Beanie Boy or two was bad enough. But he had been almost immediately met with glares coming from a group of zoners who weren’t happy to see him. There was that witch zoner that he recognized and then there was that dang fly zoner, Spy Fly. But he didn’t have much of a chance to say anything against her. He couldn’t even dare to bring himself to open his mouth when the zoners, mostly doctors, came towards him to grab onto him.

He hardly remembered what they had asked about. Was it something related to Mr. Cosmo? Were they demanding him to tell them where he was? He’d be glad to help with that if he knew where to start. He slowly licked his lips nervously as he looked at their expressions and seeing how unsure they were of him now. He swallowed hard before he continued to allow himself to be dragged towards the hospital.

Snap didn’t remember exactly what he had done, only that it was awful, dreadful things. He remembered that he had hurt people. He didn’t recall the specifics, but he was able to remember actually making people flee in fear of him. He had no idea just the amount of damage that he had caused. But he was uncomfortable to figure out the exact answer for that. No, he’d rather not know that part.

Snap grunted, his thoughts interrupted, when he could feel the witch zoner yanking him forward. The doctor zoners were near him. They had been dragging him along first, but the witch zoner apparently thought they were being a little too rough on him. Though Snap was a bit grateful for the interference, it wasn’t like this zoner was that much better. She had a tight grip on him and didn’t let him respond quickly enough to the obstacles in the way. Snap had to react fast, which wasn’t easy given his injuries.

It wasn’t going near the hospital that was making him fret so much. It was the fact that he had no idea what would happen afterwards. He didn’t know what the zoners would want to do with him. He didn’t know how they would respond to him coming back. Would any of them attack him? Would any of them try to strike back against him? These thoughts and more filled his head and he could feel their echoes inside his skull.

“We’re almost there.” The witch zoner stated. She sounded a bit gruff and almost tired. “We’ll get you fixed up and then we can figure out what to do with you, all right?”

A doctor zoner let out a small snorting sound. “Why bother doing that? We should just…!”

Snap cringed at this, expecting to be hit. The green-skinned zoner simply raised her hand up and made the doctor stifle himself. “You should know better than that. We already left a couple of the others to investigate the mines and you know that Snap was likely under the influence of something related to Mr. Cosmo, or even if not, likely something else.” She narrowed her eyes a bit further at the doctor zoner. “Keep that in mind.”

“S-So you’re going to let him get away with this? You can’t…!” The doctor zoner started to say.

He was cut off by the witch. “I’m not saying let him off the hook completely. I don’t think there’d be a lot of zoners that would like that. But we should do things a more proper way, or else we’ll all end up just as barbaric as that man that killed thousands of us years ago. Or do you not mind becoming like him?”

The doctor zoner spluttered at this. He was clearly trying to figure out something to say. But he, nor his silent comrade, could think of anything to say. They were both silent, glancing at each other and wearing weakened glares. They didn’t attempt to say anything else.

Snap would have felt more grateful for this if he weren’t so nervous about the witch herself. Despite what she said, it was still very possible that she had her own plans for him. There was no reason to believe that she didn’t want to do something herself. She might be just as angry at him and her protecting him like this might be her way of keeping him for herself. He tried not to let his fear show, but this was difficult, especially with him tripping over everything at this point.

About the only thing that he was grateful for at this point is that at least they all became silent after this. Snap didn’t need to worry about these zoners saying anything or trying to grab more information from him or trying to make him feel guilty. He knew that this moment of silence, of reprieve, was just temporary. But hey, he might as well enjoy it while it lasts, right?

Up ahead, Snap could see the tall structure of the hospital slowly coming into view. It towered over him, becoming clear as day, apparent and staring down at him. He licked his lips nervously once more, trying to keep his stomach from burning too much. He attempted to slow down a little. The witch zoner just tugged on him a little harder, clearly wanting to get him there as fast as possible.

The structure’s size zoomed up really quickly. It was like it was growing before his eyes. Snap was frozen in place as he watched this happening, his head tilting back to get a good look. He almost forgot about the trouble that he was in.

That is, until he heard one of the doctors speaking.

“Now can we do something? We’re here and you know that there’s more than just us that want…” The doctor started to speak. A glare from the witch did make him stop at least, but the look in his eyes suggested that he wasn’t quite done yet. He turned to give a small glare at Snap as he said, “You know they’d want something done soon.”

“Yes, I know. But I told you, we’ll do it the more professional way, sonny.” The witch pointed her finger in the zoner’s direction. “Now neither of you harm the little blue boy, or I will make yee regret it, got it?”

The two doctors reluctantly nodded their heads.

“Good!” The witch looked down at Snap and tugged on his arm a little. “Now come on, little one. We need to treat ya first before we can do anything else.”

Snap wanted to resist. He didn’t want to go back to the hospital. What if he were to go crazy again? He didn’t even know why it happened. Bardot wouldn’t really tell him why, but the look in his eyes suggested that he did know; he was just refusing to tell him. Snap would have tried to force the information out of him had these zoners not arrived to take him. He almost wished he were still in the cave. A part of him would rather be with Skrawl than…

He felt his thoughts being interrupted abruptly when the witch zoner tugged him on harder and forcing him to walk with her as they headed closer to the hospital. Snap lifted his head up a little as he took a look at the towering building before him. He licked his lips slowly and he swallowed hard. He could feel his heart pounding, becoming drenched in stinging emotion. Just what was going to await him when he got into the hospital? And did he even want to know?

And...what about Rudy? Penny? What was going on with them? His memories were still a little fuzzy and he wasn’t sure if he fully remembered what took place. He could only hope that he was okay.

Wait, wasn’t Rudy in the cave…? He had vague memories of that. And didn’t he try to…

Snap’s eyes widened in horror. Oh no…

sss

It was difficult to comprehend what they were being told. He could feel his head pounding and he struggled to rub it slowly and firmly as the information wrapped around his mind like a coiling snake. He was still a bit out of it, a dull ache preventing him from fully realizing what was being said.

But that didn’t stop him from feeling particularly horrified to some degree. There was still so much information that he was missing out on and he had no idea what happened these last few days. But that just made it all the more horrifying. He could feel his aching, dulled head filling up with several questions. Each one seemed to strike his head somewhere, making him flinch in pain. He struggled his best to keep himself under control. But something still just didn’t… Ugh… why did his head hurt so much…?

Mr. Tabootie struggled to sit up in his hospital bed. His arms still ached from the cuffs that were on him. He was informed by Mrs. Sanchez here that he and Mrs. Tabootie needed to be restrained. They had apparently been acting wildly as they tried to find their son, Rudy. Mr. Tabootie found it hard to believe that he and his wife would act that badly, but then again, why else would the doctors restrain them?

His wife was awake as well. She hadn’t said much, choosing to remain silent as she allowed this information to digest in her head. She didn’t seem to have as hard of a time understanding what happened as he did. Mr. Tabootie was a little confused by this, but he would have preferred her to be calm rather than freaking out. It was that sort of thing that apparently got them cuffed to the beds in the first place.

Mr. Tabootie turned his head to where Mrs. Sanchez was. She was some distance from them, sitting in a chair facing them. She hadn’t tried getting close to them. The man wondered if this was because she was afraid that he was going to hurt her. The thought filled his mind with distress. Had he or his wife actually tried to hurt their friend? Or anybody else?

He tried not to let that thought haunt him. He tried not to allow himself to become too consumed by it. He knew that it certainly wouldn’t help in this situation. He struggled to keep himself calm. As much as he didn’t like the idea, he knew that his best option right now was to get more information. And he had a feeling that, though she might be reluctant, Mrs. Sanchez would be able to provide such knowledge. After all, it is not like she was going to hide anything from him or his wife...right?

Giving a few small coughs, Mr. Tabootie said, “S-So me and my wife… went nuts, you said…?” It was a bit difficult to talk. His voice sounded and felt strained and a bit cracky. It took more effort than usual to speak. But he should be able to manage.

Mrs. Sanchez looked a little hesitant. She did slowly nod her head regardless, licking her lips slowly. “Yeah, I… I’m afraid so.” She whispered softly. The look in her eyes showed just how much she regretted telling him this. “You two just...weren’t yourselves.”

Mr. Tabootie didn’t know what to say to that. He did want to try to say something but just...what could he say? He didn’t know if he could… He had no idea that… He just ended up remaining uneasily silent, twiddling his fingers together as they just awkwardly stared at one another.

Mrs. Tabootie’s voice echoed in the room, startling both of them. “What happened to us…?”

Mrs. Sanchez lifted her head up at this. “What do you….”

Mrs. Tabootie turned to frown at her a little. “You told us we were just...crazy and we don’t remember much of it and…” She had to stop for a moment, seething as she clutched her head. She forced herself to relax as she leveled her eyes with the woman once more. “What exactly made us act that way? Do you know what...h-h-happened?”

Mrs. Sanchez appeared to be a little hesitant to reply. Exactly why wasn’t certain. It could be because she really didn’t know, or maybe something had happened and…

Well regardless, it was still best that they both knew. He had a feeling that Mrs. Sanchez did understand this, even if she did hesitate for a while. She must know that it’s never a good idea to hide something like this from your supposed best friends. It was just going to make things more complicated that way down the road.

With a sigh, it was apparent that the woman agreed with him. “It’s...hard to explain. I was informed by the doctors, two of them, what might be going on. But they didn’t sound like they were entirely sure themselves. They claim there was this...infection that they dealt with before and somehow you two had contracted it.”

Mr. Tabootie flinched at this statement. “An...infection…?” He repeated softly, trying to comprehend that word. “Like...we both had an illness that made us act crazy?”

Mrs. Sanchez nodded her head slowly. “Yeah, they told me that it affected the mind and it made people more paranoid or something.” She paused for a moment, biting her tongue firmly. The look in her eyes suggested she was feeling strong emotion circulating around her head. “They….didn’t tell me what they did, but they did do something to help you two recover. They seemed to know this disease pretty well, like they knew what to expect. And you know..” She gave a small smile as she clapped her hands together once and rubbed them gently. “It seems to have worked. So…” Her voice trailed off.

Mrs. Tabootie glanced over at her husband. There was a certain look in her eyes that the man could not disregard. He knew that look. He dared not interfere when Mrs. Tabootie faced Mrs. Sanchez moments later. “And just where are these doctors…? May we speak to them?”

“What? Speak to them? Right now?” Asked Mrs. Sanchez.

“Yes, or are they ‘too busy’...?” Mrs. Tabootie furrowed her eyes. Mrs. Sanchez wasn’t able to reply right away. Mrs. Tabootie continued, “I mean, if they really did tell you these things, I imagine that they wouldn’t mind if my husband and I ask our own questions.” After a pause, she added, “Or is there something you’re not telling us?”

Mrs. Sanchez spluttered at this. “Well I-I-I… That is…”

Mr. Tabootie stared at the woman with slowly blinking eyes, wondering what this could mean. Was it true what he thought before? Was there something else that he wasn’t considering? That she was hiding? The thought made him uncomfortable and he shifted a little. He tried not to let his uncertainty be too clear, but he could see how that woman was looking at him and he could tell that she was likely catching on.

Mrs. Tabootie gritted her teeth tightly, looking as though she was trying to keep herself settled down as well. She was looking directly at Mrs. Sanchez, her expression holding many emotions. But if she wanted to say something, she was clearly holding off, as though giving Mrs. Sanchez a chance to talk.

“I am not sure how… I-I mean that…” Mrs. Sanchez looked away, sucking on her lip firmly. She turned her head slightly to one side, watching them with one eye on them. “...I suppose I could tell you. But I..I don’t know how you would feel.”

“We deserve to know. I’m sure you know that, too.” Mrs. Tabootie said. Her voice sounded a bit more gravelly than before. It was like she was really straining to talk. “Just...tell us.”

Mr. Tabootie looked at his wife for a few moments. They met eyes with each other and transferred mental thoughts to one another. They could feel each other’s emotions and it was clear that they both understood what must be done. They both knew that this was for the best.

And it would seem that, by the time that they looked back at Mrs. Sanchez, that woman decided it was the right thing to do as well.

“Okay well.. Here’s specifically what they told me….” Mrs. Sanchez proceeded with the explanation.

sss

Everything became impossible to digest. Her head spun around and she could feel her stomach burning. She tried to keep moving along the hallway, using her hand to balance herself out, holding her belly, but it didn’t seem to be working. Her throat was dry from her crying and her sobs, and she didn’t think that she could keep this up for much longer. At any moment, she felt that she was going to collapse and then…

She soon stopped and remained against the wall, her mouth open and drawing in breath after breath. She took a moment to look around where she was, realizing that she was here alone, that no one was going to help her. The smell of death was everywhere and it was just utterly, eerily silent.

Ms. Teelar wondered if that horrendous, disgusting zoner had gotten in here. Or had it been the other zoners? Either way, something happened to this building. Something that rendered it a stick hole littered with blood. It hadn’t just been those other workers that she had run into. There had been others.

So far, she had found no signs of life anywhere. It was just barren and she didn’t know if…

...wait… was that sobbing?

After making her way down the hallway as quickly as she could, Ms. Teelar could see just who was crying. She immediately stopped in her tracks and stared with wide, horrified eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“M-Mr. Raff…? Y-You’re…” She swallowed hard, her watery eyes looking at him up and down. “How did this happen to you?”

Mr. Raff had stopped walking at this point. He leaned up against the wall, panting heavily, trying to keep drawing in breath after breath. His eyes were wide and he looked like he had seen a ghost. He kept struggling to breath as he stared over at her. He looked as if he was going to collapse at any given moment. And he looked just as bad as he sounded.

He was covered in several small injuries plus his clothes looked a bit torn. There were a few bloodstains adorning his body as well and his eyes kept focus on her and she could tell how dulled they looked. He had clearly been attacked by something, mauled viciously, and he must have just barely escaped. She couldn’t even begin to imagine what he had to go through to get away. The thought made her shudder and she found herself licking her lips nervously. Her head exploded with many thoughts as she struggled to cope and she wasn’t able to think of much of anything to say.

Mr. Raff started to move towards her. He staggered a little as a result, his foot tripping on the ground and he wobbled forward multiple times. He often had to grab the side of the wall just to keep himself from falling down. But in the end, he was able to maintain some level of balance, even if just barely, and he soon stood in front of her. Seeing him this close up made Ms. Teelar feel a little uncomfortable. But she did nothing to push him away and instead she reached over to catch him when he began to tilt forward.

“I-It was so….so horrible… We...We didn’t see it coming….” Mr. Raff said. His voice was soft and broken. “W-We were sent t-t-to...and then… he came and…. Mr. Raff shut his eyes and let out a few small whimpers. His whole body began to quake. “Wh-Why did it have to h-h-happen..? Why…?”

Ms. Teelar held onto the man firmly and gently. She couldn’t think of anything to say to him. She didn’t know exactly what happened, other than it was clearly awful. The way that he was reacting, it did make it seem like he had witnessed some kind of death. The idea made her blood run cold and she felt sympathetic towards him. She had experienced a similar thing herself. She moved herself closer and tried her best to act as support for the broken and trembling man.

As she did so, she took a look at where he had come from. She flinched when she could see the trail of blood. He must have a worse injury that she could have realized. And then she noticed something else that made her heart stop.

He had come from where the portal was located.

Could he be…?

Ms. Teelar looked down at the man she was holding onto. Was he one of the men that the horrid beast known as Skrawl attacked? If that were the case…. Oh gawd, it was even worse than she thought… Her response to figuring this out was to just cling t him more tightly and rub her hand up and down his back. She whispered to him gently.

“H-Hey.. It’s okay now… Whatever happened….it’s o-over…” She tried to sound as calm and as gentle as she could. She wasn’t sure how well it would work with the man, but she had to at least try. “H-He can’t get you anymore. I-I promise…”

Mr. Raff didn’t say anything in response. It was unlikely that he could even try to do that. He could only just continue holding onto the woman and cry against her. They both forgotten about each other’s injuries, the fear of blood mixing against blood. For now, their thoughts were on trying to stay with one another. Everything else could always come later.

Ms. Teelar could feel her thoughts growing increasingly bitter as she watched this display before her. She knew that Skrawl was still out there somewhere and she knew that he was going to get away with murder if something wasn’t done. She tried to think of something, anything, that would make sure that the monster got what he deserved. She forgot about anything else. She forgot about the other hideous zoner creatures. The only one right now that she felt was deserving of her attention was Skrawl himself.

She needed to find someway to make sure that he wouldn’t hurt anybody else. She needed to make sure that those killed by him would have closure. She might not have been friends with them, but she still believed that they deserved something to rest their spirits.

But exactly how was she going to pull that off? How was she going to find that jellybean zoner and making him pay for everything that he has done? She didn’t even know where to start and she doubted that Mr. Raff here would want to show her where he went. This is something that she might not be able to start for quite some time.

She was still willing to wait, however. Sometimes justice just took a while to obtain. If you’re patient enough, everything would fall into play. Mr. Cosmo had always been patient about getting back at these zoners. So she should follow in his footsteps and wait until the right moment before she struck.

Until then, she needed to remain with Mr. Raff and try to calm him down. She needed to be there for him and she needed him as well. She continued to hold onto him gently and whispered soft words of comfort. He continued to cry softly, echoing off the walls, intermixing with her whispers. She watched him sob and it increased her desire to get revenge on Skrawl. When that time came, she was going to enjoy it.

sss

Although he had been alone for a while, Mr. Cosmo still dared not to move. He kept himself still, trying to ignore the horrible pain in his neck, as he watched the nothingness around him. He breathed in and out shakingly and he could feel his head pounding in several achey shudders. But even if he did try to move, he wouldn’t be able to. It wasn’t that he was paralyzed. Oh no, he could still feel and move even his toes. He had dodged a bullet there. But his neck was so damaged that it wouldn’t take much to finish him off.

The only option that he had was to just remain here and hope that someone came by that would help him. Perhaps Draow would arrive at any moment. That large winged zoner of his would do anything for his creator. It was almost pathetic, but that’s exactly what he needed to get out of this mess. Mr. Cosmo practically prayed for that zoner to show up at any moment.

But so far, there was nothing but silence. He couldn’t get himself to hear anything but his own breathing and maybe the occasional drip and crack around him. Those idiots thought that he was dead. They left him abandoned here instead of doing something with his corpse. They didn’t do anything to try to at least make sure that he was dead. A part of him thought that they did this on purpose. Because of course they would.

Mr. Cosmo released a small groan, unable to hold it in for much longer. He closed his eyes lightly, a part of him tempted to enter sleep just so that he could get some rest. But there was nothing that he could do right now to get any kind of sleep. How could he sleep with the pain dominating his very being? It was like someone was constantly putting a chainsaw to his neck and ripping it from his body. He couldn’t believe that Bardot would just…

No, he took it back. He would have expected this from him. It was exactly the sort of thing that he would do. After all, he was a zoner. This was just in his nature. It had been his own fault for not getting rid of him sooner. He licked his lips slowly and swallowed hard. Whenever the black chalk would heal him, then he could….

...wait, why wasn’t anything happening? Normally by now, the black chalk would have intervened. Did he lose the piece? After checking, he realized that, no, it was still on him. So why wasn’t it trying to help him?

“P-P-Please...help m-me…” Mr. Cosmo whispered. He flinched at how pathetic he sounded. His voice shuddered airily with each attempt to speak. “I-I can’t… I need...help...please…”

There was silence that followed. Unusual and almost….cold. Not the same comforting cold as before, and he also noticed that his vision was more brighter, more contrasted, than it had been before. This realization made his heart skip a beat and he knew that this could only mean one thing.

But he didn’t want to accept it. Not yet.

Looking around with his wide, desperate eyes, he called out weakly, “Where are y-you…? Please, i-i-it hurts so much.. M-Make it stop...please just..make it stop…” His cracking voice dissipated and he shut his eyes tightly, letting hot tears moving down his face.

Around then, as he was crying softly, that’s when he finally got some kind of answer.

“Too late now…”

“No energy…”

The black chalk’s voice was no longer comforting. It was instead distant, almost unemotional. There was nothing about the voice or the way that it talked that showed Mr. Cosmo that it was going to do something for him. It seemed so...dismissive. It had never treated him like this before and he could feel his heart starting to race a little at this realization.

Mr. Cosmo whimpered, “A-At least try.. I-It h-h-hurts… I-I can’t get out if…”

The black chalk didn’t seem to take much mercy to him. “We’ll always find another one…. You served us well, Teddisson Cosmo… But there’s always someone else…”

Mr. Cosmo’s eyes widened in horror at this. “Y-You mean that you… I-I was just a...t-t-tool for you to use..?”

“Why are you so surprised…? We can’t do anything on our own…”

“So we need some help….”

“You have been a great help… But we need someone else now…. We cannot heal you this time…”

“Lost too much energy… Need to regroup…”

“Th-Then can’t you just wait and…” Mr. Cosmo tried to say. He stopped himself for a few moments before licking his lips nervously. He could feel his body shaking. He didn’t want to believe that the black chalk would really do this. Not after all they had been through together. Not after… “If all you need is energy, y-you can still..”

“Sorry but no… We cannot do that…” The black chalk responded. Still as uncaring as it had been when it first started speaking with him just now. Still no signs of comforting words or any effort to help him feel better. “You cannot recruit anymore… You have lost your touch… We cannot afford you any longer….”

Mr. Cosmo let out a choked cry. “Y-You can’t just abandon me like this… I-I thought you were trying to help…!”

The black chalk made a sound similar to chuckling. “We were the ones who needed help… And we found that the best way to do it….”

“Was to lie…”

Mr. Cosmo stiffened up at this, remaining silent.

“You see, lies are such a powerful tool…”

“When you can make someone believe anything...they will do anything…”

Several thoughts ran through Mr. Cosmo’s mind. He could feel himself breathing in and out rapidly, sweat pouring down his face. He felt his blood both burning and chilling at the same time and he licked his dry lips, trying to comprehend what he was hearing. He didn’t want to believe it. He didn’t want to think that this could be true. He had to be mishearing something. There had to be a misunderstanding. There just was not…

But nothing about the black chalk’s voice seemed to indicate that it was making this up. It seemed completely, one hundred percent sincere in what it was telling him. And this realization made everything go dark and a burning sensation swelled in his chest as he slowly forced himself to come to terms with what this truly meant.

At first, he couldn’t say anything. How could he? He had spent so much time defending the black chalk, that it felt strange to do anything else. It felt strange for him to open his mouth to try to yell at the chalk. Yet here he was facing this exact feeling. He felt as though his mind was setting on fire and he sucked in a sharp breath rapidly every few seconds. He could feel his vision becoming a little more blurred and he could hear words echoing in the back of his head. He felt his fingers curling in against his palms, the fingernails threatening to cut through the skin.

“Y-Y-You mean to tell me that…” He started to speak. His voice was low and airy, and a tad bit growly. It was difficult to speak like this, but he still managed to do it, albeit with a growly edge to it and some straining. “...a-a-all this time… Those things you t-t-told me..” He attempted to push himself up. He let out a cry of pain when his neck became irritated. “Th-They were...n-n-not true..?”

“Oh you sound so upset… You seemed to think we had good points..”

“It is not that everything we said was a lie….”

“But sometimes lying or simply exaggerating brings us better results… You understand, right..?”

More thoughts burned into Mr. Cosmo’s mind, creating a pounding headache. He let out a few coughs and he felt a sharp sting in his stomach as a new realization dawned on him. He felt almost sick to ask this, but he knew it had to be done. “A-A-And B-Banjo…? He….didn’t attack me...did he..?”

The black chalk quipped at this. “You finally saw through that..? Congratulations…”

Feeling his blood starting to run cold, Mr. Cosmo growled, “What really...happened that day..?”

“We needed assistance…. Help, you know…” The black chalk responded nonchalantly. “We saw you there… We knew you were the one… Just needed a bit of convincing….”

Mr. Cosmo turned his gaze downward. He felt as if some weight was pushing pushed against his back. “So you made me think that Banjo was attacking me…. just to make me attack him…”

“Correct… It’s a simple tactic… Anyone who has touched us experienced it… Makes things easier…”

“The mind is easily fooled with fear…”

“And when we make creators afraid….”

“They are easier to control…”

Mr. Cosmo felt as if he was going to be sick. He could feel his stomach lurching and he almost released its contents on the ground. He felt his head aching and his world spinning as this information slowly digested in his head. He had a hard time coming to terms with it but he heard it loud and clear from the black chalk. The voices that echoed still gave no indication that they were lying. And this caused himself to have his own horrible realization.

Was this what he was subjecting all those people to? Ms. Teelar and Mr. Malcolm? Ghadir and Tyreek? Jenny? Was it what Rudy had nearly suffered himself before he broke away? Oh gawd… This… This isn’t what he wanted… He just wanted to offer protection from what he had thought was a serious threat. But in the end, all he did was try to wrangle and pull people into the rabbit hole that the black chalk had created.

What the fuck did he almost do…? He shut his eyes tightly as his teeth grinded against each other. He shook his head slowly in disbelief and he let out a small whimper. If the black chalk was being truthful, then that meant that…

...Banjo…

And the way he treated those zoners, including his own…

Trying to make Rudy…

Mr. Wilter… Oh gawd… What had he done…?

Rudy had been right. Mr. Wilter had been right. The black chalk had never been an ally. It had only been wanting to use him for its own gain. It never cared about anyone. It had only wanted control. It hadn’t been the white chalk that was brainwashing people. It was the black chalk the whole time.

And he had been stupid enough to fall for it. He was a stupid, naive child that had allowed the black chalk’s tricks to manipulate him and he fell into its trap like a perfectly fitting puzzle piece. And he had pulled others into that mess and he had killed so many zoners, being tricked into thinking that they were monsters. There was no way that he could defend himself. He had done that willingly, because he had believed the black chalk’s words.

But Mr. Wilter had seen right through it. Mr. Wilter could see what the black chalk was really doing. If he had just listened to his friend… They were friends for crying fucking loud… Why hadn’t he trusted him? Why didn’t he heed his warning? If he had, none of this would have happened. This realization caused his eyes to drip to bitter tears.

“You shouldn’t be so upset… You were the utmost loyal human we’ve had to play with…”

Mr. Cosmo could feel his remaining eye spark. “Sh-Shut up...y-you monster…”

“Oh Teddisson…”

Mr. Cosmo flinched at this. The black chalk was attempting to sound sweeter, probably to lure him back in. He knew better at this point and he just yanked his head to one side, growling softly. He didn’t utter any sort of phrase. He wasn’t in the mood to speak any longer. He feared that if he did, he might end up breathing fire or something.

The time ticked away very slowly. He wasn’t really sure what was going on. He thought for sure he could feel the black chalk moving out further, its aura no longer adorning him. It did feel weird not having it anymore, but knowing what he did now, it was like a great burden was lifted from him. The black chalk could just go and choke on its…

He could hear footsteps approaching. As he did, he could feel the black chalk whisping away, and he heard one more thing before he was left alone.

“Farewell, Teddisson… Good luck..”

Mr. Cosmo growled at this, but said nothing as he waited to see just who was dare coming to pester him now. He could feel his heart tightening up when he realized that it was Skrawl. That large, rounded shape and the missing antennas were hard to miss. And it appeared that he was accompanied by a couple of round, floating zoners. They soon entered the large area, stepping out from the shadows.

Even though he now knew that what he had believed about zoners wasn’t true, that wasn’t enough to calm him down about it. It wasn’t enough to make him completely unafraid. Emotions were strong and hard to unwind and unlearn. He found that his heart still quivered and sped up at the mere sight of these zoners.

And now there was an even bigger reason for him to be afraid of them.

He had harmed them before. He had tormented zoners in the past. Skrawl was just one of them. He had given him a reason to hate him, to want to take revenge against him. Nothing he could say would convince him otherwise. It was already too late for that. And upon realizing this, all Mr. Cosmo could do was give off a soft whimper.

Skrawl glared at him, or at least, in his general direction. The Beanie Boys with him were obviously guiding him and when they whispered to him, it was clear that they were telling him who was present. Skrawl snarled softly and he looked like he was ready to rush over and take care of him. But he hung back, likely due to the fact that he was blind, and he settled with just distant intimidation. He must have sensed that it was working because he gave something of a smirk at him.

Then came his growly, hideous voice. “So where are your friends? I overheard some talking. Did they abandon you…?”

Mr. Cosmo gritted his teeth. There was nothing that he could say against this. Skrawl was correct and he could not deny it. The black chalk abandoned him and he had none of his workers with him.

Skrawl took his silence as some kind of victory and he folded his arms together. “Heh… I’d have to wonder how this is all going to end for you….” Mr. Cosmo flinched at this. Skrawl tilted his head up a little. “You came in here, thinking that you were going to dominate this world and tame us ‘wild animals’ as I recall… But now look at you…” He motioned his claw towards him. “If my Beanie Boys are right, your neck is broken, yet you can still move. It would take just a simple nudge to kill you.”

Mr. Cosmo gave a weak whimper at this statement.

“How ironic that you’ve been put into such a helpless situation….after what you have done…” There was a bit of anger swirling in his voice, yet he somehow sounded a bit more...levied than Mr. Cosmo would have imagined. “You know, it would be so easy to finish the job… It would be so easy to walk up to you and stomp on your neck to finish the job. And you know the best part, filthy human…?” Skrawl raised his hand up and curled his claws inward, giving a disturbingly satisfied smile. “No one is going to miss you.”

Mr. Cosmo felt himself crying softly. He didn’t care about his dignity at this point. He just closed his eyes, tilted his head down, and cried almost uncontrollably. He got no sympathy from the zoners in front of him. There was no one to comfort him. He was truly and utterly alone, and he knew it. And it was his fault.

Despite the fact that he knew that it was most likely not going to work, he still felt so desperate that he began to plead with the zoners, plead with Skrawl, in hopes of having some kind of chance of living.

“Please don’t…. Please don’t kill me….” Mr. Cosmo said in a broken, shaky voice. He looked at them, mostly Skrawl, with a watery eye and lower lip quivering. “I-I-I’m so sorry about what I did. I’m sorry for it all. Just...please..” He shut his eyes tightly and trembled. “...don’t k-k-kill me..”

“It’s quite amusing that you dare beg me for the right to live despite what you have done to me.”

Mr. Cosmo felt the urge to curl up into a ball and just wait for it all to end.

“But you know, it isn’t me who will decide the final word. Oh no, I think there’s someone else more deserving of that decision.” Skrawl said coolly, a strange tinge to his voice. He motioned his hand to one side as some heavy footsteps arrived. “If you want to live, I’d take it up with him.”

Mr. Cosmo lifted his head up and he sucked in a sharp breath when he realized who it was. He whispered shakingly, “D-Draow…?”

The large zoner towered over him, his bod partially obscured from the light. This made him look darker and more intimidating than he normally did. His eyes were gleaming brightly, the teal glowing sharply and piercing into his own mind. Mr. Cosmo shuddered at this and he felt himself pressing further down against the ground. He wasn’t able to speak anything else as the massive beast came in closer.

Draow was completely silent. His mouth was gritted shut and he stared only at him. He didn’t seem to pay attention to Skrawl. It was as if he wasn’t even there. The wolf bat zoner stood almost like a dinosaur, complete with the parallel back and straight out tail. His wings were pressed at his sides, his sickle wing claws curving downward. The tips somehow looked sharper than ever before, and one of his wings was brought slightly forward. This made that particular sickle claw look like it was about to strike, the tip glinting in what light was available.

Mr. Cosmo struggled to think of something that he could say. He tried to think of how he was going to get Draow to listen to him. But would there be anything that would convince him? Was there anything that he could say? He could see the look in Draow’s eyes. He could feel his emotions. Something told him that simply speaking to him was not going to work.

And yet he had to try.

“Draow…. Please…” Mr. Cosmo spoke weakly, giving a few small coughs. “It doesn’t…. I-I mean… You’ve helped me b-b-before… I need your h-help again…”

Draow just stood there and stared at him. He was eerily silent, something that made Mr. Cosmo flinch a little.

Skrawl gave a small, dark chortle at this. He couldn’t have known how Draow was looking at him but he seemed to sense that the beast zoner was not happy. Skrawl motioned his hand outward a little as he said, “Isn’t that amusing, Draow? He’s asking you for help. After what he’s done to you… What he said about you… Are you going to fall for that again?”

Mr. Cosmo could feel his heart skipping a few beats as Draow started to growl at him. His ears lowered down and his eyes gave off a sharp twinkle. The man struggled to think of something that he could say, and he choked out, “I-I didn’t mean to… Y-You were always different, Draow. Please… don’t do this to me…”

Draow lowered his head down as he moved in even closer. His legs were rigid and moved almost erratically, his foot talons flexing in the air deliberately with each step. With his lips curling back into a snarl, the beastly zoner growled, “You never cared about me.. You were going to discard me first chance you had. Weren’t you…?”

Mr. Cosmo couldn’t answer. He felt his body trembling hard as Draow opened up his jaws. The once formidable man shut his eyes and waited.

sss

Rudy wasn’t really sure how long it took for him to be guided over to the hospital where Snap was staying at. He didn’t really pay much attention to what the zoner taking him was saying. He had even forgotten who it was. Was it a Beanie Boy or Bardot? At this point, he didn’t care. All that mattered to him was getting to Snap and seeing just what was going on with him.

His chest and stomach was filled with fear, terrified of what he was going to find when he got over here, scared to know what might have happened with his friend. He didn’t know if he was still out of it or not. It did not matter what Bardot had told him earlier. He had seen how crazy Snap got for what seemed like no reason. He knew that something was up with his friend and there wasn’t much that could relax him.

At least, until he was able to see for himself that Snap was doing well enough.

It felt as if everything around him had frozen as he made his way into the hospital, limping due to the pain he himself was suffering from. The blood dripped from his body and caused parts of the ground to sizzle and hiss and release some steam. He could feel the zoners’ eyes on him as he moved along, and he could sense their fear and worry. But he said nothing, instead opting to just continue along.

There were a few zoners that attempted to make him turn back, either worried about getting hurt or fearing that he was making things worse for himself. But Rudy could feel determination sizzling in his stomach and he wasn’t about to turn back too easily just because of his injuries. He wanted to at least make sure Snap was okay. Then he would concern himself with getting to a Real World hospital.

Speaking of the Real World, he had no idea how much time had passed or if his parents realized that he was missing. He could feel several thoughts forming around his head as he struggled to figure out just what was going to happen and what might have went on in the Real World. He bit his lips firmly, trying to keep himself from being too drawn into that. He would figure out something in the end.

He raised his head up and he could see the hallway ahead of him, seeing how far down that it stretched. And he knew that Snap was down here somewhere. He didn’t know what kind of condition that he was in or what trouble he might have landed in. But that did not stop Rudy from heading down as quickly as he could. He needed to see Snap and make sure that he was okay. He didn’t know how long he could handle not knowing.

And soon he reached the door, freezing before he could force himself to open it.

He immediately froze at the sight before him. He could feel his hand shooting to his mouth and he took in a sharp breath as he could see Snap laying there on the hospital bed. He was awake at least, but that wasn’t enough to help cheer him up. With all those wires hooked up to him and how afraid Snap seemed to look in general…

Rudy had to approach slowly and carefully. He could see the look in Snap’s eyes and when the zoner turned to face him, there was a small shudder that he could feel echoing in his chest. Although Snap did not say a word, it would seem that they both appeared to understand the consequences of what happened and they were both wondering if something else was around the corner. And as such, Rudy was careful in his approach.

He could feel his eyes scanning Snap’s body. The small zoner had a few IVs going into him and other things attached to measure things like heart rate and adrenaline levels. There were bandages around his multiple wounds, including one where the nail in his forehead used to be. Rudy couldn’t believe he had nearly forgotten about these horrendous devices and he could only hope that no other zoner was suffering from this right now.

The thing that got to Rudy the most was the fact that Snap was strapped to the bed. He was not just laying in it like he previously believed. There were metal cuffs holding his arms and legs in place. The sight shocked him and horrified him, making him feel sick. He couldn’t make himself turn away for several seconds, leaving him feeling strange and vulnerable. It took a little while before he could get himself to pull his gaze away and continue on forward. He continued to move along, his eyes focusing on Snap.

And soon, he stood right beside his friend. The teenager leaned himself into the chair next to him, trying not to allow too much of his blood to seep onto the chair itself, and he just stared at his friend.

The two of them kept looking at each other like this for what felt like a long time. Rudy wasn’t really sure what he was going to say. He didn’t come here to just stare at his friend; that was pretty creepy if you were to ask him. But he did want to know how he was doing. He licked his lips slowly and he opened his mouth to speak.

But Snap was the first one to talk.

“H-Hey… N-Nice to s-s-see you again, B-Bucko…” Snap’s voice was quite weak and gravelly. It served as a reminder of the hell that he had been put through. It was amazing that he could still mimic his usual level of confidence, despite the fact that he must be hurting mentally, too. “G-Good to see th-that you’re s-still in o-o-one p-piece.”

“O-Oh Snap…” Rudy whispered softly. “I-I-I’m s-so sorry…”

Snap stared at Rudy for a few long seconds. His eyes furrowed a little, making it clear just how confused he really was. “But why? I-It’s not like you m-m-meant for this to happen.”

“I should have tried harder, though. I should have done my best to protect everyone here. I’m the Great Protector, for crying out loud!” Rudy gripped his face, ignoring the pain that this caused his left hand. “B-But I failed! I’m no…”

“Rudy, you did your best and that’s a-a-all that you sh-should care about.” Snap’s voice cracked a little as he spoke. “I-I-I’m sure that everything will work out in the end. I-It always has, right..?”

Rudy wasn’t sure how to respond to that. He just lowered his head a little, biting his lip firmly. Despite Snap’s words, he could still feel a rush of emotion surging inside of him. There was so much that went on and so much to keep track of, his head ached and throbbed and felt like it was going to crack open at any given moment. He tried his best to keep himself as sturdy as possible.

Snap looked at him with a softened expression. “Bucko, things are going to be f-f-fine. I’m s-s-sure of it… T-Try to butter up.”

Rudy shut his eyes softly. “I wish that I had never fallen for Mr. Cosmo’s tricks. If I had refused to take that blasted test, then he would have moved in somewhere else and ChalkZone would have been safe!” Rudy clutched his right hand tightly, feeling the bones and muscles in his hand and arm ache from the sheer action of doing this. “It’s all my fault!”

Snap cried out, “Rudy, stop it! It wasn’t your fault and you know it!”

Rudy looked over at his friend in shock, panting heavily as he stared into Snap’s eyes. He remained silent.

Snap continued, his voice a little shaky, “Y-You did what you could and in the end, y-y-you still managed to th-thwart him, right?” Rudy didn’t know what to do. He found himself nodding his head despite that, getting a weak smile from Snap. “Th-There, you see? Things will be f-f-fine… And besides…” He lowered his gaze. It was now his turn to look depressed. “I should be the one to s-say sorry.”

“Because of…” Rudy wasn’t able to finish his sentence. But judging from Snap’s expression, it was clear that the zoner knew what he was talking about.

“I have no idea what was wrong with me or what will happen now.” Snap shut his eyes softly. “I just know that I will be put on trial.”

The thought horrified Rudy, but at the same time, he knew why the zoners would want to do that. He didn’t want to imagine what Snap was forced to do when he was…

But for now, he just wanted to be with his friend. He moved in closer and put his hand on his shoulder, giving him a smile. “We’ll get through this.”

Snap gave a small chuckle at this. It did seem slightly bitter, but whatever bitterness that there was, it was not aimed at Rudy himself. It was clear that Snap was mostly upset about himself. He was still beating himself up over what happened. It was truly a sad sight to see. Despite Snap’s efforts to help him feel better, in reality, it was just as lost as he was. Rudy bit his lip firmly and let out a small sigh.

What more could he say? They both knew that there wasn’t much that could be done right now. They all still needed to recover and they both knew that it was only time that was going to help them figure out what is going to happen next. Perhaps things will look more brightly for Snap and he would be just fine.

But then again, there might be some zoners who won’t be as understanding with him. Depending on what Snap actually did, some might go a little further, wanting a harsher punishment. To them, it didn’t matter if Snap was not in full control of himself. They wanted an example to be made of him. Rudy ground his teeth at the thought of these horrible zoners. But he tried not to let himself get consumed by anger. There wasn’t much he could do; this was something that the zoners would have to sort out themselves.

For now, he needed to try to at least be there for Snap emotionally. The blue and white zoner, freed of the red chalk influence, had done his best to cheer him up. And now it was his turn to return that favor.

There was one thing that came to mind that he realized might help.

“Hey, want to play a little bit of Chinese Chalkers or something?” Rudy offered with a small smile.

Snap lifted his head up a little, blinking slowly. “I’m kind of…”

Rudy realized his folly, but he was swift to recover. The teen waved his hand and said, “You can just tell me what moves to make. I promise I’ll follow exactly.”

It wasn’t really much of an offer, he realized. It was not really all that fun to play a game if you could not move your arms or legs. A part of him wondered if he should try with something else instead. Something that Snap could more easily play.

And yet he still stuck with this one. It was one of Snap’s favorites and he did still offer to help him play it. It was better than nothing and it was at least something that could help drag their thoughts away from what was going on. It wasn’t the best way but it was still more enjoyable than just sitting there, staring at each other, worrying of what might happen. And besides, Snap did deserve something relaxing after what he had been through.

Snap stared at Rudy for a little while longer before he eventually nodded his head slowly. “Well...I’m sure we can try.” He said with a smile.

Rudy smiled back at him. “Okay, let me get the game set up.”

And with that, Rudy began to draw a small, miniaturized version of the game. It didn’t take long and soon he and his friend were engaged in playing.

sss

Penny struggled to open up her eyes. Everything around her felt heavy, pushing down against her and making her feel a little cold and stiff. She found it difficult to keep her eyes open and her vision was a little clouded. She kept opening and closing them, her eyelids feeling particularly heavy. She gritted her teeth tightly, feeling a bout of pain shooting up in her side before dissipating.

What had happened to her…? Why was she in pain in that moment? Why did she feel so funny at her side? Why did she feel like there was something weighing down upon her, trying to crush her spine?

She tried to figure this out by looking around her. Left and right, she slowly turned her head, licking her lips slowly. She couldn’t recognize this room at first. It was just too white for anything for her to recognize. And yet it somehow still had a sense of familiarity to it. Something about it caught her eye. Something about it made her freeze and wonder just why this looked like something she had seen before.

Then all around her, she could hear some sounds, muffled and almost distorted, and she could feel her eyes slowly blinking when she realized that the voices were coming from one direction and they sounded pretty close. She shifted her head over and she could see some kind of blurred figure there. No, not right there. More like at the door. She lifted her head up a little more, only to feel a sharp tug and realized that something was on her face.

A mask? But why would she…

No, not a mask, more like something to help her breathe a little. But this did not clear up her confusion all that much. She could not understand why this thing was right there. Her head filled with more questions as she struggled to think of what could have happened.

Then with another bout of pain striking her side, a cry of pain unable to be contained in her throat, Penny could feel her mind exploding with mind footage of something happening. Clear and sharp, she could see someone approaching her, holding something sharp. She could see them holding it up and getting ready to strike her. She could feel her eyes widening in horror and she shut her eyes tightly, waiting for the blow.

But before she did, she caught a glimpse of who this attacker was. She felt her heart freeze solid when she recognized the face.

Rudy…?

Penny raised her arms up and let out another scream. “No, wait! Please don’t hurt me, Rudy! I-I-I’m so sorry! I...!”

“Penita…?”

Penny opened her eyes up and she looked over at where that voice came from. One of the shadowy figures stood near her, tall and skinny. There was nothing familiar about the person at first, until she recalled that voice. And that nickname…. Penny could feel her eyes watering as she managed to whimper, “M-Mama..?”

The figure moved in a little closer, staring at her directly. Slowly, the figure sharpened up, allowing Penny to see everything fall back into place, allowing her to see that this was indeed her mother. She could see the look of horror in her mother’s eyes, seeing how she had a watery gaze to them. Penny wanted so much to get up and cuddle with her mother, but she could not even move.

Her mother put her hand to her mouth, as if registering what Penny had said. The woman remained still for several moments, her body shaking. Penny was at first confused by this until she realized that she had spouted out Rudy’s name. She tried not to gasp at this, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking away from her mother.

“D-Did you say Rudy…?” Her mother whispered softly. There was a hesitation in her voice, as if the woman really didn’t want to believe this. “He’s the one who hurt you…?”

Penny wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t want to lie to her mom. She recalled, although groggily and not recalling of all of the details, that Rudy really had attacked her. He was the reason that she had been put here. She wanted to believe that there was a good reason for it. But at the same time, how would she tell her mom that? Would she believe her?

Penny didn’t want to stay silent for long, though. Her mother was waiting for an answer. The longer she stayed quiet, the worse it was going to get. Her mother was going to get awfully suspicious if she didn’t try to say something. She didn’t know how she was going to mention this without making Rudy look worse. She could try to lie, but then…. She let out a small sigh. She knew what needed to be done. She might hate herself for this, but she doubted she would be able to keep this a secret from her mother for much longer.

Swallowing hard, Penny said, “...y-y-yes.. I remember it was...him.” Penny closed her eyes at this admittance. She could hear her mother gasping in horror. She looked up at her, staring at her in the eyes. “I...I don’t remember why I did it. I-I think he was…” She struggled to think of something that might make sense. The only thing that did was…. “...he was in pain… A lot of pain.. H-He didn’t know what he was doing.”

Her mother just stared at her. She did not shift her expression at all. If anything, it grew slightly worse. “And he….hurt you...that badly….” Her mother’s voice was filled with disbelief. Her eyes scanned Penny’s side where the wound was hidden underneath. “He attacked you...and now this happened…”

Penny could sense where this was going and she felt her heart skipping a few beats. “I don’t think he meant to hurt me, mama. S-S-Something was wrong with him. He couldn’t control himself. P-Please don’t be mad at him…”

She wasn’t sure why she was bothering to say this. She herself was starting to feel a little fearful of her friend and she still didn’t recall enough to know for sure Rudy was hurt as well. But she still felt some protectiveness of her friend and she didn’t want her mother to assume the worst. She just….didn’t want anymore…. She couldn’t finish her thought.

Her mother frowned slightly and it looked at first she didn’t believe her daughter’s words. But then she lowered her head and gave off a small sigh. “Well, I suppose that makes some sense. But I...I still don’t like it.” She shook her head slowly, rubbing it with her head. “I-I don’t know how to feel about Rudy right now. Sh-Should I even let him near you again?” She moved her hand over her eyes before moving it down, revealing her eyes. “I used to know the answer before. But now, I don’t know.”

Penny could feel her heart going cold, becoming tugged by conflicting emotions. One side of her wanted to defend Rudy and the other was still in fear and shock of what he did. Of what she remembered him doing…. Even if it didn’t turn out to be true, he was still there and he was still involved in some way and she just…

“A-Are you going to at least give him a chance?” Penny asked in a low voice. She could see her mom looking at her, that same expression upon her face. Penny repeated herself, “Are you going to let him try to explain himself? Please...at least…”

“I’ll let him try. But I can’t guarantee much.” Her mother’s almost embittered voice stated. Penny flinched at it, feeling the emotion just oozing from her mother’s voice. She couldn’t blame her, but it still left her feeling uneasy. “We might need to make some...arrangements.”

Penny couldn’t argue against this. She lowered her head, turning her gaze down. She whispered, “I understand, mama.”

The silence did not last long. If Penny ever needed proof that sometimes life can have a twisted sense of humor, this was it.

“Penny.. I’m so glad you’re okay!” The familiar voice was undoubtedly Rudy, and the realization made Penny go stiff really quickly. “I…..” Suddenly Rudy seemed to stop and his voice lowered. “I-Is something wrong..?”

Penny could see Rudy had started to come into the room. He had frozen underneath her mother’s glare and his face was filled with confusion. Though Penny was still afraid, she did not leave her friend in the dark for too long.

“Rudy… we need to talk.”


	73. Conclusions

Rudy had no idea what he was going to do. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, could barely think. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he struggled to think of what to say. It was so hard to think of something when he could feel that glare on him, and the other stare as well. When he had come over, he didn’t realize that he was going to be scrutinized like this. He had only wanted to make sure that Penny was okay.

And now, in almost a single fell swoop, he realized that it wasn’t the case. How would it ever have been that case? He was the one who had….

Rudy wanted so much to reach over to Penny and try to comfort her. He wanted to let her know that it would be okay and that she would pull through. But his eyes kept looking at her side where the wound was. The one that he himself had caused…. And then there was Penny’s mother. With that look in her eyes, he knew that there was no way that this woman would ever want to allow him to get anywhere near her daughter. The sight of her like that was enough to keep Rudy from getting too close.

Rudy licked his lips slowly and he swallowed hard as he took a small step back. He wasn’t attempting to leave. He couldn’t; he had to remain here and face what he had done. But he didn’t know what he was going to say or do about this. He could not justify his actions and he doubted that his words would bring these two any comfort.

But still, he had to say something. He couldn’t just stare at them all day like this. He felt himself swallowing hard as he forced his jaws to open up. And then, with a small lurch in his throat, he got himself to talk.

“I-I.. yes… We should talk…” He agreed as he nodded his head slowly. “D-Do you want to talk now or...later…?” He could feel himself stammering as he spoke and he realized that it was not making a good case for him. The nervousness just flowed downward and made him look even more suspicious.

Mrs. Sanchez glared at him with her lip curling up slightly. She took a step forward and she said, “I think we should talk now…. There is much that needs to be discussed.” She narrowed her eyes a little further. “I suggest you be careful with how you answer.”

Rudy swallowed hard and he nodded his head in understanding. He had never been spoken to by Mrs. Sanchez like that nor had he ever been looked at her like this before. She was looking at him as if he had done something horrible. He could only conclude that Penny had told her mother what had happened.

The thought made him feel a little bitter inside. He thought he could trust Penny not to…. But then again, she did just wake up from surgery and her mind was likely groggy and of course, he had a feeling that she would have suffered from a nightmare regarding what happened. In that case, of course it would make sense for her to tell someone and she was probably scared on top of that. He couldn’t have expected her to stay quiet the entire time.

But this was still going to be so difficult. He had hoped to delay this until later, but now he had little choice but to get this done and over with. He would have to remain truthful and try to explain to Mrs. Sanchez what happened exposing…

“Was this at all related to ChalkZone?”

Rudy felt his eyes flying open. He could feel himself going stiff as a sharp breath was being yanked into his mouth and throat. He turned his head up and he stared at Mrs. Sanchez, putting his hand to his chest and clutching it as he tried to breathe. He could feel his mind zipping along a million miles an hour as he struggled to think of just...how this could have happened. How in the world could Mrs. Sanchez have found out about ChalkZone? Had Penny…..

Rudy turned his head to face her. Penny looked back at him, her fearful expression tinged with a look that more or less confirmed his fears. She looked away from him before nodding her head slowly. Rudy clenched his teeth tightly and he pulled his head back. He felt a burning sensation in his throat, a sense of betrayal washing over him.

“H-How much did you…” Rudy started to say, his voice a little darker than he had intended it to be. He only stopped himself when Mrs. Sanchez moved out in front of him, her arms stretching outward as if to block him from getting any closer.

“I think you should speak to me instead.” Mrs. Sanchez said to him. There was a clear warning tone to her voice. “It doesn’t matter where I got the information from. But judging from your reaction, it seems to be the truth, right…?”

Oh fuck… He could have attempted to mask his reaction and he might have been able to fool the woman into thinking that she was lied to. But she did make a good point; given his earlier reaction, it was clear to the woman that he had revealed that ChalkZone meant something to him. There was no backing out of it now.

Mrs. Sanchez broke the silence. “Penny told me that you were the one that attacked her.”

Rudy flinched at this. He lowered his gaze a little, shame crawling over his body. He started to feel sick to his stomach and he felt as if someone was putting a drill to his head to torment him.

Letting out a sigh, the woman continued, “But she did also say that you….didn’t mean to. That you weren’t...yourself then.”

Rudy looked over in surprise at this. Penny had said that? He thought for sure that she would have been a little more…. After all, she had every right to. She could have just….sent him away or whatever. She could have had him arrested and he would have understood. But instead, she chose to defend him and he just couldn’t understand.

And he felt some shame for that. He realized that she was his best friend and that she would still have tried to find some way to help him. He should have realized that she would have tried to do something to make it apparent that he wasn’t at complete fault. He should have known that she still would have tried to defend him, even if she was now afraid of him.

But it still left him in confusion and he still felt as if he would have deserved to be taken away. He still felt responsible. If he hadn’t let Mr. Cosmo trick him like that, this wouldn’t have happened. It was his fault.

“Rudy Tabootie.... I don’t want to hate you. After all these years, I’ve come to appreciate the company you offer my daughter. Not many children would have wanted to hang out with someone smarter than them.” Mrs. Sanchez’s tone went from being angry to more...sad and depressed. Rudy did not miss this change, detecting it quickly and easily. “And then there was you…”

Rudy thought that he could detect the woman smiling. It was quick and faint and gone before he could fully comprehend it. He could see her starting to glare at him once more and he felt himself swallowing yet again.

“If you don’t want our relationship to change….” It sounded as if the woman was going to add something else to that. But she managed to stifle herself, preventing herself from going too far. She looked away for a moment and she forced out a small sigh. She looked back at Rudy and said, “...please tell me you have a good explanation for why you hurt my daughter.”

Rudy wished that he could say something more positive. He wished that he could reassure the woman. But the guilt that ate away at him continued to pull him down and he could feel a few tears moving down his face. There was no way that he could tell her what she wanted to know. There was only one thing that he could say.

With his head lowering down, his gaze averting the woman’s, he whispered loudly enough for her to hear, “....I’m sorry, but I don’t….”

Silence immediately fell upon the room. Rudy could hear the small gasps that escaped the female humans’ mouths. He could feel his own heart sinking as he realized what he just said. He couldn’t bring himself to take it back. He didn’t feel as though he deserved that chance. He struggled to keep himself breathing, but each one felt hard and rigid, like a stone got clogged in his chest.

When he did finally look up, the silence providing too much chilliness around him, he could see Mrs. Sanchez looking at him in… It wasn’t disgust or contempt like he thought. Instead, it was disappointment. She didn’t look as if she could bring herself to say anything else.

And Penny… She was shocked by this. She looked at him like she thought he would have said something else. She looked at him as though he was crazy to say what he had. Rudy could only look away from her. He couldn’t bring himself to say anything to her after what he had admitted to. He made to effort to correct himself. As far as he knew, as far as he was concerned, he really didn’t have and excuse. He still attacked Penny and he had to live with the consequences of that.

“I see….” Mrs. Sanchez said. Her voice sliced through the air, startling Rudy as he hadn’t expected her to speak up so soon. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, but he could almost feel her glare on him. “So you confess to having no reason to harm your friend, my daughter.. So why did you do it?”

Rudy looked at her, feeling his neck automatically tugging him in that direction. He could see how she was looking at him and he could tell that she wanted an answer. He couldn’t just push her away. He licked his lips nervously as he looked away for a moment. He forced himself to reply, “I-I really don’t know. I just… I’m so sorry, I-I…”

“Sorry isn’t going to solve this problem, Rudy Tabootie…” Hissed Mrs. Sanchez. She walked over towards him. He could feel her towering over him despite there not being a big height difference between the two. He cringed as he could see how she was looking at him and how she was folding her arms together. “I suggest you stay put and we talk about this. Tell me exactly what happened.”

Rudy felt another flinch stretching against his face. He looked from her to Penny, who looked as if she couldn’t think of what to say, and then he turned back to Mrs. Sanchez. He swallowed hard and he said, “...o-okay… I-I’ll tell you what happened… What I remember is that…”

sss

Everything was so hard to take in at once. He tried to think of some way to keep his mind clear, but he kept failing at it. He could feel his head pounding and aching from attempting to make sense of this whole thing. But could he truly succeed in doing that? Or was he just making it all worse for himself?

Mr. Tabootie turned his gaze downwards. It wasn’t like Mrs. Sanchez to lie to him and his wife about these sorts of things, or at all, really. She had always been honest and open about all sorts of topics, including the more sensitive stuff.

But this…?

It was just so hard for him to comprehend. Just how was he supposed to comprehend this? How was he supposed to handle this? The thought twisted up everything inside of his chest and it was like someone was trying to blend them about. He couldn’t do anything to stop it. Any effort to try was met with resistance as his stomach lurched and pushed outward, as though to expel something from his stomach.

He swallowed hard as he allowed his rapidly thinking brain to move through those thoughts again. He had gone through this multiple times, and yet he kept on going. He wanted to understand. He wanted to think of just how this all made sense in the long run. But it seemed like, the more that he tried, the more that he failed.

How could he come to realize just how true this stuff was? How could he accept it? None of it made any sense. It all went against everything that he knew how things worked. It went against everything that he believed in when it came to how the world was. It brought about uncomfortable sensations, bile tasting bitter in his mouth, and his head aching as he realized the full ramifications of this whole thing. He felt his teeth grinding together and he felt himself struggling to swallow. Nothing he did helped him feel better.

Just….how in the world was this true? How could there be this other world that he didn’t know about? How could their son be involved? How did Mr. Cosmo come to believe in it? Was this even true or was Mrs. Sanchez incorrect?

There was little way to know for sure right now, and that just made things worse for the man. He wanted so much to find out about this. Both he and his wife… They were both locked in an endless cycle of figuring all of this out, yet nothing would make sense. It left them both feeling rather unsettled and he felt his gritted teeth pressing down even harder. He thought for sure he was going to break something if this were kept up.

But he did know that Mrs. Sanchez wouldn’t just lie to them like that. And she wasn’t one to get her facts mixed up. She had to be right. She had to be telling the truth. Rudy and Penny had both been involved in something much larger than they could have realized. But what was it going to mean for them in the future? How were they supposed to handle this?

Mr. Tabootie felt….lost, for a lack of a better term. He didn’t know what the appropriate course of action was. He didn’t know what he should do, how he should handle the situation, especially when he just never encountered something like this before. Had it been something like trespassing, he would know. But what would he do in regards to this supposed other world that Rudy and Penny got entangled in?

A part of him thought that keeping them out was the best option. That was why they got in trouble in the first place, it would seem. Mr. Cosmo wanted them, wanted Rudy specifically, because of what he knew about that world. But at the same time, how would Rudy act? Would it be a good thing to act without having discussed things first with him? He knew in his heart what was best for Rudy’s safety, but he also couldn’t help but question that sort of decision. This was going to be harder than he thought.

“Do you….really think that he did that…?” Mrs. Tabootie asked, her voice small and squeaky. There was some noticeable strain in her voice, causing Mr. Tabootie to flinch. “Do you think our son had actually….hurt Penny..?”

A sharp tug struck at Mr. Tabootie’s stomach at this. That was another issue that he had to deal with as well. Not only did they find out about this other world, but there was also the fact that Rudy was supposedly involved in an attack against Penny. There was claims of ‘he didn’t mean to’ and ‘Mr. Cosmo had messed with him’ or something. But with all this information flooding in at the same time, the man and his wife could not separate it all out and it became impossible to tell just what the fuck was going on. Their brains needed time to sort this out.

In the meantime, they were both left feeling uncomfortable, sickened, and wanting to throw up. This was just too much for them to take in so fast. There was too much information for their brains to comprehend, leaving them feeling achy. They couldn’t really think about how Rudy was forced into the act. This was pushed to the side as their minds began to realize the fact that their son was involved in any sort of attack.

It just….didn’t make sense to them. Rudy would never… Would he…? No, he was not that sort of person. He loved Penny. He was close to her, just like Mr. Tabootie was with his wife. There was no way that he would ever consider…..

But neither of them could deny how that meeting had gone. Neither of them could deny the words spoken, the emotions felt, how everything had grown tense so fast… They could not detect any real malice in Mrs. Sanchez’s voice, but they realized what this might imply for the future. Rudy’s face as he looked away said it all. It seemed like the only reason why Mrs. Sanchez didn’t treat Rudy more firmly and sternly was because of the fact that he was injured himself.

Penny was bad enough, with her ripped side that nearly killed her. But Rudy had multiple stab wounds, in his side, stomach, and hand. At least from what they could see. Rudy had been limping pretty badly and it was clear that he was in a lot of pain. Yet despite that, he still found the strength to make sure that Penny was okay before he had himself treated. Just goes to show how selfless he could be, even at the expense of himself.

Mr. Tabootie let out a small sigh. He didn’t want to keep thinking about this. He and his wife both needed their rest. He tilted his head up a little and he said, “I’m sure they were right when they said it was an accident… Right now, both of them need time to recover, as do we.” He tried his best to smile at his wife. “Let us wait until the near future before we make any real big discussions, all right?”

Mrs. Tabootie nodded numbly. “All right. That...sounds pretty good.”

Mr. Tabootie continued to smile, trying to look as supportive as possible. But he couldn’t remain like that for long. He felt his expression softening up as he looked away, his eyes facing towards the ground. He hoped that things would work out. And he hoped that things would go back to how they used to be.

Or at least, as much as possible.

sss

Things moved much more slowly than anyone would have liked. Time felt like it was moving painfully slow and it didn’t seem like any effort from anyone could speed things up. They were trapped in this endless cycle of emotions looming over them, of them feeling sick and tired of everything that has happened and just….what were they going to do in the end? How were they going to succeed in…

There was just nothing that they could do except continue to press on. It was true that things were getting increasingly difficult. But they wouldn’t give up. They couldn’t. This was not a viable option for them. It was either press on or live in doubt, and they all knew what would happen if they chose the latter.

Rudy and Penny had some...issues they needed to sort out. Despite the fact that Penny had still defended Rudy and despite Rudy knowing that he was not in control of himself over what had happened, this didn’t change how they acted towards each other. Penny would naturally flinch and move away while Rudy would hesitate to even get near her. It might have been a few months since the events took place and they both made a lot of progress in healing. But the emotional scars were still there.

This was a difficult sight to see, especially for their parents, who were used to them getting along so well. But their parents also were afflicted by the supposed attack and they weren’t sure how to feel anymore. The one with the biggest issues was Mrs. Sanchez herself, and for good reason. She had just found out her daughter was attacked by someone that she thought she could trust. Forced or not, she had a hard time seeing Rudy as a friend as much as she used to. She didn’t go out of her way to make Rudy leave, but it was obvious that she was not as warm to him as she once was.

Rudy didn’t really hold this against her. It just served as a reminder to him of what happened, a reminder that he had really crossed the line. It made him really wish that he hadn’t gotten tangled with Mr. Cosmo and he wished that he had been able to push him back further, to prevent him from doing anything so extreme.

But that isn’t what happened, and the repercussions of that were widespread. He and Penny were both fully aware of what was going on in ChalkZone. There was a lot of emotional turmoil going on in the aftermath of Mr. Cosmo’s resumed attacks. Commotion, chaos, and arguments reigned as the zoners tried to figure out what they were going to do, and struggled to find those who had gone missing.

To everyone’s horror, a lot more zoners had gone than they first realized. It was not known if they simply went to hide or if Mr. Cosmo played a role. And the ones that they did know were kidnapped, they weren’t able to find the bodies of all of them. They were aware of at least some survivors, and many of them needed to be hospitalized. But some never returned and they all feared the worse. Especially Rudy and Penny; they were aware that Mr. Cosmo would have killed them off.

Speaking of Mr. Cosmo, it would seem that he had survived Bardot’s attack. Rudy and Penny did not know the full details, but the man was still around, fully alive. But not as dangerous as they had been before. He had been forced to stay in ChalkZone long enough for something called ‘chalking up’ to occur, turning him into a zoner and thus rendering him harmless.

This didn’t really diminish the zoners’ hatred or fear of him, though, which was understandable. After all the trouble that he’s caused, who in their right mind would let him go that fast? Mr. Cosmo still did so much. He only escaped judgement because of his broken neck. It was agreed upon, even by the most grumpy of zoners, that it was best to put the now zonerfied man in a hospital first so that he was capable of handling the punishment dished out to him afterwards.

Not all the zoners had been pleased to wait, but others felt it would still be worth it in the end. The trial was not to happen until a few more days. When that day came, they would all decide, as a unified group, what punishment this man deserved after all the horrible things that he had one.

Mr. Cosmo didn’t seem to fight so much. Rudy and Penny were confused by this. It didn’t seem logical that he would be genuinely regretful for his actions after what he’s done. But could it still be possible that….?

No, it couldn’t be. That was something that they all could agree on. Mr. Cosmo held no regrets. He didn’t care who he hurt and he was just faking it. He probably wanted to try to get an easier time off or something. To lessen his sentence. What a disgusting move… But it was still very befitting of that man. It was exactly the sort of thing that he would do.

But the rest of ChalkZone was not going to be so easily tricked. They weren’t going to fall for it. And Mr. Cosmo would ultimately pay the price for his involvement in what had happened. The thought of him finally being brought to justice after all this time was enough to make many zoners smile, but a few were not so sure. Rudy and Penny had tried to reason with them, but they had left in a huff. It wasn’t sure what they wanted, but it was agreed that they just needed a little bit of time.

The trial with Mr. Cosmo wasn’t the only thing on everyone’s minds. There was the whole situation with Mr. Wilter and Biclops. Word of Mr. Wilter’s death spread across ChalkZone and the zoners who knew him were shocked and unnerved by what they had heard. Rudy still blamed himself for it and insisted that he was at fault. Penny and the other zoners tried their best to convince him that this wasn’t the case and that he shouldn’t be so harsh on himself. Well most of them, anyway. There were a few outliers who were upset with Rudy, but their views were few, overshadowed by the more supportive zoners.

Biclops had ended up passing away due to his injuries. There had been some hope for a while that he’d live. But Mr. Cosmo had dealt too much damage to him and Rudy and Penny, given their individual situations, were not able to do anything to help him in time. The realization made them sick to their stomachs and the giant’s death dealt an even harsher blow to ChalkZone. Even as a new guardian of the mines was being selected, it still didn’t erase the bitter feeling inside everyone’s mouths.

There were so many questions left unanswered, and the two whom could have given it to Rudy and Penny were now gone. The only one left that could answer was Mr. Cosmo himself. But the question was, even if he agreed to answer, did they really want to know anything else of what happened in the past? Of Mr. Wilter’s involvement? Or should they just let the past rest?

And it wasn’t just ChalkZone that had issues or their parents knowing about ChalkZone that had them worried. There was also the fact that an investigation had gone on with Mr. Cosmo’s company. It was a lucky thing that they found no zoners, but they did see the remnants of the people who were killed by the zoners. There was fear that if they looked hard enough, they might find something of chalk there and Terry Bouffant and Vinnie Raton would use this to prove that ChalkZone was real. So far, nothing came of this, but it still left them feeling very worried.

Then there was the trial that these people would have to go through. It was not set to happen yet, but Rudy and Penny both feared what could happen if they spilled anything revealing that would culminate in ChalkZone’s exposure. To make matters worse, they could not even say anything without turning awkward attention to them, to reveal accidentally that they knew about this world. While they were still a part of the trial as they were kidnapped and hurt there, neither of them could say much about ChalkZone without it sounding too conspicuous, suspicious. Besides, it was not like those people had any way of proving the zoners were real in the end…

...right…?

Rudy and Penny both did their best to try to remain calm and focus their attention on what needed to be done next. There were two upcoming trials that they both needed to be a part of. They needed to sort things out with their parents. They needed to pick up the pieces around ChalkZone, and then there was doing the one thing that they had come in here today initially to do.

Speak to Snap.

sss

It took a little longer than he thought it would to reach Snap’s house. The remnants of pain that still filled him up make it a little difficult to move as quickly as he used to. He could feel himself start to stumble forward a little and he waved his arms about as he tried to catch himself before it was too late. His body started to tumble and he prepared to hit the ground.

“Rudy!” Penny let out a small cry as she reached out and grabbed onto the boy. She managed to hold onto him long enough to let him right himself. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I am. Thanks.” Rudy said softly.

He noticed that, after he said that and after Penny smiled and nodded, she immediately backed away from him. Rudy saw the flash of fear in her eyes. Despite it being weaker than before, Rudy still felt a pang in his chest upon seeing Penny like this. He looked away from her and rubbed his left arm a little.

Well, there was no use in just standing around here doing nothing. They had arrived at their friend’s place and they needed to speak to him. Especially considering there was an important day coming up.

It was already known to them that Snap didn’t want to participate. He had acted fine earlier, but it was clear that he was just hiding his darker, more uncomfortable feelings. He had been more badly affected by the recent events than he was willing to admit. It didn’t help that the zoners still wanted to put him on trial. Rudy and Penny might have convinced them otherwise, explaining that it was not fair to force him into a trial for something that he had no control over. But that did not satisfy all of the zoners. And not even Rapsheeba’s influence was enough to make them stop.

But there still was another trial that he was expected to take part in. The one for Mr. Cosmo… and Snap was none too pleased with it. It had taken a while for his brain to settle down long enough to start making the connections, but the small blue and white zoner had experienced bouts of fear attacks and night terrors, and it was certainly related to Mr. Cosmo. The poor guy didn’t want to go anywhere near him…. And yet, without his testimony, it would be harder to convict Mr. Cosmo. Most of his other victims were dead.

Rudy swallowed hard as he raised up his left hand, curling it into a fist. He immediately noticed just how weak this hand had gotten and there was a flash of pain in his palm. He let out a small yelp as he brought his hand to himself, gripping it with his other hand and seething through clenched teeth.

“You need to be careful, Rudy.” Penny said. “You know what the doctor said.”

Rudy held on a little longer, gently rubbing his hand lightly as he carefully examined it. He then looked back at Penny and gave a small smile. “Y-Yeah….I know…” Rudy looked back down at his hand, his smile fading quickly. He hoped that he wasn’t going to permanently lose some control over this hand. It was bad enough that Mr. Cosmo’s attack cost him some movement and strength in this hand. For it to become permanent….

Rudy shook his head to knock out those thoughts before turning his attention to the door. He lifted his hand up and he reached out to knock on the door. He could hear the sound echoing into the house, and then he took a step back to wait to see if Snap would open the door.

And to his surprise and relief, he did. The door slowly cracked open and Rudy and Penny could immediately see their friend coming out…

...in a wheelchair.

It served as a reminder to them that Snap had been hurt worse than they remembered, having lost the ability to walk for a while, especially from when Mr. Cosmo burned his feet with vinegar. If you were to move in close enough, you might still smell it on his feet, and his head had not yet quite healed all the way. Neither did the other zoners who were rescued, the few that survived, such as Lars. Whatever had happened to make Snap go nuts had temporarily numbed the pain, but with all that running around, Snap had worsened his injuries.

That event still left a scar, and no one could figure out just why it happened. Rudy still believed that Bardot was involved, though the hybrid zoner repeatedly claimed innocence to it. Rudy furrowed his eyes at the thought. He wasn’t going to buy it. But for now, there were other things to take care of first.

“H-Hey guys…” Snap said. His voice was a little weakened, as though he was straining to talk. He was smiling at them, but his face and eyes showed how he was really feeling. It was like he had to drag himself out of bed and he didn’t look as cleaned up as usual. “Wh-What brings you over here?”

Rudy and Penny glanced at one another. They both silently spoke to each other with their eyes. This was not going to be an easy topic to bring up. But they both knew that it had to be done. Snap could not hide from this trial. He was required to come. Much of ChalkZone depended on it.

“Snap, we came over to see how you were doing.” Rudy began. He figured that would be the best way to head into it. “We wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

Penny took a step forward. “And we wanted to help you with getting ready for the trial.” A bit blunt and to the point, but it did need to be done.

Snap’s eyes widened for a brief moment before he shook it off. He gave a weak chuckle and the smile returned to his face, though relatively weakened from before. “Heh.. Why would you… need to help me with that? I-I’m fine. I don’t need..” He stopped for a moment, hissing in pain, his hand on his bandaged head. “I don’t need help with this…”

Rudy and Penny were not about to back down. Despite Snap’s words, they started to move in closer. The zoner backed up his wheelchair instinctively, not even trying to shut the door on them. Rudy and Penny stood on either side of Snap, staring at him sympathetically.

But Snap still persisted.

“Hey it’s all fine now. They found someone else, surely! I don’t need to head on over there.” Snap said. He was still smiling, but there was now a shakiness to it. It was as if he was struggling to smile, struggling to make it look like it was okay. “I-I don’t need to go over there. Th-There’s no need for….” His voice trailed off.

Penny put her hand on Snap’s arm. “We’ll be here for you, Snap.”

“Yeah, you be alone.” Rudy reassured him.

Snap gave a quick, nervous chuckle. “I-I-I don’t need you guys with me b-because I am not going. I don’t need to. I-I-It’s all…. I-I mean…” His smile began to fade the longer he tried to convince Rudy and Penny and soon the raw terror forged across his face. “N-No! I don’t want to! You can’t make me! I-I don’t want to...please!”

Rudy and Penny immediately held onto their friend as he started screaming like this. The cries echoed across the room.

sss

How long had they been sitting here with their friend, waiting for him to calm down? How long did they hold onto him, rubbing his back and trying to help him relax? It seemed like hours had gone by, nonstop, their heads spinning as they struggled to control themselves. Their own emotions were rising up and it felt like it was spilling over, crashing into the ground as their vision began to blur anything that was not related to their friend.

Penny had a hard time listening to Snap acting this way. His pained and terrified cries seeped into her soul and it broke her heart into two pieces. She wanted to clutch at her chest, but she avoided doing so, instead focusing just on Snap himself and trying to see if there was any way that she and Rudy could help him not be so afraid any longer.

But what could they do? They had very little options at their disposal. They could only try to whisper words of comfort to him. But that would only go so far. She gritted her teeth, not wanting to give up. But at the same time, there was just...little that could be done about this. She put her hand to her head and rubbed it gently, feeling a sickness welling up inside of her. She felt her other hand gripping his shoulder more firmly, subconsciously trying to comfort him. But it didn’t seem to matter what she and Rudy tried to do. Nothing was helping Snap to stop crying.

But that didn’t stop them from keeping on trying, anyway. They had pushed Snap into the living room, away from the door, so that he could cry in peace. Snap’s arms were wrapped around Rudy’s body firmly and tightly, his head buried against the teen’s chest. Penny did her best to comfort Snap by squeezing his shoulder and rubbing his back. She and Rudy exchanged worried glances at each other, their minds temporarily forgetting about their previous troubles. Right now, all that mattered was the state of their friend’s mind.

“I-I don’t want to go…” Snap whimpered loudly. “I-I really d-d-don’t want to… P-Please…I-I..” Snap’s broken voice faded into nothingness as he squeezed his eyes shut tighter, the salty wetness moving down his reddened cheeks.

“I know you don’t want do this, Snap. We really wish that you didn’t have to do this.” Penny spoke to him gently. She tried to sound as reassuring as possible. She doubted that there was anything that she could say that would help Snap feel that much better, though. Nothing but telling him there was a way out. But she couldn’t lie to her friend and neither could Rudy. “But it’s something that’s going to need to be done. You’re one of the few survivors found and we need..the zoners need as many testimonies from you guys as possible to lock that man away.”

Rudy nodded his head in agreement. He lowered his head, placing his chin on the top of Snap’s head. “Yeah, Snap. It’s a hard thing to do, but it has to be done. Only through this can justice truly be served.”

Snap continued to tremble hard. It didn’t look like he was going to stop anytime soon. And judging from his whimpering, he wasn’t going to relax soon, either. It seemed like he was prepared to keep this up for a while, actually. The sight shattered their hearts further and made them feel even more desperate to do something to help their friend. But...it wasn’t going to be easy, was it?

Penny attempted a second time to calm down her friend. “Think about it this way, Snap. You’ll only have to do this once. And then you won’t have to worry about it again.”

Snap turned his head to try to look at her. She could see those large white eyes staring at her and she couldn’t help but flinch a little bit. Snap’s eyes narrowed in response, but he didn’t seem angry. It was more that he was desperate. If he had pupils, she imagined that they would be pretty tiny at this point. She could hear Snap give off a whimper or two as he tried to speak again, “C-C-Can we just skip this..? M-M-Move on…? Please...I don’t want this…. Th-They have enough people.” He turned his head away again and pushed it up against Rudy once more. “Th-Th-They don’t n-n-need me.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Snap.” Rudy said to him as he gently pulled him back. Rudy looked down at his friend and smiled the best that he could. He reached out to gently cup his chin. His other hand moved along the top of his round head. “All voices are needed for this. As many as they can get their hands on, in order to throw this guy away. You take a step out of this, and you run the risk of Mr. Cosmo not getting what he deserves.”

Penny tried her best to swallow her fear and get herself to move closer to Rudy so that she could get a better view of Snap. She stared at him sadly, but still managed a small smile. She reached out and her hand found his, and she gently squeezed it. “And Rudy and I will be there for you. We will support you in any way that we can. We promise.”

Snap looked between his two friends. He still looked desperate, as though he was trying to find the whole ‘we found a way out’ message that he so desperately wanted. But when he saw that he wasn’t going to get it, he just lowered his head and started to cry softly once more. “B-But I’m scared that he’s going to….”

“Snap..” Rudy held onto his friend’s shoulders tightly, staring at him right in the eyes. “He is not going to hurt you again. He won’t be able to. He’s a zoner now, stripped of his power.” The male teen leaned in closer and put his head against Snap’s forehead. “I promise you that he won’t be able to harm you in anyway ever again.”

Snap’s eyes watered a little more, his lip curling downward. He choked a little, struggling to fight back against his sobs. “B-But...I…” He swallowed hard. He lifted his round hand up and placed it against Rudy, his expression looking more terrified and desperate than ever before. “Please, isn’t there some other way to…”

Penny bit her lip before putting her hand against Snap’s shoulder again. “This isn’t helping, Snap. You can’t just run and hide like this. Everyone is counting on you. I’m sure you don’t want to disappoint them, right?”

Snap sniffled softly. “I-I… No…”

Penny nodded her head. “I didn’t think so. I understand that this is very stressful for you. But once it’s finished, that’s it.” Penny leaned in a little closer to her friend. She gave him a gentle nuzzle, her cheek rubbing against his. “Trust us… Things will get better after this. We will help you get through this. Then you won’t have to see that awful man ever again.”

“Penny is right, Snap.” Rudy said to the small blue and white zoner. “All that you need to do is testify once, and then you’ll be down and off that stand in no time. Everything will be all right.”

At first, it didn’t seem like their words were working. They had hoped that Snap would have responded better than this. But it was understandable why he would still be scared. Mr. Cosmo had tormented him terribly and though his mind had done a good job with temporary suppressing the fear, it all slipped down now and Snap was left to deal with it as well as the physical pain. It was a terrible combination that left the poor zoner shaken and broken.

But regardless, she and Rudy still didn't leave their friend’s side. They wanted him to know that they were here for him and that they were not going to just abandon him. They let him cry for however longer he wanted to, whispering words of reassurement to him. They could hear his cries echoing against the walls, lasting for several minutes.

And then after what felt like an hour, they could hear Snap’s shaky voice manage to squeak out one thing.

“O-O-Okay… I-I-I’ll t-t-try…”

sss

His heart pounded in his chest. He felt sickened to his stomach. He felt everything around him swirling and struggling to maintain some kind of ground. He felt like he was going to fall forward despite this not being that likely. He had tried whatever he could to calm down, but that didn’t seem to be all that possible. It was like he was trapped in a rock and a hard place with no way to escape.

No matter what he tried, there was no way that he could rewind time. There was no way to escape what was being displayed before his eyes. He could rub them as hard as he could but they were not going to show him anything different.

Today was the day of the trial.

Snap clutched at his chest tightly, seething through his clenched teeth. He tried so hard to keep himself from going into another panicked state. He tried to remember what his friends had said, how they had comforted him. He tried to remember how they were going to do whatever they could to support him. He was not going to do this alone. He wasn’t going to need to. It was all going to fall down into the proper place and it was going to be fine.

But no matter how much he told himself this, his old fears kept rising up to the top. He felt himself burning on the inside, as if his skin was going to set on fire. He felt his teeth gritting against each other, almost to the point of cracking. His world spun around him as he clutched at his head. He could feel a few tears struggling to escape. He fought back against them the best that he could, not wanting to look weak.

He realized just how important his voice was in all of this. He realized that without him, it would be harder to lock away the former human. It was true that he’d still get locked up anyway, but he might get a lighter sentence and Snap….really didn’t want that. That man did deserve everything that was tossed at him. And the only way to ensure that was to get up there and testify, like his friends had stated.

His friends weren’t here just yet. But they said they would be here soon to escort him to the courthouse where the trial would take place. In the meantime, he would have to get ready. He had thought about taking his time to try to draw things out as much as possible. But would that really be a smart move? Wouldn’t that just make sure that he would have to stay there longer? Rudy and Penny were right that getting it done and over with sooner would be the best thing to do.

So he just went about his day as quickly as he could. He got himself something to eat. He got himself dressed and cleaned up. He managed to get his chores done, all still within his wheelchair. It would be some longer time still before he felt he was ready to walk on the ground with his feet again. And it all seemed like he had finished within a fraction of the time.

And now it was just a matter of waiting for his friends. He still felt anxious about the whole thing, but if he just powered through, he might be able to finish it in no time. And then he could try to return to how things had been before. He could try to…

His head lifted up when he could hear the sound of the door opening up behind him. He swung his head in that direction and narrowed his eyes just slightly and he could see and hear someone approaching him. There was no need for him to get jumpy. It was exactly whom he thought it was going to be.

“Hello, Bucko and Buckette..” He said softly as he shifted his wheelchair around to face them. “I was just about to finish up...well… Doesn’t matter now.” He didn’t know why his mind wandered like that, but he still tried his best to smile at Rudy and Penny. “Was it difficult to get out here?”

Rudy shook his head. “No, I mean, our parents wanted to talk to us, but he managed to convince them to wait.”

Penny nodded her head. “We told them we had somewhere to be.”

Snap detected something in their voices. It almost sounded like they were hiding something. Or that they were afraid to bring certain things up. He would have said something about that, but given what was going on right now, he realized that this was only going to delay things further. He pushed that thought aside for now and he attempted to focus on what was more important right now.

“So are you two prepared for the trial?” He asked, his voice a bit more blunt than he thought it was going to be. He could see his friends’ eyes widening a little at this statement. He just shrugged his shoulders. “I just want to make sure.”

“Or you’re just trying to mask your own fear from yourself.” Penny said. She raised a finger up, pointing in his direction. “Don’t try to tell us otherwise. We know you better than that, Snap. You don’t need to lie.”

Snap grimaced at this. Of course Penny would figure it out so easily. She was Penny. This sort of stuff came natural to her. He shifted his gaze away from her and stared off in one direction. “I’m still going to go, in case you are worried about that. I wish that I didn’t. But like you said, there isn’t much of a choice.”

Rudy let out a sigh as he walked closer to Snap. “We know that it’s not the best kind of situation. But…” He reached out and placed his hand on Snap’s shoulder. “We are glad that you understand.”

Snap exchanged some smiles with his friends. He wasn’t really sure how much it was going to help, but it at least got him to feel a little bit better. He lifted his head up and he looked out where the window was. The permanent Day Zone sun was still shining in, offering a sort of shield from the nervousness that he was feeling right now. The minutes were ticking by, bringing him closer and closer to needing to head out to the courtroom. But after it was all over and he finished what needed to be done, he could try to return back to a more normal life.

Well, provided how long it took him to heal, that is. He didn’t know the extent of the damage done to him. He didn’t know how well his legs functioned or will function later. He didn’t know if the electricity from that nail had done anything further to him than what it looked like. He recalled the other surviving nail zoners, after they had regained their sanity, seemed to all vary, and he was not sure where he was at.

The doctors were the one who found out, just recently actually, that Snap’s sudden aggressiveness was the result of both Bardot’s actions and Mr. Cosmo’s actions. The red chalk irritated the internal injuries that he had at the time that caused him to go feral. It had taken a while for the flare up to die down. The doctors don’t think it will happen again, but there was still fear within Snap’s mind that something could happen still. It was difficult for him to fully relax himself as he continued to fear that he would one day go crazy again.

And the other zoners seemed to agree. At least, the ones that bared witness to what had he had done or had harmed directly. One of the few who still defended him despite knowing what had he had done was Rapsheeba and even her popularity wasn’t enough to spread the word. He wondered if it was even having a negative affect on things. The thought brought his heart to a near stopping point.

And then there was…

“We’re sure that this trial will also bring some peace to those that we…” Rudy hesitated for a moment. He pressed his teeth against his lip and he swallowed hard. He forced himself to continue, “...could not save…”

Snap froze at this, his eyes going wide. He heard those names echoing in his head, like Bathtub Granny and Howdy and Buttered Toast Man, and others that had lost their lives to this man’s evil deeds. They still hadn’t found several, including Blocky, and they had no clue if these missing zoners were dead or alive. Snap could feel himself cringing inward, a few tears forming in his eyes and they dripped down. He took in a few shuddering breaths as his body shook, his mind going a million miles an hour.

Rudy and Penny moved up towards him and put their arms around him carefully. Snap relaxed in their embrace, enjoying their comfort. He could feel his pounding headache slowly heal itself as he let himself lean against them. They stayed like this for several moments before they pulled apart and stared at one another.

Rudy was the one who broke the silence. “Shall we head out, then?”

Snap stared at his friend for a few moments before he got himself to nod quickly. “Y-Yeah… Let’s get this over with.”

With that, the friends left the house.

sss

Those fools were such idiots… Couldn’t they see what they were doing? Did they not have a clue how much this was going to screw everything up? Did they not see the dangers before them?

Mrs. Leniir furrowed her eyes softly as she looked at the old newspaper, the one that declared the punishments for the people involved with Mr. Cosmo’s company. Reading this article over and over fueled her anger and she felt her teeth curling back into a snarl. She felt the urge to slam the paper against the table, but she somehow managed to avoid going that far. Instead, she just held onto it tightly, feeling her fingernails try to tear into it.

How could those idiots even think of doing something like this? How could they lock away those people when there was a bigger threat to be had? That there was something far worse than some….whatever the fuck these people got arrested for. She herself would have been arrested as well if she didn’t immediately leave town. How long would that last her? She was not sure. But she hoped it would be long enough for her to try to do something about this.

She felt sorry for that poor man that got arrested. Out of all of them, she had hoped that at least he would escape capture or at least be shown mercy. But he was dragged in anyway and convicted, treated like a monster. And why? Something regarding being involved with the kidnapping or whatever. But did that really matter at this point? Who cared about two teenagers when there were monsters lurking about? Especially when said teenagers had been protecting those monsters?

The thought brought her blood to a boil. She could not believe that no one was taking the issue seriously. They had seen the attacks. Or at least, their aftermath. How could they blame ‘domestic violence’ or whatever as the cause? How could they think that their own were the ones causing all that trouble? Were they really that stupid?

Well at least she was not. At least she was capable of seeing things for as they were. And she swore, this was not over yet. She was going to find a way to expose this world and have those creatures eliminated. She didn’t care how long that it took. She just wanted it done and over. She was no longer going to allow her softness get the best of her. She was not going to let fear stop her. She would do whatever it took to make sure that no one would suffer from that again.

She was about to crumble the newspaper and throw it into the garbage when she noticed something on one of the middle pages. She turned the newspaper around a bit until she could get a better view of that. She leaned in a little closer, her eyes narrowing a little as she stared intently at it, and she could soon see the image that she had spotted before more clearly.

Wasn’t this that Terry Bouffant person? The sight of her made Ms. Leniir scoff, turning her nose up. Why was that fucking woman in the paper? She was always the crazy one, with her stupid theories and…

Wait, didn’t she once talk about the world of chalk? And didn’t she bring up Rudy Tabootie? One of the two little brats who had protected those evil zoners?

After letting the thought swelter in her mind a little, Ms. Leniir narrowed her eyes slowly. Looks like she was going to have to pay this Terry Bouffant person a visit sometime soon.

sss

Rudy took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The room around them was filled with him and Penny was filled with a strong tenseness that they could not easily dismiss. They could feel it in their bones, causing them to shudder. All the nervous and angry zoners around them did not help the feeling go away and they felt their teeth pressing against their lip. They knew what was to happen today and they knew that there was no turning back at this point.

Today and in this hour, where they were now, it was where Mr. Cosmo was finally going to go through the trial. It was the day that they and the others had been waiting for. The man had healed enough to be permitted into the trial and the zoners were just as eager as them to find out what was to be the man’s fate.

Rudy tried not to let himself get too overwhelmed with all of this. He tried to remind himself that no matter what happened, Mr. Cosmo would be dealt with in some way. He did not know if it would be death or jail or something else. He did still trust that the judge would give him whatever he deserved and wouldn’t just let him off the hook so easily. He doubted that would happen, but that fear still lingered on in his head.

He could see where Snap was located, his wheelchair pushed up against the nearby table, ready to roll out when it was his turn to testify. The small blue and white zoner looked very nervous, and his body shook as emotion ran through him. But Snap was still doing his best to remain put and not try to move away. Rudy felt some sense of pride for Snap, but he was still concerned for his safety. There was still much that could go wrong…

Rudy pulled his thoughts out of that when he heard the sound of the doors opening up. He turned his gaze over and he furrowed his eyes deeply when he could see Mr. Cosmo being led into the room. Any chatter that the room had previously dissipated entirely and all stares and glares were on the man, the former human now turned zoner. Stripped of his humanity, he was no longer a threat.

But Rudy was well aware that attacking him outright was not going to help with anything. Despite understanding what the zoners were feeling, he hoped that they wouldn’t try anything too bad. They need to let the justice system handle this. Mr. Cosmo had nowhere to go and would end up convincing himself. How could that man hope to think that he’d get away so easily? Deep down, he knew that he could not.

Rudy exchanged quick glances with Penny as they both watched the judge raise up his hammer to prepare for the trial. With the hammer coming down fast and hard, there was a loud banging sound and everyone in the room knew to be silent.

“Court is now in session!” The judge called out.

Rudy hardly listened to the words that followed. They echoed in his head but he did not pay attention to them. His eyes continued to look towards Snap, biting his lip as he saw how nervous that he was. He was going to be the first one to testify, from what he understood. That was a lot of pressure on Snap, but Rudy felt that he would be able to succeed in it.

“This is the case of Teddisson Cosmo versus the people!” The judge said, cutting into Rudy’s thoughts.

The boy, along with his female friend, turned their heads up to see that Mr. Cosmo had now been placed at the stand, standing near Snap as a result, and waited there. Though Snap was nervous, the small zoner didn’t have much to fear from him. Especially considering the zoner next to Mr. Cosmo, remaining there to make sure that the man didn’t try to do anything.

“Before we begin, I ask of you, Teddisson Cosmo, to answer one question.” The judge leaned in against his desk, staring intently at the former human. He looked more emotionally involved than he should be and Rudy hoped that this would not cut into the professionalism too much. “You’ve been convicted of several crimes across ChalkZone, including terrorizing and murder. How do you plead…?”

There was some silence as everyone looked towards Mr. Cosmo. The once proud man just stood there with his head lowered, his remaining eye looking at no one in particular. It was an eerie sight to see, reminding Rudy and Penny of what this man used to be. For him to fall down this far, even if he was a villain, was unnerving to witness.

Slowly, Mr. Cosmo raised his head back up and he looked back at the judge. He opened his mouth and he spoke one thing.

“Guilty.”

There was some murmurings around the courtroom at this. Some zoners looked at each other in confusion. Others weren’t moved and judging from their expressions; they clearly wanted things to be done and over with. They weren’t affected by Mr. Cosmo’s plea of guilty. To them, he probably was just looking for a lighter sentence.

But Rudy had his doubts that the man would ever get that. No way the judge would let him off the hook. He could see how the judge was glaring at Mr. Cosmo, his teeth gritting and baring. It looked like he was going to strike at the man at any moment, and he could see how Mr. Cosmo cringed back a little. But there was no further conflict after that and the judge leaned back into his chair.

“Very well, then.” Said the judge. “Let us proceed with the trial.”

Rudy flinched as he heard the hammer fall down. There was a bit of shuffling and he knew what was to happen.

The court was now in session.

sss

Mr. Cosmo made no effort to look up at the zoner talking to him. There was no point in doing so. He already knew how they were looking at him and what their thought process was. He could feel the glares all around him, crashing down against him like a massive weight. Before, he might have tried to fight back. But at this rate, what was the point? He had nothing left to give out.

“So you admit to kidnapping several zoners using your own creation and then you proceeded to try to ‘tame’ them using dangerous nails to the head?” The zoner asked him. Their accusatory tone seemed to melt from their open mouth. “Is that correct?”

Mr. Cosmo didn’t bother lifting his head up, even as the words seemed to slice into his heart. He could feel the voices of the black chalk taunting him, even though he was nowhere near them any longer. He squinted his eyes shut and he felt some hot tears start to burn at them. He shook them off, preventing them from flowing. Tears would not win him any sympathy and he didn’t think that he wanted any, anyway.

He finally replied, “Yes…” He ignored what he could hear the zoners saying around him.

“Ah, so you admit it, don’t you? And why would you? Thinking you’ll score some easy points off punishment if you do?” The zoner in front of him jeered. “You are barking up the wrong tree if you think that will happen. I…”

“Enough! Continue with the questions.” The judge said, slamming his hammer down.

The zoner grumbled at this. They gave a small growl of annoyance before they cleared their throats. “Okay so… Moving on, exactly why did you do this?” The zoner did not sound like he cared about the answer. He raised his hand up in gesture, motioning it towards Mr. Cosmo. “Why did you think that hurting many innocent zoners was a good idea?”

Mr. Cosmo knew it was not going to do him any good, but there was only one thing that he could say to this. At least, it might spark the zoners to investigate and see that he was right all along. He drew in a deep breath and he uttered the phrase: “I was forced into it.”

sss

Penny attempted to control her own thought processes, feeling them burn just as much as the zoners’ were. She felt her gut twisting in her stomach and she felt her eyes narrow deeply.

Why had Mr. Cosmo tried to defend himself like that? How dare he try to make it seem like he wasn’t at fault… She recalled Mr. Cosmo’s words and how the zoners around her had reacted to it. She felt their anger and disgust intertwine with her own and she had to put her hand to her chest to try to relax.

Looking over at Rudy, however, she saw that he wasn’t reacting like the others. He was still shocked and a little upset, but there was a look in his eyes suggesting that he was almost considering this to be a possibility. She didn’t know why he would think such a thing, but she had a feeling that he had his reasons. She would have to talk to him later about this. For now, she tried to keep as much focus on the trial going on as she could.

At least most of the people here seemed to agree with her. The man’s efforts to try to win sympathy were not working. She would not argue that the black chalk was such a mess and did play a role. But she refused to believe that it was the only thing at fault. Mr. Cosmo couldn’t try to deny that he didn’t have some sort of effect himself. He could have tried to listen to what he was told, and yet he still chose to ignore it anyway.

Mr. Cosmo wasn’t on the stand for much longer after that. He said what he wanted to. He endured what the others said to him. He didn’t react much nor did he try to argue against the counterpoints. Either he believed he was right or he was too tired and almost submissive to what was going on.

And Penny had her doubts about that second one.

Penny tried to refocus her attention a little when she saw someone familiar going up to the stand. Mr. Cosmo had been the first one to speak as he was the convicted. Now it was time for some testimony from some victims. And the first one was Snap.

The small blue and white zoner had made his way onto the stand the best that he could. It was difficult given his wheelchair; he still couldn’t walk. He didn’t even attempt to get into the stand directly; he just situated himself there the best that he could. It wasn’t the best but given the circumstances, it would do just fine. Snap adjusted himself and put on his brave face to wait for the questions to come his way.

“Snap, is it…?” Another zoner approached him, different from the one that interrogated Mr. Cosmo. “You claim to be one of the victims who had been taken by Mr. Cosmo, is that correct?”

Snap nodded his head affirmatively. “That is correct.”

“And what exactly happened during your stay?” The zoner asked. “What did Mr. Cosmo allegedly do to you?”

Penny stared at Snap worriedly and she could feel Rudy staring at him as well. She could feel Rudy’s emotions intertwining with her own and she felt her teeth pressing against her lip, nearly cutting into it. She realized that this was going to come, but she didn’t think it would be so soon. She didn’t know how well Snap could handle talking about what happened to him, but it still needed to be said sooner or later. She silently hoped that Snap would make it through it just fine.

Snap looked like he was struggling at first, but he still managed to force himself to start talking, breaking out of the desire to be silent. “H-He… He used his creation to take me… A-And he locked me up. He strapped me to a table a-a-and then he….”

Snap had to pause for a moment. With the way that his body was trembling, it was clear that this was causing him a lot of great distress. He was gripping at his head and shaking hard, and it seemed plausible that he was about to scream. How he managed to avoid that was unknown and almost a miracle in of itself. Snap swallowed hard eventually and, after a small squeak, he forced himself to continue.

“H-H-He used a Real World water droplet to open a w-w-wound in my head and th-that’s when he put in the n-n-needle. He didn’t stop, no matter how much I screamed...a-a-and he used that to hurt me...wh-when he was trying to make R-Rudy join him…”

There were only a few gasps of horror in the courtroom. It wasn’t because they didn’t believe Snap. It was because they knew that he was right. He wasn’t the only surviving zoner and they had heard similar things from them.

But there was still something that happened to Snap that didn’t happen to the others. The fact that he was used to try to force Rudy to turn his back on ChalkZone. And from what Penny was feeling, this is what was getting a rise out of the zoners. Any zoners that were reacting more strongly were responding with disgust as Snap detailed how Mr. Cosmo tortured him in order to make Rudy side with him. And with how far he had gone…. Penny felt sick to her stomach.

“He didn’t care h-h-how much he was hurting me… All he c-cared about was making R-Rudy be like him…” Snap whispered in a broken voice. “H-He wanted Rudy to be his a-a-apprentice… Th-That was all that mattered in the e-end.”

Penny could feel her tears welling up inside and she fought against them. She couldn’t stop them from flowing as she put her hand to her mouth. She realized that what happened was horrible, but she still couldn’t help but cry. Poor Snap… H-He didn’t deserve….

Penny resisted the urge to turn her head to glare at that horrible man. The one that had done all that to Snap, the one who had been the reason Snap had to show up at all… She felt her lips curl slightly but she managed not to give herself in too much to the emotions that surged through her body. She had to tell herself, to believe that everything would turn out fine in the end. That man will get his comeuppance. She was sure of it. She told herself that again and again. While this did make her mind feel like it was a broken record, it was the only thing that kept her from going too crazy.

Snap was doing a good job with continuing to speak. His voice was still weakened and a bit jittery. But all in all, the small zoner still managed to explain more of what had happened and just how far Mr. Cosmo had gone with him. It was not the same as the others, who were merely locked up. But there wasn’t much of a difference in the suffering, was there? No, as far as anyone knew, the one thing that separated Snap from them was the fact that he was made conscious the whole time. The thought made Penny growl. What a horrible fate….

After what felt like several long minutes zipping by, Snap’s voice had started to fall silent. Penny turned her head to see Snap lowering his head to the table, his chin resting on it and his hands covering his face. It was obvious that he could not speak any further and his body had started to quake hard.

But the person who was talking with him either didn’t get the memo or didn’t care. “What else happened?” They pressed on. Snap didn’t look at them. The zoner frowned at this. “You are under oath. If there’s anything else you should be telling us, do it now, or you’ll forfeit…”

Snap lifted his head up and shouted at him, his hands spreading out at the sides, “I told you most of it already! Isn’t that good enough?!”

The zoner before him narrowed their eyes. “When it comes to a court, it is not. You’re supposed to tell us everything if you want this man to be convicted. So whatever you’re hiding, it’s best that you just tell us now and get it over with!”

Penny growled softly at this. She could sense motion beside her and she turned her head, seeing that Rudy was getting ready to head on over. Penny widened her eyes and she immediately rushed at her friend, leaning towards him and putting her arm out in front of him. Rudy stopped where he was and stared at Penny with wide eyes. She slowly shook her head, prompting Rudy to sigh and sit back down.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand where he was coming from and she still gave him a sympathetic look, silently trying to reassure Rudy. Neither of them wanted to see their friend continue to be treated this way. But they might end up making things worse if they just barged in. It was best to just let things proceed as is, even if doing so hurt them on the inside.

The zoner interrogating Snap had grabbed onto the table and leaned in, putting his face close to Snap. Such an act was out of line, yet the judge didn’t say anything to stop it. He was glaring at Snap as well, as though hoping that the zoner would say more things to give him a reason to lock away Mr. Cosmo. It made Penny, along with Rudy, wonder if it was a bad idea to have the trial today. Perhaps it should have been postponed further.

“Now listen here! You are going to tell us more of what happened! Tell us everything!” The zoner shouted. Snap cringed back at this. They then seemed raised their head up and gave a small sneer. “Or are you just trying to come up with some lies?”

Snap stuttered, “I-I don’t understand.”

“How do we know that you’re telling the truth?” The zoner tilted his head to one side, staring at Snap with one eye. “How do we know that you were not involved? You did attack some zoners. Maybe you’re trying to…”

“Hey stop that! Leave him alone!” Rudy shouted, unable to hold himself back.

Penny grabbed onto Rudy’s arm and pulled him down, trying to silence him before he went too far. She glared at him and silently hoped that he didn’t screw anything up.

The zoner, however, had already spotted him. WIth a glare in his direction, the zoner growled, “What was that? Did you want to say something, oh Great Creator?” The voice was sarcastic and filled with venom. It was enough to make Rudy shudder. “And what about you? Why didn’t you stop this madman sooner? Or were you working for him as well?”

Penny gasped at this accusation, unable to believe the zoner’s words. They weren’t even doing their job right; they seemed to just want to incite trouble. While she could understand that they were rather upset and had good reason for it, they were still way out of line with those words of theirs. They were not making a good case for themself.

But judging from their expression, they did not care.

“All of our problems had been caused by creators! And you, Rudy Tabootie, had been the cause of many disasters in the past! How do we know you’re any better than Mr. Cosmo?” The zoner cried out accusingly, their voice becoming slightly shrill. “If it were not for you, we wouldn’t have…!”

The zoner froze when there was some laughter that rumbled through the air. They slowly turned to see where the laughter was coming from. Mr. Cosmo was the culprit, whose legs shook with the laughter that he was making.

“Hey what is so funny, you asshole?!” The zoner shouted at him, looking like he was ready to pounce.

Mr. Cosmo looked over at him, a smile spreading along his face and looking almost unusually happy despite the situation that he was in. “You are, zoner. So funny…” He shook his head slowly. “You came here to judge me and yet you judge these other two.” He raised his hands up at his sides, his head moving from one side to the other as he looked at the zoners around him. “You all blamed me for being too quick to judge the lot of you. I know you want to believe that you are superior to me because you ‘think better’. And yet you are still willing to accuse these two very quickly.”

Mr. Cosmo turned to look at the accusing zoner in the eyes. They stared at one another for several long moments, silence falling upon the room. Nobody knew how long it lasted. It was as though time itself was standing still.

Then Mr. Cosmo said in a soft growl, “What is your excuse…?”

None of the zoners dared to speak after this, not for several long moments. There wasn’t even any jeering or growling. It was hard to tell if the zoners were shocked or if they realized the man made a good point. Either way, the courtroom seemed to have rapidly settled down, no one attempting to speak in defense of the zoner who had been asking Snap questions. Not even the other one, who had spoken to Mr. Cosmo, felt the courage to speak after that.

Penny was stunned by this turn of events. She looked over and saw Rudy’s widened eyes. She could see the emotions running across his face, through his eyes. She wanted to say something, but she could only keep her mouth mostly shut, just open enough to let her breathe. She looked back at the situation before her, feeling the tension wrapping itself around her body, making it hard to move.

After what felt like forever, the judge finally slammed his hammer down, catching everyone’s attention. “Okay, let’s just move on.”

sss

How long had this trial gone on for? A bit too long for his liking. Mr. Cosmo let out a sigh as he waited for all of it to be over. He just wanted to get his sentence and be done with it. He knew that he was not going to get off easy nor did he really want that. He was done making excuses. He was the one who let himself be controlled by the black chalk. He needed to show that he understood his mistakes by accepting whatever punishment came his way.

And just what could he do to the zoners at this point anyway? He had been punished initially in the most ironic way possible. And that was by turning him into a zoner. Never again could he use the magic chalk or leave this world. But the good news was, the black chalk could no longer put its influence over him. There was still the business of the red chalk, but he trusted that the zoners would be able to find and stop Bardot before that time came.

He did his best not to look at the other zoners around him. He could feel their accusing glares on him and he could feel their emotions threatening to rip him apart. There was no escape from this, no matter what he would try to do. The zoners were going to let him know how much they hated him and they weren’t going to let him escape from this. The only relief would be after he got his punishment, but even that…

He could hear another slam of the hammer. He nearly jolted out of his seat. He could sense that the zoners were not looking at him as much at this point. They had turned their gaze. He looked over and he could see that the zoners were now paying attention solely to the judge. He could feel a sense of finality in everything around him. It made him realize in seconds that it was almost going to be over.

“I think I have heard enough.” The judge stated. This was followed with some signs of relief or agitation, zoners both happy that the judgement was coming and others wanting it to be hurried along still. “The jury will go in back and discuss the verdict.”

Mr. Cosmo watched as the jury of about twelve zoners got up and went into the back to make their judgement call. He had a feeling it wasn’t going to be for very long. Why would it be? All the evidence pointed against him and there wasn’t a thing that he could do about that. He didn’t even know why the zoners bothered to even have a trial at all. Might as well just finish him off or lock him out or whatever and be done with it.

But despite this obvious truth, the zoners took longer than he thought. The jury must be being very thorough with each other for whatever reason. He didn’t know what the fuck they could be talking about at this point. What else was there to discuss?

He could feel the other zoners around him getting antsy and tense. Some were confused and expressing that. Others looked ready to shout for the jury to hurry it up, despite the fact that the jury already left and could not hear them. The tension all around was getting thick and Mr. Cosmo could feel it seeping underneath his skin.

How much longer was this going to last? How much longer were they going to need to wait to find out the verdict? He couldn’t imagine it taking this long. The zoners, he swore they were going to take action if something was not done soon. He wouldn’t be surprised if one tried to wrangle him right now.

Mr. Cosmo did his best to remain calm. He just avoided eye contact with the zoners, bringing his hands to himself and fumbling with his fingers as he waited the final verdict. He looked over at the clock hanging nearby, watching the ball attached to the long line swinging from side to side. Even as the tension of the air grew all around him, he still managed to find a way to keep himself calm.

Then after some more time paced, too much if you were to ask him, there was finally a verdict. The jury was finally ready to bring it out into the open. Here they came, already back in their seats after returning. They were ignoring anything the other zoners were saying, opting to return to their seats, with one of the jury members standing in at the front with a piece of paper, looking ready to speak at any moment.

“Have you reached a verdict?” The judge asked. There was an eager tone to his voice.

“We have, your honor.” The jury member said. They raised their paper up some more, their fingers squeezing the paper tightly, as though trying to hide their nervous emotions. Then they said, “We find Mr. Teddisson Cosmo…”

There was some silence, as though for dramatic effect. Such a stupid thing to do, thought Mr. Cosmo. Everyone knew what his verdict was going to be.

“...guilty!”

Mr. Cosmo let out a sigh. Just as he figured. He could hear some of the zoners expressing delight at this verdict. Not that he was all that surprised. Mr. Cosmo kept himself silent, ignoring the jeers being directed at him, as he looked up at the judge. Now was the time for his punishment to be announced, correct?

The judge raised his hammer up and rammed it back down to quiet the room. Then the judge turned his attention to Mr. Cosmo, his cold eyes staring right through his soul. The sight of it made Mr. Cosmo shudder a little, but he did his best to avoid looking too frightened. Instead, he tried to wear an expression on his face that was indicative of him being accepting of whatever was tossed his way.

The judge still remained silent despite now having the verdict. His eyes still remained where they were, indicating that he was still trying to think of a suitable punishment for him. This lasted for several long seconds before the zoner finally began to speak, breaking the tension that everyone was feeling.

“Mr. Teddisson Cosmo, as punishment for trying to destroy our way of life and ourselves, for kidnapping and torturing zoners, and for causing mayhem, I hereby sentence you to…”

sss

It was over.

It was finally over.

Rudy could feel the weight lifting from his shoulders as he tried to relax on the couch in Snap’s home. He flinched as he irritated some of his still healing wounds, and his left hand twitched when he attempted to close the fingers more tightly. But this didn’t bother him right now. He was just glad that they had made it through this and now they could begin shifting things back to the way they used to be.

Or….would that really be possible? After all that’s happened, what had changed, and what they had lost, would it truly be possible to go back to how things were? He realized that, no, it would not be. Regardless of what they tried or did, nothing would ever be completely the same. There were still things that they would need to get used to.

Their parents now knowing about ChalkZone…

Some of their zoner friends now being dead…

Rudy shook his head and he tried not to let depressive emotions crash down on him like that. He told himself that they did what they could and they had only one option, which was to move on from this.

But that was going to be rather hard, and he knew that. They all knew that. They wouldn’t be able to just wake up the next day and already get used to all that’s happened. He would not be able to get used to something like seeing a completely different zoner guarding the mines; he would still expect to see Biclops. But he knew that Biclops had died, and he still blamed himself for it. In all that chaos, he should have been able to do something for the giant. And he felt almost betrayed that a replacement had come so fast. But he did realize that, in the end, Biclops would have preferred to have someone else take over his duties than to leave it unguarded.

But still, how long was it going to take for him to get used to seeing….

His thoughts were cut off when he heard one of his friends speaking to him.

“Thinking about how that trial went?”

Rudy saw how Penny was looking at him. She was sitting on the couch as well, though on the opposite side. She was leaning away from him as well and he could see how deliberate that it was. Rudy bit his lip as he felt himself instinctively move back as well. He turned his head to look away and he addressed her while his eyes were looking at nothing in particular.

“I’m thinking about a lot of things, honestly.” Rudy admitted. His voice was soft and trailed off a little bit. “Sometimes I wonder if the right decision was made. Was that how things should have gone? Should we have done something else? Should we have…”

“Rudy…”

The boy turned to face his friend, seeing how she was looking right at him. He let his body freeze a little, her stare almost boring right into his head, like a drill placed against his skull. Rudy opened his mouth to still speak but he could see how Penny was looking at him. He shut his mouth before leaning away from his friend once more. He went silent as he waited to hear what more she had to say.

“I’m scared of what happened as well. I’m scared that things won’t ever be the same. I’m scared that something else might happen to make things even worse than they already are.” Penny’s words echoed inside of Rudy’s head. They served as a reminder that they weren’t out of the woods just yet. Then her eyes furrowed and her voice grew more firm. “But I also believe that something will come out of this. I do believe that we will rise above this and become something better. It will just...take time.”

Rudy looked at his friend for a few seconds, letting her words sink into his head. Then he lifted his head up slightly and gave a slight smile. He still felt unsure, but a part of him did feel a bit levied from what she had said. It did help turn this situation around a little from being completely hopeless to….something more.

“Thanks you, Penny.” Rudy managed to say.

Penny smiled back at him. “You’re welcome, Rudy.”

“I still wish that Mr. Cosmo did not get off so easy.” Said a grumbled, bitter voice. It was easy to know just how was speaking.

“Snap, we’ve told you before. He did not get off with a slap on the wrist. He’s still being punished.” Penny tried to tell the small blue zoner.

But that didn’t seem to be enough for Snap. He folded his arms to his chest and growled softly, looking angrier than either of them had ever seen him before. “Community service isn’t punishment….” He grumbled under his breath.

Rudy looked at him sadly. “Look, we understand that you were hoping for a life sentence in jail…”

Snap whirled his head in his direction so quickly that Rudy could feel his head moving back in almost perfect rhythmn. “Then why didn’t he?!” Snap growled. “Everyone knew what that monster had done! To everyone and to me! Why would the judge give him such a light sentence?!” Rudy and Penny couldn’t answer that right away. Snap noticed this and his face contorted further in anger. He turned himself away from them, leaning against a part of his wheelchair. “It just isn’t fair… He deserved far worse than that…”

Rudy and Penny remained silent, looking at one another with worried looks in their eyes. They both knew understood where Snap was coming from. They had expected worse for Mr. Cosmo as well. Him getting community service did seem like too weak of a punishment. It really did seem as though he was getting off easy.

But was he really? Snap was thinking more along the lines of obvious punishment. But there was still something to be said about community service. Despite what Snap thought, community service was not exactly the lightest of punishments, depending on how you looked at it. There was something deeper there. Something that you might not notice if you were troubling yourself with thoughts of more traditional punishments.

“I know how upset you are about this, Snap. But the judge already made his decision and he seemed like it was good enough.” Penny said. “There isn’t anything that can be done to change that.”

Snap growled at that. “Well that’s stupid.”

Rudy gave a small sigh. He adjusted himself on the couch so that he was leaning forward. He looked directly at Snap, sensing the emotions rushing through the small zoner’s body. He remained silent for a moment before he said, “Well think about it this way, Snap. The man’s being forced to serve the very zoners he was trying to destroy before. He’s been stripped of his powers and he can’t hurt anyone again.” He gave pause for a moment before he added, “He went from being some terrifying threat to little more than an errand boy, sweeping the streets and forced to be submissive to the ‘lowly zoners’ as he had put it once.”

Penny nodded her head slowly at this. “Isn’t that enough? The humiliation of being put into such a position, stripped of any previous influence?” Penny motioned her hands outward a little as she stared at Snap. Snap didn’t answer. Penny let out a sigh. “I’m sure Mr. Cosmo is not loving his new position, so there’s at least that.”

Snap still didn’t answer. His face remained a frown though there was something of a twinkle in his eyes. Was he finally getting that he couldn’t just keep complaining about this? Was he finally understanding that, even if it wasn’t jail or death, Mr. Cosmo was still suffering? At this rate, it was hard to tell, but both Rudy and Penny realized that they shouldn’t push it. For the time being, it was best to just lock this conversation away and move on.

After all, there was another matter they needed to discuss.

“What do you think we should do regarding our parents?” Rudy asked, the question coming almost as soon as he thought of it.

Penny stared over at Rudy, her eyes widening a little. It was clear that she had almost forgotten about that. “I’m...still not sure.” She lowered her head. “But we know that they know already and I know they’ve wanted to talk to us about it for a while. To...set up rules, I suppose.”

Rudy nodded his head. “Yeah… I’m not sure what they are going to decide.”

“If they understand the situation, then they should just let you still come anyway.” Snap interjected. He straightened himself up, his eyes still remaining narrowed. “They should understand your situation and they should know that you can take care of yourselves.”

“It’s not that simple, Snap.” Penny said.

The blue zoner nodded his head slowly. “Yeah I know. I wish it were, though. We’ve been through enough. Why can’t we get a fucking break?”

Snap and Penny looked at Snap sadly. They remained silent, unable to think of to say.

Snap’s body shook a little more and he was clearly struggling with his internal emotions. Eventually he just stopped himself, forcing out a heavy sigh. He seemed to realize that there wasn’t much that could be done. He eventually just gave up and put his hand to his forehead, rubbing it gently. He remained like this for a few long moments before he seemed to utter the strength to say anything.

“There is going to be no end to this, is there…?” He muttered softly, his voice soft and airy.

Rudy and Penny glanced at each other. They bit their lips, exchanging looks of worry. While they both want to be optimistic, they couldn’t think of anything to say to Snap to help him feel better. How could they do that if they were not sure themselves?

Lying about the situation would not resolve things. They both acknowledged that things were still going to be tough and not everything was going to happen the way that they wanted. They both knew how many felt about Mr. Cosmo’s punishment and how a lot of zoners wanted something worse. They could understand why, but they weren’t about to challenge the judge’s order. But trying to get the zoners to accept this was difficult and they had a feeling that they were going to be bombarded for a while.

But they couldn’t just sit around here and do nothing while Snap wallowed like this. They did need to do something to try to help their friend at least try to understand the situation and help him calm down. His agitation and frustrations were not going to help him recover, that’s for sure. Without much hesitation, they both moved in a little closer to their friend, to the point where they could reach out and gently touch him.

When Snap looked up at them, they froze a little. There was something about that look in his eyes that made them hesitate almost, to not be able to talk. But after a few moments of collecting their thoughts, they did manage to continue speaking to their friend.

And Penny was the first one to start talking. “If Mr. Cosmo does so much as sneeze the wrong way, we will be on him. He won’t hurt anyone ever again and you will be safe from him. We promise.”

Rudy nodded his head in agreement. “That’s right, Snap. Do you think that we’d let that monster anywhere near you? Regardless of what the judge passed, Penny and I will make sure he can’t get near anyone else again.” Rudy smiled the best that he could. He tried to be as reassuring as possible to his friend, though he wasn’t sure if he was getting the message across well enough. “He hasn’t gotten away with what he’s done. And we promise that he won’t get away with anything else.”

Snap looked at his two human friends with a furrowed expression. While he dod soften up a little bit, there was nothing to indicate that he was really all that happy or impressed. If anything, he just looked more bitter. He shifted his gaze away and stared at nothingness. His teeth clenched tightly and he started to growl something underneath his breath.

“LIke that cheers me up. Nobody did anything about S…”

Before Snap could finish his sentence, there was a loud knock on the door. Rudy and Penny both jumped a little in surprise. They looked over at the door before staring back at themselves. They tried to calm themselves down, as well as Snap, before Rudy managed to move towards the door to answer it.

He almost used his left hand but managed to correct himself on the spot. He shifted over to his other hand, motioning it over slowly as he grabbed the knob to open it up. As the door shifted to one side, he could see the knocker exposed. His body went through a mixture of stiffening and relaxing.

While he recognized this zoner, being Rapsheeba, a friend, there was a look in her eyes that told him she didn’t come here to simply chit chat. Rudy swallowed hard and he carefully addressed the zoner.

“H-Hey there, Rapsheeba. What brings you here?” Rudy flinched, realizing that he sounded worse than he meant to. Regardless, he held his ground.

Rapsheeba’s expression didn’t reveal much to him, not even if she was happy to see them or not. It was something of a frown, but mostly blank. It was as though she had been so exhausted by the events that had gone on, her emotions shot. Rapsheeba barely lifted her hand up and only just lightly motioned to Rudy as she said, “The zoners would like to have a meeting with you.”

Rudy blinked at this. “With me? Why?”

“They want you to further address the current situation.” Rapsheeba replied. There was hardly a tinge of emotion in her voice, which was so unlike her. It was a good way to show just how much this all had impacted everyone. “I’m not sure of the details, but I think they will explain when you arrive.”

Rudy looked back over at his friends. Penny and Snap looked at him, both looking a little lost for words themselves. Rudy then forced himself to turn back to Rapsheeba. While he wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to handle this, he did know what the correct response to this statement was.

“Okay, take me there.”

sss

Making a decision like this had been difficult. There was no way of knowing for sure if the right choice had been made. All that was known is that something did need to be done and he and his wife had kept Rudy waiting for far too long. Even Mrs. Sanchez had come to agree that a final decision needed to be made.

But was it the right decision? Had they thought long enough for… And what if they had made things worse…?

Mr. Tabootie tried not to let himself get too distressed about it. They all knew that this moment had to come. With all the information they got and the worries that continued to pile on, they did need to reach a conclusion before it was too late. They couldn’t risk almost losing their children again. Not after what had happened.

He and his wife sat down with Mrs. Sanchez. They had been talking about this for a long time. Their children were away at the moment, having gone back into that...that chalk world… They hadn’t been able to go in. Something about how it would incite a panic and how they weren’t involved with what happened. The details were a bit hazy and confusing, frustrating the three adults. But they did realize that this gave them the chance to figure out what to do about this ChalkZone place once and for all.

Mrs. Sanchez had set aside her uncertainty of Rudy to help them discuss such matters. Both children were involved, and even though they weren’t sure just how everything shifted this way, they did see some of the consequences that this spilled out. If they, as parents, did nothing to do something about this, then would that make them failures? They couldn’t stand here and do nothing. They had to…

But what of their children? Rudy and Penny? Would they agree with the decision? Would they think it was fair? Would they even understand? These questions and more plagued the man’s mind. It made his teeth grit and he struggled with his internal emotions. He wanted to believe that they would at least get why such a choice was made. But at the same time, he knew that it could still go very wrong. They would have to approach their children carefully about this.

They all remained silent like this for several moments, It was a far cry from how it used to be. Mr. Tabootie wasn’t sure if he preferred this over the emotion-filled ranting that had taken place earlier or what. All that he did know was that he didn’t like either situation. It only served as a reminder to him that this was not some casual conversation. It had a level of seriousness in it that he wasn’t yet prepared to face. He realized he was likely always going to question if he made the right choice or not. But in the end, he was going to have to stick with the decision that was made.

Even if it meant the chance that Rudy and Penny were going to be upset with them.

“When do you think they will be back?” Mrs. Tabootie asked, finally breaking the silence.

Mrs. Sanchez looked over at the large woman. Her eyes furrowed a little, looking like she was clearly struggling with an answer herself. She then said, “I...imagine soon. They can’t possibly stay in...that world for long, right?”

Mr. Tabootie felt himself shrugging his shoulders. “They had been gone in there for quite some time before the end of… well you know.” He straightened himself up a little. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they would take long breaks in there. Especially lately. They did lose a…. Well…”

“Mr. Wilter, yes.” Mrs. Sanchez spoke up. She didn’t look at the Tabooties as she spoke. “They weren’t close but they still knew him and… Yeah it is really hard to lose someone, even if they weren’t the closest thing in your life.”

“Rudy knew Mr. Wilter longer than Penny.” Mr. Tabootie commented. It was not so much an insult but a statement of fact. Penny didn’t meet Mr. Wilter until a few years after Rudy had. “I’m sure he misses him. After all those years….”

“Penny too.” Mrs. Sanchez sighed.

Mrs. Tabootie turned her head to look at the others in the room. She seemed a little hesitant to speak. She licked her lips nervously and then she finally managed to talk. “Yes I’m sure they both will miss him. I know they wanted to go to his funeral.” She paused for a moment, as though sensing how tense the air around them was getting when she brought that up. She swallowed hard before she continued, “A-And if what they said about Ms. Saffron was true, then….”

“I’m not too inclined to believe them about that woman.” Mrs. Sanchez’s voice was a bit bitter when she said that. It was like venom was oozing from her words quite literally. “I still think Ms. Saffron was up to something. The troubles had only gotten worse when she had gotten involved.”

Mrs. Tabootie gave the woman a soft glare. “Are you glad that she’s dead, then?”

This blunt, harsh statement took both Mr. Tabootie and Mrs. Sanchez by surprise. It was enough to make Mrs. Sanchez freeze up and look at her friend in utter shock and even a tinge of horror. It was as though she couldn’t believe that Mrs. Tabootie would accuse her of such a thing. The vet struggled to speak, but at first, she could only trip over her own words.

Mr. Tabootie thought about saying something himself, but he realized that he might only make things worse. That didn’t stop him from looking at his wife with his mouth hanging open. He didn’t know why she had to go say such a thing. It wasn’t like accusing the woman of such a terrible thing was going to make things any better. The man could feel the tension continue to grow hard and bitter and he could only just barely manage a swallow. He hoped that the situation was not going to escalate from here.

Mrs. Sanchez eventually narrowed her eyes a little at the woman, her teeth becoming slightly gritted. “How dare you say that…. Why the fuck would I be glad that another person is dead?!”

Mrs. Tabootie glared back at her. “You refuse to accept the possibility that you’ve been wrong about her.”

Mrs. Sanchez hissed lowly, putting her hand to her chest swiftly as though shocked by what the large woman said to her. “Hey, you weren’t the one who had h…”

Mr. Tabootie tilted his head up when he heard the sound of someone walking upstairs. He could hear the thudding and the clamoring and he gritted his teeth. He immediately realized what this meant. He turned his head and he noticed the two women were still arguing. He didn’t stay quiet for long.

“Hey you two! Quit it!” Mr. Tabootie called out. “...they’re here.”

Mrs. Tabootie and Mrs. Sanchez immediately froze at this. They stared at each other before looking up towards the stairs where the two teenagers were going to come down. All three adults remained silent as they waited patiently. All of them were still a bit worried about this conversation, but they all agreed that it was necessary. They were not going to be able to get anything done if they didn’t talk about this. Their children would understand.

Or at least, that’s what they told themselves. Only time will tell how this was all going to go. They mentally prepared themselves for the worst.

Rudy and Penny were coming down the steps slowly. Both of them looked pretty mentally exhausted. Mr. Tabootie and the other two parents were surprised by this, and a bit nervous. They wondered just what had gone on in that world and why they looked so wiped. Was it because of what they had been told before? It was plausible. That was going to make this chat even harder to do.

But it still needed to be done, regardless of how their emotions felt to them. Mr. Tabootie kept a hard stare at Rudy and Penny when they came down. This felt different than it ever had been before. And why wouldn’t it? This was not like other times. This time, they knew where Rudy and Penny had been. In some alternate dimension that they knew nothing about.

And seeing how their children flinched and shuffled uncomfortably, they seemed to realize it as well. Even after all of this time, they were not yet fully accustomed to all of this. It was interesting how life can be sometimes, Mr. Tabootie thought bitterly.

Slowly, Rudy and Penny made their way down towards the nearby couch. They sat down next to their parents, not saying a word nor trying to look at them. This was how they all remained for several minutes. Just sitting next to each other, listening to the silence that buzzed all around them. The silence seemed to echo, piercing their chests, making it more and more obvious what kind of situation they were all in. It was growing rapidly unbearable and tense, and none of them believe that they could last for much longer.

It was only when Penny cleared her throat and all eyes turn to her that the silence was finally ended.

“So everything turned out fine.” Penny sounded as though she was struggling to push those words out of her mouth. “Mr. Cosmo was found guilty, not that any of us were surprised.”

“What did...they...decided to do with him?” Inquired Mrs. Sanchez.

There was some hesitance before Penny spoke in a soft whisper, “Community service.”

“What?! After what he’s done?!” Mrs. Tabootie nearly shot up from her seat. Her eyes looked like they were set ablaze. “I-I knew they couldn’t be trusted with…!”

“Mom, it’s all right. It’s not like you need to worry about him anymore.” Rudy spoke up. He looked at his mother, craning his neck to see her while his body remained straight. “He would have a hard time getting to me and Penny and he can’t come into the Real World to attack anyone. There’s really no need to fear a possible new attack from him.”

Mrs. Tabootie was still glaring softly, hardly responding to her son’s words. “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried that he isn’t getting any comeuppance for…”

Mr. Tabootie bit his lip before letting out a small sigh. He didn’t like to shift gears so fast, but there was something still very important that he realized they needed to discuss. No more delaying. This needed to be done. “Speaking of this...chalk world… There is something that we’ve been meaning to talk to you two about.”

Rudy and Penny looked at the man expectantly, both wearing a look of fear in their eyes. The sight of it was enough to make Mr. Tabootie give pause about this. He swallowed hard and he continued.

“We’ve… All of us…” The man took a moment to look at his wife and friend. They both nodded at him, silently encouraging him to continue. Mr. Tabootie then looked back at the children. “We’ve made a decision regarding ChalkZone.”

Penny lowered her head a little. “Y-You have…?”

Rudy swallowed as he fumbled with his fingers. “Wh-What did you decide?”

There was some tense silence that creeped into the room. Everyone tried to look away from each other, only sparing passing glances. They tried to speak a few times, only to keep fumbling over their own words. The very idea of talking resulted in an increased level of uncomfortableness, the difficulty spiking. Mr. Tabootie and the other parents felt the full force of this and they realized what could happen if this all went wrong. They were aware of the repercussions.

But despite that, Mr. Tabootie still narrowed his eyes at the two and he delivered the message that the parents had been wanting to and nervous to give to their children all day.

“After a long chat, we, the three of us, hereby decided that you two…”

sss

“Do you think they finally got him? After all of this time?” Ms. Ghadir asked. Her voice was low and hushed, barely a whisper.

Mr. Tyreek turned to stare at the woman. He took note of the look in her eyes. He could see the way that she was looking at him, and then looking away. There was no mistaking those emotions. The sight of them made him bite his lip nervously. He tired to think of something more comforting to say, but what could he tell her? He was just as uncertain as she was.

But he still felt the need to say something, and thus he could feel his jaws moving. “I...am certain they did something about Mr. Cosmo.”

The very mention of his name caused the two to shudder. They hardly thought about that man. If it hadn’t been for that infected couple, whom they both hoped were treated well enough, then they would not have brought Mr. Cosmo to their minds at all. They both would rather pretend that they had never met him, that he was just some horrible nightmare from long ago. They silently whished that they could just forget about his influence and how he had pulled them into the depths of darkness with the black….

No, they couldn’t even think the word. The thought of that stuff made their blood chill up inside. They both often had nightmares and flashbacks to how it felt to be under that stuff’s control. It had taken them longer than they wished to be freed and they don’t even remember how it happened. All that they did know is that they wished to never have to experience it again.

“Y-Yeah… you’re probably right.” Ms. Ghadir told herself. “I-I-I mean… The zoners have him and they...they wouldn’t let him leave. They couldn’t…” Her voice trailed off. There was a certain look in her eyes that was not hard to miss, and when Mr. Tyreek saw it, he stifled a small gasp.

“I promise that Mr. Cosmo won’t do to you what he had done to Jenny.” He felt himself asking.

The mention of Jenny’s name made Ms. Ghadir go rigid again and it almost looked like hairs were rising up on the back of her neck. She then turned her head down and she said softly, “I do hope that you are right.”

Mr. Tyreek went silent, looking at the woman sympathetically. Neither of them had wanted this to happen and they both thought they had moved beyond it. But it was still amazing and almost cruel how life can still remind you of your past sins. The only good that came out of all of this is that they did not need to worry about facing Mr. Cosmo again.

But there was still something that they feared.

Gripping her shoulder, Mr. Tyreek said, “I’m sure Rudy can handle Mr. Cosmo if he got out of hand.”

“I hope you’re right.” Ms. Ghadir whispered softly.

sss

Well well, this had been an interesting turn of events lately, hasn’t it…? He never thought that things would have gone this way, yet here they were. It was almost too good to be true, making him smile softly with his jaws slightly distorted.

Bardot had been keeping an eye on things as they developed, watching from the shadows. He mostly paid attention to Rudy, Penny, and Snap to see how they were recovering from Mr. Cosmo’s actions. Things weren’t going quite as he had expected them to, but it was still intriguing to him to watch things progressing like this.

He noticed things like Snap slowly regaining the ability to walk, some zoners growing increasingly frustrated with Rudy and quite possibly human creators in general, and he noticed that Rudy and Penny were… still close but something had clearly happened between them. He should know. He was aware of the spackle that had happened in the mines. Their relationship had been dented, but they had done a good job at hiding it. Only someone who watched carefully would notice that something was off about them.

Bardot had little concern about that, though. He was more inwardly frustrated that his plans had failed. He hadn’t truly taken advantage of the situation and wound up losing his allies. He didn’t know where Skrawl had gone off to and he felt some annoyance that Draow had decided to…

No matter, he would always find a way. It was just a matter of playing the waiting game. There would come a time when he would be able to make his move and this time, he wasn’t going to screw up. And thanks to these zoners, he wasn’t going to need to worry about Mr. Cosmo interfering any longer. Oh what sweet irony this was… He felt himself smirk.

He lifted his head up as he stared at the Chalk Mine from a distance. He kept his feet firmly planted on the hill, feeling the breeze moving around him. His green eyes focused on the mines with such intent, his jaws opening up slowly and licking his lips. He did know that he couldn’t just rush in, that the lack of Biclops was not going to help him out as someone else had taken over. But regardless, the news that Biclops was killed excited him. Even if it was at the hands of his creator, Mr. Cosmo, it still paved an easier path for him and the red chalk.

There would come a day when the red chalk would finally be able to branch out more, to extend its help to the far reaches of the world, and create a new era where human creators would be more..controllable. Sure there was still concern of the black chalk, but Bardot was confident that the remaining two creators would be more focused on that and let the red chalk fly under the radar.

Bardot couldn’t help but give off a few chuckles as he started to make his way down the hill. He silently swore that one day, ChalkZone will be bathed in the protection of crimson light. The red chalk will chase away those who dared to intervene with zoners.

It was just a matter of time.


	74. Epilogue

Rudy took in a deep breath and sighed as he walked along through the outback of ChalkZone City. He could hear the sounds of the zoners behind him, yelling about whatever. He couldn’t tell if there was an argument or if they were genuinely excited about something. Either way, Rudy paid them no mind as he headed out.

It was still hard to believe just how much time had gone by. It felt like it had all left in the blink of an eye and he was going along for the ride. He lifted his head up and stared at the sky. A part of him still expected some kind of danger to come swooping down to get at him or his friends, the way that the trouble before had begun. But the skies were clear and the zoners hadn’t reported any further problems. And while some recovery was still underway, things were looking better than before.

It had been three weeks since Mr. Cosmo’s conviction. He had rarely seen the former human. Once in a while, he might see him sweeping up the streets, or see some zoners picking on him. Rudy would usually intervene if it would go too far, stating that they shouldn’t be like Mr. Cosmo.

It was still strange to see Mr. Cosmo behaving like he had been. He was generally very quiet and said rarely a word. He didn’t have that same threatening feel to him and it was like he was a completely different person. It made Rudy swell up with a mixture of emotions as he tried to think of just how to handle this. He did eventually push it out of his head. What did it matter, anyway? At least Mr. Cosmo was under control now.

He couldn’t say the same thing for those who willingly worked for him. Rudy didn’t hear too much about them, other than some were still out there and he wasn’t sure how seriously the police were taking the case. A part of him wondered if they were deliberately botching things up because they sided with Mr. Cosmo. It seemed like a ridiculous idea, but he refused to dismiss it.

Slowly, he lifted his head up a little more and he stared out ahead, seeing his target destination ahead of him. It would feel funny coming here after what happened to Biclops. He would never get used to it. He was so accustomed to seeing the giant’s smiling face, and to have him be killed by his own creator… Rudy shuddered at the thought. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what went on in the giant zoner’s mind when his life had finally left him and Mr. Cosmo did nothing to help him. Rudy narrowed his eyes at this and formed a tight fist with his hand, shaking it.

Mr. Cosmo claimed to regret his actions, but Rudy wasn’t sure how much he believed that. Plus it didn’t really change what happened, did it? Biclops was still dead and there was nothing that could be done to bring him back. Rudy more or less ignored the man’s attempts at apologies. He didn’t want to hear them.

At least there had been some good developments as of late. He had become aware that Skrawl had gone to join some prison staff. It did feel random and out of nowhere. Rudy didn’t understand what the zoner’s thought processes were and he thought for sure that Skrawl was going to use this to his advantage to cause some trouble. But so far, he seemed to be doing a good job and at least it gave him something to do outside of conquering ChalkZone. It would still take some time to figure out whether or not this move was genuine. But Rudy had some small amount of hope that it was for the better.

A part of him couldn’t believe that he and the others had lost track of Tsere 2.0 so easily. He couldn’t find one person who had been there who was not as surprised as him. Had the zoner slipped away somewhere? How did they not see it? Even Draw couldn’t figure it out. Rudy hoped that they would eventually figure out what happened. He did want to make sure that he was okay.

Rudy also recalled how Snap appeared to be making some headway as well. The small zoner was doing better with his walking. There were still some hiccups here or there and Snap would still trip at times. It was still much better than where he started from. The treatment for his feet had done wonders. He would still be permanently scarred there, but having him being able to walk was more important that cosmetics, as far as Rudy was concerned.

He and Penny were starting to break the ice a little more. He still felt guilty about his actions and he still felt himself pulling away from Penny at times, and her with him as well. But at least some of their trust was starting to become repaired. It was still going to be a slow and painful process, he knew. And it would take even longer for Mrs. Sanchez to start to trust him again. But having some progress was better than nothing.

And speaking of their parents, there had been new rules set for their trips to ChalkZone. Rudy and Penny had been worried about an outright ban, so they were surprised, almost pleasantly, when all that really happened is that they were a bit restricted. A time limit had been set for two-three hours, and another rule was that they would need to leave the portals open so that their parents could come in to get them. That part would...especially require time to get used to and it took a while to convince the zoners that they were safe. Trust was still an issue and tension had risen. Rudy hoped that this would lower down in due time.

But he was concerned about that group of zoners that had started to become very vocal about things. They were unhappy with his performance before and it only got worse when he allowed his and Penny’s folks to come into ChalkZone. There had been talk about getting all creators out, including him and Penny. The thought made him shudder, but he tried his best not to think about it so much. The group was relatively small and outnumbered. What’s the harm that they could do?

He immediately froze at this and swallowed. He hoped that he wasn’t going to come to regret that statement. He hoped to gawd that he wasn’t about to…

Rudy shook his head, trying to get that thought out of his head. He drew in a deep breath, keeping his eyes narrowed into slits. If the time came for further action, then he would worry about it then. For now, he tensed himself up and forced himself to head towards the Chalk Mine. He might as well get this done and over with.

It felt a little eerie to approach the Chalk Mine nowadays but he managed to shrug it off. He walked towards the opening like usual. He kept his pace steady and his arms swinging around slightly in motion with his walking. He squeezed his hands tightly, noticing a definite change in his left hand and how weak it was. It was a source of frustration for him. But at least he still had his right hand to work with.

Rudy stopped in front of the cave entrance. He peered up at it, feeling just how empty this place was without Biclops. He swallowed hard, feeling bitterness on this tongue. He attempted to put on a brave face, but he could feel his body shaking from the effort. He could feel a few tears burning in the back of his eyes and he licked his lips slowly, giving himself another swallow. Then he forced himself to take a step in deeper, peering into the suddenly somehow darker magic chalk chamber.

The White Chalk Chamber.

Rudy was struck with a series of emotions, just like the last time he was here. He was tempted to call out for Biclops, but he knew that he wasn’t going to come. He was gone, as were the others. He would never be able to speak to Bathtub Granny, Buttered Toast Man, or Howdy any longer, and he knew that some zoners still blamed him for that, especially that one group. And he couldn’t say anything to Mr. Wilter. The thought caused his gut to twist up inside.

And then there was Ms. Saffron…. Despite what Mrs. Sanchez thought of that woman, Rudy did still feel sorry for her, and even more so for Snap, who had wanted to see her again, only to realize she was dead. Rudy wasn’t sure what happened with her body, unlike with Mr. Wilter. He hoped that she, and the others, were all put to rest. It was the least that they could be given.

Rudy was taken out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of footprints approaching and he could see a large shadow casting over him. He would have thought that it was Biclops at first. But he knew better. Rudy barely turned around when he addressed the new guardian of the Chalk Mine.

“I’m here for more magic chalk….Draow.”

At this, the large shadow stopped moving forward, the sound of scraping filling the room. Rudy lifted his head up and he could see the wolf-like shadow peering down at him, moving forward until he could see the beige-colored body and teal eyes staring down at him.

Draow opened his jaws slowly and he spoke in a hissing voice, “Take what you need.”

Rudy nodded his head once. Draow held still at this, but still watched him. Draow certainly wasn’t as friendly as Biclops and there was an aura of uncomfortableness when it came to him. Rudy felt a little chilly whenever he was in here and Draow was looking at him like that. He tried not to let it bug him, though. He turned his head and he headed towards the cluster of white chalk, speeding along so that he could be out of here quickly.

Rudy stood in front of the nearest cluster and reached his hand out towards it. He grabbed onto the piece and he yanked it back hard. He could hear the loud snapping sound, noticing how it echoed everywhere. Rudy rubbed at his ears as he held the piece of chalk up. He ignored the sense of bittersweetness as he put it in his pocket and took a few more pieces. He would rather have a good enough stash that he would not need to come here too often. Especially with Draow here.

Why would Draow even be entrusted here anyway? Rudy would never understand it. Especially after what Draow had done and….

Rudy shook the thought out of his head as he focused on getting the pieces. Once he felt that he had enough, that’s when he started to back away a little from the cluster. At least Draow seemed generous enough and didn’t stop him as quickly as Biclops sometimes would. But still, he wanted to get out of here quickly and having this many would ensure that a return trip was not necessary for quite some time.

But before he could try to turn around, he froze. Something was catching his eye. Something a little further back. Another cluster of white chalk, but he never recalled seeing this here before. As he walked towards it, he began to feel a familiar vibe. Wasn’t there another chamber of white chalk located further back? This sort of felt like that.

Curious, Rudy began to get closer to the back cluster, their sparkling almost drawing him in. He crept closer and closer until he was standing right there, close enough to reach his hand towards it. He stared intently for a few seconds before he reached over to touch a piece.

Suddenly there was a white flash emanating from the chalk and Rudy felt his body stiffening. He became aware of a white glow wafering out of his eyes and he gripped his head tightly. It hurt him so bad…. He then tripped on something and fell into the ground. Darkness creeped into his world.

sss

Oh geeze, since when did it come down to this? How long had this been going on for? How did things fall down this quickly?

Okay so that was a bit of an exaggeration. Still, Penny wasn’t sure how she was going to deal with this. She wished Rudy were here. He might be able to resolve this conflict before it got any worse. Then again, considering who these zoners were angry at….

“Something needs to change!” Demanded one of the zoners.

Another nodded their head. “This has gone on long enough! We’re sick and tired of creators causing us trouble!”

Penny raised her hands up, motioning them back and forth, her eyes filled with worry and a bit of fear. She didn’t know if these zoners were going to attack her or not. They looked ready and poised. It seemed like the only thing holding them back was genuine fear of Penny retaliating. It wasn’t like she would honestly try to hurt them, but they don’t know that. Any move she made might backfire on her. The zoners might attack without warning. She had to be careful.

“Look, we understand your concern! But there’s no need to worry.” Penny tried to sound as confident as she could. “B-But Rudy will not…”

“Rudy is either an incompetent twat or he’s purposely doing all of this!” A zoner snarled at them, his arms folding against his chest. He took a few steps forward, his eyes narrowing further. “He’s the one who caused that outbreak years ago, wasn’t he? And the one who nearly got our world destroyed…”

Snap, who had stood by Penny’s side and trying to remain silent, just couldn’t keep his mouth shut this time around. “I would watch what you say if I were you…”

The zoner sneered at Snap. “And what are you going to do about it, blue pants? You going to use force to keep me silent?” He put his hands on his arms, cocking his head to one side. “Just so much like Mr. Cosmo’s minion… Which by the way, how is he doing?” The voice was laced in sarcasm.

Snap widened his eyes at the accusation of the situation being similar between Mr. Cosmo and Draow. Then he clenched his fists tightly and he looked ready to say something else. Then he seemed to think better of it, which helped Penny to relax. She feared what would happen if Snap did go all out with this guy.

Penny couldn’t deny that she was upset, though. These zoners had been looking for whatever excuse to be angry at Rudy, even going as far as raking up the distant past to do it. She felt that this was a great disservice and that these zoners were deliberately ignoring the good that Rudy had done. He wasn’t anything like Mr. Cosmo. He would never start randomly killing zoners or whatever else nor would he experiment on them. These zoners owed their lives to him and this is how they repaid him? That was disgusting.

Penny slowly raised her hand up in gesture, motioning out to the group of disgruntled zoners. “Mr. Cosmo has been taken care of. He can’t use the magic chalk any longer. He’s harmless. And Draow wasn’t simply assigned to guard the Chalk Mine; he literally can’t leave it and you know that.” She straightened herself up, her expression softening. “So it’s not like either of them got away with their atrocities.”

The one zoner who spoke before was about to speak, but he was soon pushed aside by someone else. Someone tall and lanky, looking very much like a partially anthropomorphic, two-legged cheetah. His most distinguishing feature was the metal finger attached to his one paw. Penny and Snap both immediately recognized him. They heard his name off and on the past couple of days and many regard him as the founder of this group.

The Luminos.

And the cheetah’s name being Raiden.

“Well if that’s the case, then why isn’t Rudy being punished?” The cheetah asked, his teeth pressing together in a small snarl. “The boy’s not exactly all that innocent and you know that.”

“Hey!” Snap shouted as he took a step forward. “Rudy’s been through enough lately! He’s lost some people he’s cared about and he has a permanently damaged hand! Don’t you dare try to say that he deserves more than that!”

Raiden gave a dark chuckle at this, letting his teeth bare slightly. “But he still needs to be held accountable for the zoners that he’s killed.”

Penny cried out, “Those weren’t his fault! He was under the black chalk’s influence!”

Snap nodded his head, his body shaking from emotion. “Y-Yeah, that’s right!” Snap lifted his hand up and pointed accusingly at the cheetah-like zoner before him. “You have no right to….”

“Oh shut up!” Raiden growled. He took a step forward and he slapped Snap across the face. The small zoner let out a small yelp as he was knocked into the ground.

“Snap!” Penny screamed as she rushed to her friend’s side. She knelt down beside him and grabbed onto him. She looked at him up and down to see if he looked hurt. Snap seemed okay but there was a red mark where he was struck. She rubbed his cheek lightly before turning to shoot a daggered glare in Raiden’s direction.

The cheetah merely scoffed at this, raising his hand up to dismiss it like it was nothing. “Oh don’t you dare look at me that way.” He lifted his metal finger up, pointing it at the pair, the tip glinting brightly. “Time and time again, we zoners had suffered under the tyranny of creators! And this most recent time just proves that any creator allowed in here is a recipe for disaster! The only way to keep this world safe is by eliminating the connections between the two worlds and re-establish a complete ban on humans from entering this world!”

Penny felt herself release a small gasp. “Y-You can’t do that!”

Some of the Luminos zoners chuckled bitterly at this. But they were all silent now; only Raiden spoke.

“Oh, can’t we? I think you underestimate us, little girl.” Raiden folded his arms behind his back and leaned in forward, his long tail twitching about in agitation, doing tricks as though to relieve anxiety. “While it is true that we are newly formed and we don’t have that much influence yet…” Raiden spread his paws outward, signalling the other zoners to glare or smirk darkly, positioning themselves to signify a unity. “But soon our numbers will grow, the other zoners will see that we are right, their eyes will be opened, and soon, the likes of you…”

Penny flinched as she noticed that metal claw being pointed right at her. The tip looked like it was almost ready to drive into her eye.

“...will never set foot in here again..”

Penny and Snap remained silent at this blatant threat, their eyes narrowed and emotions wracking through their body. They both glanced at each other before turning their attention back to these zoners. They kept themselves tense, not wanting to do anything too crazy or else they might reel in other people. They were in the city of course and this commotion had already drawn in quite the crowd.

So far, it wasn’t like these other zoners were siding with them or anyone really. They were mostly passerby zoners that were curious about this fight and wondered how it was all going to end. There were handful that were pretty upset with the Luminos, though, and this was a good sign. So long as there were enough zoners opposing them, the Luminos may never gain real traction.

But the fact that they existed at all was really worrying. What if they could gain enough influence? What would that mean for her, as well as Rudy? And what of Snap? Would he be seen as worse, being a zoner who sided with creators? The thought made Penny’s blood go chill.

She managed to shake her head to clear it the best that she could. She let out a small growl as she glared at Raiden, feeling a level of fury for the things that he was saying. She could feel Snap’s frustration as well and it intermingled with her own, making it even tougher to ignore, strengthening her own negative feelings. She drew in a deep breath and she forced out a small sigh. She stared at the zoners before her with a forced softened expression, growing increasily weary from all of this.

There was only one thing that she could think of that would quell this whole mess. Of course, it would depend on whether or not they would even accept this idea.

“How about we schedule a meeting somewhere private? Like in a building out somewhere?” Penny tried to sound as diplomatic as possible. “We can sort things out from there.”

Snap looked ready to protest, but he seemed to think better of it. He nodded his head and said, “Y-Yes… We can talk out our...differences….”

Raiden stared at them at this, his eyes blinking once or twice. He turned his head to look at the other zoners around him. They were all looking at him for guidance. Raiden then looked back. Though he hardly looked impressed, he nodded his head rigidly and said, “Okay… You’ve got a deal. Bring that pathetic excuse for a protector with you…” He pointed his finger at them once more, the metal skin shining. “...and we will have our little discussion.”

Penny could feel her heart twisting at this. She hoped that she had made the right decision. For now, she just nodded her head and said, “We’ll be there.”

sss

Had this really been a good idea? Snap pondered this question over and over again, but the answer always alluded him. He understood the need for talking things out. But something told him that the Luminos were not in any desire of true diplomacy.

Snap sat down between Rudy and Penny, the three staring at the end of the long table where Raiden sat himself. Most of the other Luminos hadn’t joined; Raiden had insisted with only bringing two with him for witness purposes.

The meeting was taking place in the middle of Mumbo Jumbo Jungle, away from the other zoners for privacy purposes. This is what they had all agreed to. Away from distractions, they were able to focus on each other. Penny ahd hoped that this would have created a better environment for talking things out. But it didn’t change anything.

“You can’t just force all humans out! That’s insane!” Penny spoke loudly. She was doing her best keeping herself down and trying to sound diplomatic. “You’re not looking at this logically!”

Raiden cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not? What about you?” He motioned out to the humans. “You’ve kept other humans from getting in here. Why do they not to get in but you can come here all you want?” He rested his chin on his hand, one eyebrow raising up in suspicion. “That’s quite curious.”

Snap started to stand up. “Now you see here…” He was stopped when Rudy moved his hand outward suddenly, blocking him. “Rudy…?” He whispered softly.

Rudy didn’t answer. The boy had been silent this whole time, something that Snap and Penny found odd. They asked if he was all right. He had looked slightly sickly today. But the boy insisted to come with and said that he was fine. But it was only now that he chose to do anything. And even then, he was silent.

Snap and Penny watched in confusion as Rudy slowly got up from his seat, the squeaking of it moving back raking at their ear drumbs. Rudy stared out ahead, looking unfazed by all of this. Then he started to make his way over towards Raiden and the two other Luminos zoners. He walked slowly, with a level of confidence that Penny and Snap had never seen before. The gait was a little off, as though Rudy were partially limping. They both tried to call out to him, but Rudy ignored them, his eyes only on Raiden.

Then Rudy just stared at him, his expression partially blank. This lasted for an uncomfortable several seconds, feeling as though it was being dragged out on purpose. The tension rose, the two Luminos zoners looking on in worry, while Raiden clearly looked like he was trying to control himself. Perhaps his jab about Rudy before had been a lie and maybe he feared the boy more than he let on.

Rudy eventually spoke, his voice a bit hoarse and hushed. A clear sign that he was not feeling well and yet here he still went. “So you just want all of ChalkZone to be freed of humans so that a repeat of this time or any other time will not happen?” He cocked his head to one side. “Am I understanding you right?”

Raiden swallowed a little before quickly nodding his head. “Th-That’s right!”

Rudy slowly smiled. “I think that can be arranged.”

Raiden spluttered, “Wh-What?”

Penny lifted herself up, leaning forward at the table. “Rudy, what are you doing?”

“Bucko, what’s going on?” Snap inquired, furrowing his eyes in confusion.

Rudy didn’t hesitate to give an answer. But when he did, none of them had seen it coming. It had all happened so fast that none of them were prepared for it, nor did they have much time to react to it.

Without warning, Rudy grabbed onto Raiden’s throat. The feline zoner immediately gave a yowl of pain, very cat-like in nature, and scrambled to get free. The other two Luminos were startled but they attempted to take action. But Rudy was faster than all of them and he had quickly shoved something into Raiden’s mouth. It was something kind of like a bottle and...

Snap felt a lump forming in his throat, his skin crawling along his back.

Rudy was forcing Raiden to drink vinegar…

He and Penny watched the result in horror. The zoner had immediately plopped into the ground, spasming in pain, blood and vomit spilling out from where the vinegar was burning him from the inside out. Steam rose up thickly, his eyes wide and filled with terror. The sight of it filled Snap with so many horrible memories of Mr. Cosmo’s actions and he felt himself clinging to Penny.

“Bucko….what’s the meaning of this?” Snap felt himself whisper before he gave into the wrenching, his body heaving.

Looking over, they were able to see that the other Luminos zoners were huddling in a corner, unable to bring themselves to help their former leader or try to escape. Raiden was already dead at this point, his raspy breathing having come to a halt, his eyes now pale and lifeless. Rudy stood over him, staring at him with a small smile on his face, utterly and eerily silent.

Before Snap and Penny could try to get away, Rudy had already moved from his position. Zipping along the ground faster than he had moved earlier, he was now suddenly standing in front of them, blocking their exit out. He stared down at them, that same twisted smile upon his face.

Snap moved behind Penny as the shaking girl called out, “R-Rudy! What are you doing?!”

Rudy lifted his head up, giving a soft chuckle. “I think it’s time we made a few...changes around here…”

As Rudy’s eyes glowed, Penny and Snap’s just filled with a newfound sense of terror.


End file.
